Allentown, Lehigh County
Exterior painting in Allentown, PA.
The older blocks are brick, but what needs paint is wood: bracketed cornices, window sash, door trim and porches. Kept painted, those features hold the face of a row together; left bare, they rot out of it.
Exterior painting for Allentown homes
Rowhouses and twins are the largest share of the city's housing, and in the old center they stand in continuous brick facades whose character lives in the woodwork. The city's historic district guidelines describe its Italianate houses as brick with wood detailing over the doors and windows and bracketed, molded cornices at the eaves, and note how common Eastlake rowhouses are here, leaning on applied ornament more than on their shape.
The brick is the durable part. The wood is not, and the guidelines ask owners to keep it well painted, since paint layers protect wood from moisture, biological growth and ultraviolet light. Much of the exterior painting in the older neighborhoods is exactly that upkeep, done before rot reaches a cornice or a sill.
Allentown
Wood on brick, in three local districts
Three neighborhoods, Old Allentown, the Old Fairgrounds and West Park, are local historic districts, and changes to exterior features visible from the street there need a certificate of appropriateness. Repainting a painted building does not, since the city reviews color only when it is part of a product such as shingles or siding. The guidelines are specific about method instead: failing paint comes off to the next sound layer by the gentlest means, starting with hand scraping.
The roofs decide the staging. Slate mansards are common on the fronts of the city's Second Empire rowhouses, and red-orange terra cotta tile is a character-defining feature of West Park. Neither should carry a ladder or a painter's weight, so the cornices beneath them, and the dormers set into them, are reached from staging set against the wall.
Worth knowing
Keep the brackets
The guidelines ask owners to preserve wood cornices, brackets, moldings and bay windows rather than replace them. Loose brackets are refastened and soft wood repaired before any paint goes on.
Gutters match the trim
In the districts, the guidelines suggest painting gutters and downspouts the trim color so they read as part of it. Copper is the exception and stays unpainted.
Rain in every month
The city averages eight to twelve days of precipitation a month, spread almost evenly through the year, so drying time after washing and after each rain is built into every exterior schedule.
The work
How an exterior goes
The same care on every job, in every town. The full guide to exterior painting.
Every side, walked
Randy walks every side of the house with you, because the south wall and the north wall rarely need the same work. Both the walkthrough and the written estimate are complimentary.
Causes first
Where paint is peeling to bare wood, the source of the water is found and dealt with. Soft, rotted wood is repaired or replaced, because no paint holds on wet or decayed wood.
Washing
Dirt, mildew and chalk are washed off at a pressure that cleans without gouging the grain. The siding then dries completely before any primer or paint goes on.
Scraping and priming
Loose and flaking paint is scraped back to a firm edge. Bare wood is primed promptly, before the sun has time to weaken its surface.
Caulk where water gets in
Open joints where trim meets siding and around windows are caulked, and holes are filled. The bottom edges of lap siding are left open on purpose, so water can drain out and the boards can dry.
Paint in the right conditions
Finish coats go on when the temperature will hold for the paint, away from walls baking in full sun, and early enough to set before the evening dew. On most days that means following the shade around the house.
Questions
Exterior painting, Allentown.
Our West Park house is already painted. Do we need a certificate to change its colors?
No. The city does not review paint color on a building that is already painted. A certificate comes in when exterior features visible from the street are altered or replaced, so a repaint that also swaps porch posts or trim for new materials goes through the review board and City Council.
Could the never-painted brick on our rowhouse be painted to match the trim?
In the districts it would need a certificate of appropriateness, and the city advises against it. Coatings on historically bare brick hold in the moisture and salts that would otherwise evaporate from the wall, and the brick deteriorates behind the paint. A scheme built around the brick's own color, carried by the trim, cornice and door, is the better route.
Our windows were painted shut years ago. Can they be freed during a repaint?
Usually, and the guidelines encourage it: paint that has sealed a window closed should be removed, and historic sash kept in good condition with sound paint on both faces. The sash are cut free, loose paint is scraped back, and bare wood is primed before the finish coats, so the window can open again.
More in Allentown
Other services here.
- Level 5 drywall finishA skim coat over the entire surface, for walls that hold up under raking light and dark paint.
- Skim coatingRough, patched or uneven walls resurfaced smooth, often after wallpaper comes down.
- Plaster repairCracked, loose and failing plaster in older homes, repaired and made sound.
- Interior paintingWalls, ceilings, trim, doors and millwork, prepared properly and finished clean.
- Drywall installation & repairNew drywall hung, taped and finished; cracks, holes and water damage repaired invisibly.
- Drywall texture matching & removalTexture matched so repairs disappear, applied where you want it, or taken off for a smooth wall.
- Popcorn ceiling removalOld acoustic texture taken down and the ceiling finished smooth.
- Wallpaper removalOld wallpaper and wall linings stripped without tearing up the wall beneath.
- Wood stainingDecks, porch floors, doors and trim, inside and out, stained by hand.
Consultation
Request a private consultation.
Private walkthrough & written estimate, complimentary. Tell us a little about the house and the rooms, and Randy will be in touch to arrange a time.
- Hours
- Monday – Friday8:30 AM – 5:30 PMSaturday10 AM – 3 PMSundayClosed
- Service area
- Easton, Bethlehem, Allentown and the greater Lehigh Valley; Bucks County, Pennsylvania.
Fully insured — proof on request. Residential and commercial.