Siding painting for wood, fiber cement and aluminum in Washington, DC

How each siding material fails

The first job at any walkthrough is figuring out what your siding is made of, because it decides the whole prep plan.

• Wood clapboard

  Old-growth pine and poplar on older DC homes hold paint well when dry, but peel where water gets behind laps. Expect scraping, sanding and oil primer on bare spots.

• Cedar shingles and shakes

  Cedar bleeds tannin through light paint as brown stains. It also cups and splits with age. Stain-blocking primer and careful nailing of loose shingles come first.

• Fiber cement board

  Durable and stable, but factory primer can be thin and edges absorb water if left unsealed. It needs clean, dry surfaces and an alkali-resistant primer at cut edges and repairs.

• Aluminum siding

  Mid-century aluminum oxidizes into a heavy chalk that rejects new paint. It needs thorough washing and a bonding primer, and dents can't be fixed with paint.

• Vinyl siding

  It can be painted with vinyl-safe colors, but going darker than the original can cause warping in sun. We'll tell you honestly when painting vinyl isn't worth it.

Preparing and painting siding, one material at a time

The steps are similar across materials, but the details change. Here's how a siding job usually unfolds.

1. Coat 01

   Identify and test

   We confirm the material, look for previous coatings and do tape-pull adhesion tests on each elevation. On older wood siding we assume lead in old layers and plan containment accordingly.

2. Coat 02

   Clean for the substrate

   Wood and fiber cement get a mildewcide wash and gentle rinse. Aluminum gets a scrub with a degreasing cleaner to remove chalk, checked by a rub test before moving on.

3. Coat 03

   Scrape, sand and fix

   Peeling wood is scraped and feather-sanded, loose shingles are refastened, and split boards are glued or replaced. Fiber cement cracks and nail holes get filled with a cementitious patch.

4. Coat 04

   Prime what needs it

   Bare wood gets oil primer, cedar gets a stain-blocker, aluminum gets an adhesion primer and cut fiber cement edges get a masonry or alkali-resistant primer. Each needs dry conditions, usually 4 to 24 hours before topcoat.

5. Coat 05

   Caulk the right joints

   Trim-to-siding joints and butt joints are sealed with a paintable elastomeric sealant. We leave siding laps open so water that does get in can drain out.

6. Coat 06

   Two topcoats from top down

   We roll or spray and back-brush each course, working from the top of each wall down and following shade around the house. Two coats give the film thickness siding needs on DC's sunny exposures.

Siding on DC houses and why the weather matters

Siding shows up all over the District, from early 1900s wood-frame houses in Brookland and Takoma to mid-century Colonials in the far Northeast and Northwest, many of which got aluminum or vinyl over the original wood. On some houses you'll find wood clapboard on the front, shingles on the gables and aluminum on an addition. We price and prep each section separately.

DC weather is hard on siding. Summer heat and humidity drive moisture into the wood, then freeze-thaw winters lift paint at every open joint. South and west walls take the most punishment from sun, while north walls under trees stay damp and grow mildew. A good siding repaint accounts for both. We typically schedule siding work between April and October, when nights stay mild enough for paint to cure properly.

It's also worth checking what's under aluminum or vinyl if you're thinking about removing it. Original wood siding is sometimes intact and paintable, but more often it's been damaged by nails and trapped moisture. We can open a small inspection area if you'd like to know before deciding.

Getting the yard and walls ready for siding work

Siding painting puts ladders and drop cloths along every wall, so a little clearing helps us move faster.

• Cut back shrubs, vines and tree limbs so they sit at least two feet off the siding.
• Move grills, hoses, trash bins and patio furniture away from the house.
• Shut off lawn sprinklers that hit the walls for a few days before and during the work.
• Tell us about wall-mounted cameras, lights and cable lines we should work around.
• Keep windows closed on the side being sprayed, and expect us to cover vents and AC units briefly.
• Let neighbors on narrow side yards know we may need to set a ladder near the property line.

Most siding jobs on a two-story house take five to eight working days, weather permitting.

Siding painting costs in Washington, DC

Square footage drives the base price. Condition and material move it from there.

Typical DC ranges and not a quote; the walkthrough sets your final price.

Primers and paints matched to each siding

The topcoat matters, but the primer under it is what makes each material hold paint.

• Oil-based exterior primer or a premium bonding primer on bare and weathered wood.
• Zinsser stain-blocking primer on cedar and redwood to lock tannins in place.
• Alkali-resistant masonry primer on fiber cement cut edges and repairs.
• Sherwin-Williams Emerald, Benjamin Moore Aura or a similar premium 100 percent acrylic topcoat for flexibility through temperature swings.
• Vinyl-safe color formulations when painting vinyl siding, to avoid heat warping.
• Wooster and Purdy brushes for back-brushing laps after spraying, so paint gets under the edges.

For trim, soffits and porches on the same house, see our full exterior house painting service.

Where we do this work most often

We take this job across the District and close-in Maryland and Virginia. These are the neighborhoods and cities we cover most, with a ZIP for each.

• Capitol Hill 20003
• Petworth 20011
• Brookland 20017
• Chevy Chase 20015
• Georgetown 20007
• Cleveland Park 20008
• Silver Spring 20910
• Bethesda 20814
• Rockville 20850
• Takoma Park 20912
• Hyattsville 20781
• Alexandria 22314
• Arlington County 22201
• Falls Church 22046

See all 31 areas we serve

Questions we hear about this