Exterior House Painting in Orange County, NY
Siding, trim, shutters, doors, porches and soffits — washed, scraped, primed and coated to hold up to Hudson Valley freeze-thaw, not just to look good in October.
An exterior paint job in the Hudson Valley has a harder life than one almost anywhere else in the country. Winter drives moisture into every open seam and then freezes it. Summer humidity and full south-facing sun cook the same surface for three months. That cycle is what actually kills exterior paint here — not the paint itself, but water getting behind a film that was applied over a surface that wasn't properly prepared.
That's why our exterior process is weighted heavily toward washing, scraping, priming and caulking. The coating is the last five percent of the job, and it's the only part most homeowners ever get quoted on.
Our exterior process
Wash. Every exterior starts with a low-pressure house wash to strip off chalking, mildew, pollen and the film of road grime that no coating will bond through. Low pressure matters — a contractor blasting 3,000 PSI at wood siding drives water into the substrate and raises the grain, which is a problem you'll be looking at for a decade.
Scrape and sand. Loose and failing paint gets scraped back to a sound edge and feathered so the transition doesn't read as a ridge through the new finish. Bare wood gets sanded.
Repair and caulk. Rotted trim, soft window sills, split corner boards and damaged fascia get repaired or replaced before coating. Open joints, siding-to-trim seams and nail holes get caulked with a quality elastomeric sealant that stays flexible through the freeze-thaw cycle instead of cracking out by the second winter.
Prime. All bare wood, all repairs and all stained or tannin-bleeding areas get spot-primed with the correct primer for the substrate. Cedar and redwood in particular will bleed straight through a latex topcoat without a stain-blocking primer.
Coat. Two coats of a premium 100% acrylic exterior product on siding, with trim, shutters and doors coated in the appropriate finish. Applied within the manufacturer's temperature and humidity window, not at 8pm in October because the schedule is tight.
What we paint on the outside of a house
Siding of nearly every type: cedar clapboard and shingle, HardiePlank and fiber cement, wood shakes, stucco, previously painted aluminum and vinyl (with the right heat-reflective product so panels don't warp), board and batten, and T1-11.
Trim and detail work: corner boards, fascia, soffits, frieze boards, window and door casing, brick mold, shutters, columns, porch ceilings and floors, railings, balusters, lattice, garage doors and entry doors. A front door repainted in a deep color with a proper finish is the single highest-impact hundred dollars in exterior painting.
We also stain and seal exterior wood — see deck staining and sealing for decks, railings, pergolas and fencing.
When to paint an exterior in the Hudson Valley
Our practical exterior season runs from roughly late April through late October. Modern acrylics are rated to apply down to about 35–50°F depending on the product line, but the number that matters is the overnight low, not the daytime high — a surface that drops below the minimum before the film has cured will not develop full adhesion no matter how warm it was at noon.
The best windows are late May through June and again in September, when you get warm days, mild nights and low humidity. July and August are workable but full sun on a south or west elevation can flash the paint before it levels; we work around the sun on those days rather than fighting it.
More on scheduling in our guide to the best time of year to paint a house in the Hudson Valley.
How long it should last
A properly prepped and coated exterior in this climate should give you 8–12 years on wood siding and longer on fiber cement, with trim and south-facing elevations typically needing attention first. Jobs that fail in three years almost always failed at prep — paint applied over chalk, over moisture, or over a scrape line that was never feathered and primed.
We'll tell you honestly at the estimate if part of your exterior needs carpentry before paint. Coating over rot is cheaper this year and much more expensive in three.
What's included
- Low-pressure house wash to remove chalk, mildew and grime
- Loose paint scraped to a sound edge and feathered smooth
- Rotted trim, sills and fascia repaired or replaced before coating
- Seams, joints and nail holes caulked with flexible exterior sealant
- Bare wood, repairs and bleeding areas spot-primed correctly
- Two coats of premium 100% acrylic exterior finish
- Landscaping, walkways, roofs and A/C units covered and protected
- Full site cleanup and a walkthrough before final payment
Exteriors across the county
Every corner of the county is hard on siding in its own way. Lakeside homes in Greenwood Lake and hillside houses under Storm King in Cornwall and Cornwall-on-Hudson fight damp and mildew, so the wash and caulking matter most there. Open-lot farmhouses around Chester, Florida and Warwick take wind-driven rain and long afternoons of west sun. In Walden, Montgomery, Harriman, Goshen and Newburgh, the clapboard often carries a century of layered paint that has to be scraped and feathered lead-safe. Subdivision colonials in Monroe, Washingtonville, New Windsor and Middletown are usually on their second or third cycle. Wooded lots near home — Highland Mills, Central Valley and the slopes of Woodbury — mostly need their shaded north walls cleaned and dried before anything is coated.
Exterior repaints to look through
Asked before an exterior repaint
An average two-story home runs about five to nine working days including washing, prep and two coats. Weather is the main variable — we won't coat into rain or below the product's minimum surface temperature, and we'd rather add a day than rush a coat that won't cure.
Yes, every time — at low pressure. Washing removes the chalk and mildew film that new paint cannot bond through. High-pressure blasting is faster and worse: it drives water into wood siding and raises the grain.
Yes, with the right product. Vinyl expands and contracts significantly, and painting it a color darker than the original can cause panels to absorb more heat and warp. We use vinyl-safe, heat-reflective formulations and will tell you which colors are safe for your specific siding.
We flag it at the estimate and quote the repair separately so you can see exactly what it costs. Rotted sills, corner boards, fascia and trim get repaired or replaced before any coating goes on. Painting over rot hides it for one season.
Typically through late October in a normal year, depending on the product and the overnight lows. The overnight temperature is the limiting factor, not the afternoon high.
Yes. Shrubs, beds, walkways, decks, A/C units and vehicles get covered before washing and again before coating. We work around plantings rather than through them.