Exterior House Painting in Tallahassee, FL

Tallahassee is hard on paint. Summer humidity, afternoon storms, pollen in spring, sun on the south side of the house all year. We have painted exteriors here since 1998. Most of what we know comes from that: which weeks stay dry, which boards rot first, and when to send a crew home instead of painting a wet wall.

What a full exterior repaint covers

Siding first, wood or fiber-cement, whatever the house has on it. Then trim, fascia and soffits, which is where Tallahassee houses show their age. Doors and shutters last. Painted brick and stucco too.

Before any of that, we walk the house with you. Marshall Parker has been estimating for 12 years and was a painter before that. Gerard La Mothe Jr. started the company and still walks jobs himself. One of them looks at every board, tells you what needs fixing first, and puts it in writing. The estimate is free.

Painting in Tallahassee weather

We paint year-round. But some weeks are a lot better than others, and we plan around them.

The dry windows: October and November, April and May

NOAA's 1991 to 2020 climate normals for Tallahassee Regional Airport put October and November at roughly 3.1 to 3.2 inches of rain and about four wet days a month. April and May are the other dry stretch. Those are the easiest exterior weeks of the year. Surfaces dry and paint cures the way the can says it should. Jobs finish on the days we planned. Fall slots fill up in late summer, so if you want October or November, call early. More in our post on the best time of year to paint a house exterior in Tallahassee.

Summer and hurricane season

June through August is the wet season. Seven-plus inches of rain a month, ten or eleven wet days, highs of 91 and 92. Humidity slows drying. Hurricane season runs June 1 through November 30. None of that stops exterior work, but we watch the radar and leave more room in the schedule. Summer is also when storm repair and rot repair come in.

What happens when it rains

Gerard puts it plainly: it rains for three days. That is a normal week here. When it happens, we reschedule. Wet wood does not get primer or paint from us, because the coat will not hold. We would rather lose a day than paint a house that has to be redone. Your job may slide a little. We will tell you when it does.

Two things we do before the paint goes on

Wash it. Mildew, pollen, and chalky old paint have to come off or the new coat sticks to dirt instead of the house. Our pressure washing in Tallahassee is a prep step on nearly every exterior job and a standalone service if that is all you need.

Find the rot. Fascia ends, window sills, the bottom course of siding, trim under a leaky gutter. We check all of it and we will not paint over it. Minor wood rot and carpentry repair gets done before paint, on time and materials, and you hear about it before we start. Gerard's line on it: "You really don't want your painter to handle the wood rot repairs." So he works with contractors he trusts on anything past minor. Details are on our wood rot and carpentry repair page.

Who is on your house

Salon runs our exterior jobs. Salon painted on our crews before moving up to exterior project manager, so the person checking your job knows what a good soffit line looks like from a ladder.

The crew is two or three painters, the same faces from the first day to the last. Canvas drop cloths on the walks and beds, plastic over the shrubs, ladders set where they will not crush the azaleas. You do not have to be home while we work.

Decks, fences, and staining

Customers ask about deck and fence work by name in their reviews, and we do it. Deck and fence painting or staining, and staining on doors, siding, and trim. Stain wants dry wood even more than paint does, so these jobs get booked into the dry windows first.

After a storm

When a storm comes through, calls come fast and people need an answer. A customer wrote this after one came through:

"When storms came through last week I was in immediate need for assistance with my hone. Superior Painting responded quickly to my request for a quote and Marshall made sure the process and timeline were communicated clearly. The quality of their employees and work are truly Superior."

We will not promise how fast we can get there. A person answers, someone comes out to look, and you get a written scope so you can plan.

What Tallahassee homeowners say

"Marshall, Jack, Ben Jock, DJ, and Marlin all were perfect, performing beyond my expectations. Friendly and efficient. I was impressed by their ability, integrity, attention to detail and friendly demeanor."

"When you decide that your house needs to freshen up with a new coat of paint, whether it's inside or outside, you can depend on Superior Painting to get the job done! Colleen and Mike are outstanding interior painters! Day and Sharon know how to take care of the exterior!..."

More on our Tallahassee exterior projects.

Exterior painting questions we hear a lot

What is the best month to paint a house exterior in Tallahassee?

October or November, with April and May close behind. Both windows are the driest stretches in NOAA's normals for the airport station, about four wet days a month. We paint the rest of the year too, but those weeks go smoothest.

How long will an exterior paint job last here?

It depends on prep, product, and how much sun the wall gets. A south or west face fades first. Our warranty terms are in every signed contract:.

Do you fix wood rot before you paint?

Yes, minor rot and trim repair, before any paint goes on. We find it at the estimate walk when we can and during prep when we cannot. Anything past minor gets a contractor. More on that in our painting FAQ.

Where we paint

Our shop is on Lake Hall Road in northeast Tallahassee, and we work across the city. See painters in Tallahassee, neighborhood by neighborhood, or request a free estimate and Marshall or Gerard will come look at the house. We also take exterior jobs a short drive out: Crawfordville, Havana, Quincy, and Monticello.