Randy’s Painting & Drywall

Easton, Northampton County

Wood staining in Easton, PA.

Downtown, porches answer to the city's historic district guidelines and decks belong at the back of the house. Past the city line the houses are younger, and the wood to look after is mostly a deck.

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A wide Victorian porch with white rails, painted posts and dark wooden steps leading up to the front door.
Porch, rails and steps.

Wood staining for Easton homes

Nearly two-thirds of the city's homes were built before 1940, and on most of them, exterior wood means the porch: floorboards, treads, rails and the columns of the Victorian fronts that shaped the West Ward. Floors and steps catch rain blown in under the roof and every footstep to the door, so their finish wears through well before the trim overhead needs anything.

Past the city line the houses are younger. About half of Forks Township's homes went up after 2000 and Williams Township is close behind, so the wood there is mostly decks. A deck of that age may be on its third coat or may never have been finished; the first wants cleaning and a fresh coat, the second needs its sun-grayed surface taken off before stain will hold.

Easton

Downtown porch rules, and decks kept to the back

The city's Local Historic District covers downtown, bounded by the two rivers, Bushkill Creek and Sixth Street. Its guidelines ask that character-defining porch features be repaired rather than replaced and worn tongue-and-groove decking replaced in kind, and they call vinyl railing systems and unpainted pressure-treated lumber not appropriate. Tile or carpet over a wood porch floor is out too; it holds water against the boards.

Decks are accepted on secondary facades, not on a primary or highly visible one, so a downtown deck, and its staining, sits behind the house. College Hill and most of the West Ward lie outside the district. Downtown is low ground where the rivers meet, with hills on three sides, and a porch floor that stays shaded there deserves extra dry days after washing.

A cedar-sided A-frame house with a wooden deck in autumn leaves, a painter working from a ladder at the gable.
A cedar A-frame and its deck, in autumn.

Worth knowing

  1. New wood on a downtown porch

    In the district, worn decking is replaced in kind and new lumber is painted rather than left bare; vinyl rails are not appropriate. Work visible from the street needs a Certificate of Appropriateness first.

  2. A township deck never finished

    On a Forks or Williams Township deck left bare since it was built, the gray, sun-worn fibers come off before anything else. Stain laid over them wears away with them.

  3. Stained woodwork indoors

    Doors, stair rails and trim in the city's older houses often carry old varnish, and new stain cannot soak through it. The old finish comes off first, and the color is tried where it will not show.

The work

How the work goes

The same care on every job, in every town. The full guide to wood staining.

A worker in yellow rain gear pressure-washing a deck beside a covered grill and white railings.
Washing a deck.

  1. The walkthrough

    Randy looks at the wood with you: what finish is on it now, how it has weathered, which boards take the full sun. The walkthrough is complimentary, and so is the written estimate.

  2. Cleaning

    Dirt, mildew and loose gray fibers come off with a cleaner and gentle washing; too much pressure furs and gouges the soft grain. On cedar, redwood and oak, no steel wool or steel brushes, which leave dark iron stains in the wood.

  3. Old film removed

    Where solid stain or paint has peeled on a deck, the loose film is stripped or sanded away. A penetrating stain cannot soak through an old film, and a new film over a failing one peels with it.

  4. Drying

    The wood dries fully before any stain goes on, usually a couple of dry days after washing, longer in shade. Stain on damp wood soaks in unevenly and fails sooner.

  5. Brushed in by hand

    Penetrating stain goes on by brush, a few boards at a time with a wet edge to avoid lap marks, out of hot sun where possible. The wood gets only what it will absorb, and any excess left on the surface is wiped off.

  6. Recoating

    A penetrating finish is renewed with a cleaning and a fresh coat, no stripping. Shaded parts of a deck can go longer between coats than the boards in full sun.

Questions

Wood staining, Easton.

Can a porch in downtown Easton be rebuilt with pressure-treated lumber?

Not as bare lumber. The city's historic district guidelines call unpainted pressure-treated lumber and vinyl railing systems not appropriate on a historic porch, and they ask that worn decking be replaced in kind. Changes visible from a public way in the Local Historic District need a Certificate of Appropriateness, so speak to the city before ordering material.

Does the city care how we finish a deck behind our College Hill house?

College Hill sits outside the Local Historic District, so the district's porch and deck guidelines do not reach it. Even downtown, decks are accepted on secondary facades, and a deck out back is the natural place for a penetrating stain. If you are rebuilding rather than refinishing, check with the city first.

Should the porch floor on our West Ward row home be stained or painted?

Outside the downtown district it is generally the owner's call, though it is worth confirming with the city. A coating made for porch floors resists foot traffic and suits a porch whose rails and columns are painted; a penetrating stain shows the grain and is renewed without scraping. On a row of painted porches, a stained floor will stand out, which may or may not be the point.

More in Easton

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. Interior paintingWalls, ceilings, trim, doors and millwork, prepared properly and finished clean.
  5. Exterior paintingSiding, trim, porches, stucco and brick, prepared to stand up to Pennsylvania weather.
  6. Drywall installation & repairNew drywall hung, taped and finished; cracks, holes and water damage repaired invisibly.
  7. Drywall texture matching & removalTexture matched so repairs disappear, applied where you want it, or taken off for a smooth wall.
  8. Popcorn ceiling removalOld acoustic texture taken down and the ceiling finished smooth.
  9. Wallpaper removalOld wallpaper and wall linings stripped without tearing up the wall beneath.

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.