Randy’s Painting & Drywall

Emmaus, Lehigh County

Interior painting in Emmaus, PA.

The 1950s built more of Emmaus than any other decade. Houses of that era often hide oil-based paint on trim, kitchens and baths, and new paint holds on it only with the right preparation.

Request a private consultation Call or text (484) 546-3660
A kitchen with white shaker cabinets, black counters and a farmhouse sink under a window.
White shaker cabinetry, black counters.

Interior painting for Emmaus homes

The 1950s built more of today's borough than any other decade, about one home in five, as the population rose by almost a third. Count the 1940s and the prewar houses too, and well over half the homes in Emmaus date from before 1960. By the 1960s the borough had reached its present size, with houses running to the line on every side.

Houses of that age were painted with what the period had, and on trim, in kitchens and in baths that often meant oil-based paint. Most paint used today is water-based, and it does not grip a glossy oil finish on its own: it goes on smoothly, dries well, and then peels in strips the first time the surface is scrubbed or a piece of tape is pulled away. The fix is ordinary but cannot be skipped: clean, dull the old finish, and prime with a bonding primer before the new color.

Emmaus

Oil paint, plaster and early drywall in the 1950s house

The boom years also sit on the line between two kinds of wall. Some houses were plastered over gypsum lath, the usual way since the late 1930s; others went up in early drywall, which was taking over as the faster way to build. A knock usually tells them apart: plaster sounds dense and solid, drywall lighter and more hollow. Under new paint, the first may show fine cracks where the lath boards meet, the second its tape seams and nail heads.

The prewar houses are another matter. The village was laid out by the Moravians in 1758, and its oldest survivors, the fieldstone 1803 House and the log Shelter House, are landmarks now. Homes built before 1940, about a quarter of the borough, have plaster on wood lath, and about as many are twins or rows, where a windowless shared wall leaves rooms lit from fewer sides and makes the choice of color more delicate.

A living room painted deep charcoal, with white window trim and a white fireplace surround; sunlight falls across dark hardwood floors.
Charcoal walls in window light.

Worth knowing

  1. The alcohol test

    Rub a hidden spot on the trim with rubbing alcohol on a cotton pad. If paint comes off on the pad it is water-based; if nothing comes off, it is probably oil, and it needs dulling and a bonding primer.

  2. Original hardware

    Mid-century doors and cabinets often keep their original knobs and hinges. They are taken off or masked rather than painted around, so they go back on clean.

  3. Kitchens and baths first

    These are the rooms most likely to carry glossy oil paint from the 1950s, and the rooms where a careless repaint peels first, so they are tested before anything else.

The work

How the work goes

The same care on every job, in every town. The full guide to interior painting.

Two painters on extension ladders cutting in a cream ceiling above arched windows and honey wood paneling, beside a marigold wall.
Cutting in a cream ceiling above arched windows.

  1. The walkthrough

    Randy walks the rooms with you and looks at the walls in the light they actually get. He tells you plainly what they need, then puts it in writing. The walkthrough and the written estimate are complimentary.

  2. Repairs first

    Cracks, holes, nail pops and failing plaster are dealt with before anything else, and every patch is sanded flat. Paint doesn’t hide a poor patch; it shows it.

  3. Primer where it’s needed

    Patches, bare drywall and stains are primed. Joint compound takes up paint differently from a painted wall, and an unprimed patch can flash through the finish as a dull spot.

  4. Finish coats

    Ceilings, walls and trim are cut in and rolled or brushed, each in the sheen chosen for it. A big change of color takes more coats than a refresh, and the number is set by the wall, not the calendar.

  5. Seen in the room’s own light

    Before the drop cloths come up, the walls are looked at in the light the room really has, from its windows and its lamps. Low sun and lamplight show what an overhead work light hides.

Questions

Interior painting, Emmaus.

Why is new paint peeling off the trim we painted last year?

Most often because it went straight onto old oil-based paint. Water-based paint cannot bond to a glossy oil finish without help, so it lets go in strips. The loose paint comes off, the old finish is dulled, a bonding primer goes on, and the trim is painted again.

We want a deep color in our 1950s living room. Are the walls ready for it?

Usually, with some work first. A deep color shows what pale paint has been hiding: cracks along the lath joints in plaster, tape seams and nail pops in early drywall, decades of filled picture holes. Those are repaired and the wall primed, and where the flaws are many, a skim coat over the whole wall makes the color read evenly.

Will one coat of a new color cover the old colors in a 1950s house?

Rarely, if the change is large. A strong old color usually needs a primer tinted toward the new one before the finish coats, and a pale color over a deep one can take more coats than people expect. That count is worth settling at the walkthrough, before the color is chosen.

More in Emmaus

Other services here.

  1. Level 5 drywall finishA skim coat over the entire surface, for walls that hold up under raking light and dark paint.
  2. Skim coatingRough, patched or uneven walls resurfaced smooth, often after wallpaper comes down.
  3. Plaster repairCracked, loose and failing plaster in older homes, repaired and made sound.
  4. Exterior paintingSiding, trim, porches, stucco and brick, prepared to stand up to Pennsylvania weather.
  5. Drywall installation & repairNew drywall hung, taped and finished; cracks, holes and water damage repaired invisibly.
  6. Drywall texture matching & removalTexture matched so repairs disappear, applied where you want it, or taken off for a smooth wall.
  7. Popcorn ceiling removalOld acoustic texture taken down and the ceiling finished smooth.
  8. Wallpaper removalOld wallpaper and wall linings stripped without tearing up the wall beneath.
  9. 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.

Randy’sPainting & DrywallReply card
The project
Preferred contact

Walkthrough & written estimate, complimentary.