Hellertown, Northampton County
Exterior painting in Hellertown, PA.
Old houses on Main Street, postwar Capes in Durham Terrace and Mountainview, newer homes in the township beyond. Most of the borough's houses stand alone and weather on four sides at four different rates.
Exterior painting for Hellertown homes
More than a third of Hellertown's homes went up in the 1940s and 1950s, as the borough filled in with houses for families with work nearby, and six in ten of all its homes are detached. That makes exterior painting here a whole-house matter more often than not: four walls with four exposures, eaves all the way around, and no neighbor's wall to shelter a side.
Exposure decides more than age does. Paint on a shaded wall often lasts about twice as long as paint on a wall in full sun, so the south and west sides of a house may be due while the north side has years left. Walking every side shows which, and the work can be scoped to match instead of following one schedule for the whole house.
Hellertown
Main Street's old coats and Durham Terrace's Capes
Along Route 412, the old King's Highway, the borough's oldest houses run from about 1800 into the early 1900s. Their wood carries many coats, and the coats do not fail together: some layers still hold tight while the ones above them let go. Loose paint is scraped back to a layer that is firmly bonded, bare spots are primed, and the sound base stays in place rather than being stripped for its own sake.
Durham Terrace added 154 one-and-a-half-story Cape Cods between 1951 and 1954, and Mountainview filled in through the 1940s and 1950s. A Cape's exterior is compact: gable ends that rise the full height of the house, low eaves, modest trim. The gables take the weather across their whole face, so they get the closest look on a house of that age.
Worth knowing
Gutters over low eaves
On a Cape the gutter hangs just above the eaves and the top of the wall, so an overflowing gutter peels paint there first. Gutters are cleared and checked before the trim under them is painted.
Mildew on the north wall
The shaded north side of a detached house stays damp longest, and mildew grows there. It is washed off and the wall left to dry fully before primer or paint.
Beyond paint, ask first
For anything beyond paint, such as new siding or a rebuilt porch, check with the borough before the work is planned.
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, Hellertown.
Our Durham Terrace Cape has worn the same color for years. Is a darker one a good idea?
It can be, on sound wood. A dark color absorbs more sun, so the boards beneath move more and any weak joint shows sooner, and whichever gable faces south takes the most of it. The preparation counts for more than with a pale color, and samples are worth seeing on the house, in daylight, before deciding.
We live outside the borough, in Lower Saucon Township. Is exterior work different there?
Often it is. About half the township's homes have been built since 1980, so their exteriors are younger and carry fewer coats. Less time goes into scraping, and more into the joints, trim and doors a newer house depends on.
A few boards near the ground on our Cape are soft. Can they be painted over?
No. Paint over soft wood fails quickly, and the softness means water is getting in. The boards are cut out and replaced, the source is found, often splash-back from a gutter or soil and shrubs against the wall, and the new wood is primed on every side before it goes up.
More in Hellertown
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.