House painting and cabinet refinishing in Montgomery County, MD 20850

What the county's housing means for a paint job

Montgomery County is the most populous county in Maryland, and its housing changes as you move away from the District. Inside the Beltway, places like Chevy Chase, Kensington, Takoma Park and the older parts of Silver Spring and Bethesda hold brick Colonials, Cape Cods, Tudors and Victorians built from the late 1800s through the 1940s. Many of those homes still have plaster walls and original wood trim with several layers of old paint underneath.

Farther out, the post-war ramblers and split-levels of Wheaton, Aspen Hill and Twinbrook give way to the 1970s through 2000s subdivisions of Olney, Germantown, Clarksburg and Gaithersburg. Those houses lean on drywall, builder-grade trim, vinyl or fiber cement siding and big open kitchens with factory cabinets. A repaint in Kensington and a repaint in Germantown share a name and very little else.

Potomac and parts of Bethesda add another layer: larger custom homes with two-story foyers, tall stair halls and detailed millwork. Those rooms take scaffolding or tall ladders and more trim hours than the square footage suggests.

Paint problems we see most around Montgomery County

These come up on walkthroughs from Takoma Park to Clarksburg, and each one changes the prep we plan.

• Builder flat paint that won't wash

  Many 1990s and 2000s homes were finished in contractor-grade flat paint. It scuffs in halls and burnishes when scrubbed, so we often move high-traffic rooms to a washable matte or eggshell during the repaint.

• Thermoplastic cabinet peeling

  Kitchens from the same era often have thermofoil or factory-lacquered doors. Thermofoil lifting at the edges cannot be painted over reliably, so we tell you at the walkthrough which doors are paintable and which are not.

• Cracked plaster in older close-in homes

  Pre-war houses near the DC line show stair-step cracks and loose plaster around doors and ceilings. We re-anchor and skim it through our plaster repair work before any finish coat goes on.

• Mildew on shaded north walls

  Mature tree canopy keeps many lots cool and damp. North-facing siding and trim grow mildew that must be washed and treated, or the new coat will spot within a season.

• Failing caulk at siding and trim

  On newer subdivisions, the paint often holds while the builder caulk shrinks and opens. Water then gets behind trim boards, so recaulking is usually the real first step of an exterior job.

How a Montgomery County cabinet refinish runs

Kitchen cabinets are one of our most requested jobs in the county, and the work follows a set order so the finish lasts.

1. Coat 01

   Door and drawer count

   At the walkthrough we count every door and drawer front, check the box material and note any thermofoil or damaged panels. Most county kitchens price between $4,350 and $8,900 depending on size and condition.

2. Coat 02

   Doors off and labeled

   We remove doors, drawer fronts and hardware, label each piece to its opening, and take them to be sprayed. The cabinet boxes stay in your kitchen and get masked in place.

3. Coat 03

   Degrease and sand

   Kitchen grease is the main reason cabinet paint fails. We clean every surface with a degreaser, rinse, then scuff sand so the primer has something to grip.

4. Coat 04

   Bonding primer

   A bonding primer goes on next, and stain-blocking primer on oak so the grain tannins don't bleed through. We sand the primer smooth between coats.

5. Coat 05

   Two enamel finish coats

   Doors are sprayed with a hard-curing enamel, and the boxes are brushed and rolled or sprayed in place. We let the finish set before rehanging so the doors don't stick.

6. Coat 06

   Rehang and adjust

   Doors go back on their labeled openings, hinges get adjusted for even gaps, and we walk the kitchen with you to check every reveal.

Scheduling around HOAs, condos and county review

A lot of Montgomery County homes sit under some kind of outside rule, and those rules affect exterior work more than interiors.

• HOAs in Germantown, Clarksburg, Olney and Gaithersburg generally require architectural approval before an exterior color change, so check with your HOA before we order paint.
• Repainting in the same approved colors usually needs no application, but it is worth confirming with your management company first.
• County historic districts, including parts of Kensington, Takoma Park and Chevy Chase, are reviewed by the Montgomery County Historic Preservation Commission; check with them before painting unpainted masonry.
• Condo buildings in Bethesda, Silver Spring and Rockville generally ask for a certificate of insurance, elevator reservations and set work hours.
• Driveway parking is common outside the inner suburbs, which makes staging easier than it is in DC.
• We answer the phone 24/7 to set walkthroughs, and the painting itself happens on normal weekday work schedules.

Where we work inside the county

We cover the whole county, but most of our calls come from the communities closest to the District and along the Red Line. If you live in one of these places, the local page has more detail on the housing and the problems we see there: Silver Spring, Bethesda, Rockville, Gaithersburg and Takoma Park.

For the rest of the county, including Wheaton, Kensington, Olney, Potomac and Germantown, call and we will set a walkthrough the same way. Exterior work in the county usually runs April through October, and we fill the colder months with interiors and cabinets.

Most requested here

• Interior House Painting

  Walls, ceilings and trim in occupied homes, with furniture moved, floors covered and rooms back in use each night.

• Cabinet Painting

  Kitchen and bath cabinets degreased, sanded, primed and sprayed in a hard enamel that stands up to daily use.

• Exterior House Painting

  Siding, trim, soffits and porches scraped, primed and painted on a schedule built around DC weather.

• Siding Painting

  Wood, fiber cement and aluminum siding painted with the primer each material needs to hold paint.

• Plaster Repair

  Cracked and sagging plaster re-anchored and skim coated so pre-war walls stay plaster, not drywall.

• Trim & Baseboard Painting

  Crown, casings, chair rail and baseboards caulked and brushed out in semi-gloss without a ragged wall line.

• Drywall Repair

  Holes, cracks, nail pops and water-stained sections patched, textured to match and made paint ready.

• Caulking & Weatherproofing

  Failed joints at trim, windows and siding laps raked out and resealed before water gets behind paint.

Close by

ZIP codes we cover here: 20814, 20850, 20910. We also paint in these neighboring areas.

• Prince George's County, MD
• Silver Spring, MD
• Bethesda, MD
• Rockville, MD
• Chevy Chase, MD

Questions from Montgomery County homeowners