How to Prepare Your Baltimore Home for Exterior Painting

Quick answer: Most of the heavy preparation — washing, scraping, sanding, priming — is your painter's job. Your role is to clear the work area, address any major repairs, and coordinate timing. Here's a complete breakdown of what to do before your exterior painting crew arrives, and what to expect during the prep phase.

Good prep is the single biggest factor in how long an exterior paint job lasts. In Maryland's climate — humid summers, freezing winters, salt air near the Chesapeake Bay — cutting corners on prep costs you years of paint life. After 35 years of painting homes across Baltimore and Harford County, we can tell you that prep quality separates a 5-year paint job from a 12-year one.

What You Should Do Before Your Painters Arrive

1. Clear the Perimeter

Move everything at least 6 feet away from the exterior walls:

• Patio furniture, grills, and fire pits
• Potted plants and garden decorations
• Trash cans and recycling bins
• Bikes, toys, and outdoor equipment
• Hose reels and sprinklers
• Doormats and welcome signs

In Baltimore's tight rowhouse neighborhoods like Canton, Fells Point, and Locust Point, space is limited. Do the best you can — even moving items to the opposite side of a small patio helps.

2. Trim Back Vegetation

Cut back any bushes, hedges, or tree branches that touch or hang over the siding. Your painting crew needs at least 3 feet of clearance to work safely with ladders and sprayers.

This is especially important for homes in wooded areas of Harford County — Jarrettsville, Forest Hill, and Fallston tend to have more overgrown landscaping near the house. We can't paint what we can't reach.

3. Note Existing Damage

Walk around your home and make a list of any problems you see:

• Rotted wood — soft spots in trim, window sills, fascia boards
• Cracked or missing caulk — around windows, doors, and where siding meets trim
• Loose or damaged siding — gaps, warping, missing pieces
• Mildew or mold — dark spots, especially on north-facing walls
• Peeling or flaking paint — particularly concerning on homes built before 1978 (potential lead paint)

Share this list with your painter during the estimate. It helps us provide an accurate quote and plan the prep schedule.

4. Address Major Repairs First

Your painting crew handles minor repairs — small wood patches, caulking, and filling nail holes. But major issues should be resolved before painting begins:

• Replacing full siding boards or sections — call a carpenter
• Fixing damaged gutters or downspouts — these drip water onto freshly painted surfaces
• Repairing window frames or sills with structural damage — a handyman or carpenter
• Fixing grading issues — if water pools against your foundation, it'll damage the new paint from below

5. Coordinate with Your Neighbors

In Baltimore's rowhouse blocks, your home shares walls with neighbors. Let them know about the painting schedule so they can:

• Move cars away from the work area
• Close windows to avoid paint fumes
• Plan around ladder placement near shared spaces

A quick heads-up goes a long way. We've been painting Baltimore rowhouses since 1989, and good neighbor communication makes every project smoother.

What Your Painting Crew Handles (The Heavy Prep)

This is where the real work happens, and it's the part that determines how long your paint job lasts.

Pressure Washing

Every exterior paint job starts with a thorough wash. We use professional-grade equipment at 1,500-2,500 PSI depending on the surface material. This removes:

• Dirt, grime, and road dust (especially on homes near busy Baltimore roads)
• Mildew and algae (common on shaded walls and north-facing surfaces)
• Chalking paint residue
• Pollen buildup from Maryland's brutal spring allergy season

The house needs 24-48 hours to dry completely before any scraping or painting begins.

Scraping and Sanding

All loose, peeling, or flaking paint gets scraped down to a sound surface. On older Baltimore homes, this can be the most labor-intensive part of the job. A home in Roland Park or Guilford with 80+ years of paint layers takes significantly longer than a 1990s home in Abingdon or Perry Hall.

After scraping, we sand the edges where old paint meets bare surface to create a smooth transition. This prevents the outline of old paint from showing through the new coat.

Priming

Bare wood, repaired areas, and stain-prone surfaces get primed before paint. Primer serves three purposes:

1. Adhesion — gives the topcoat something to grip
2. Stain blocking — prevents tannin bleed from cedar and redwood, common on older Maryland homes
3. Moisture sealing — critical in Baltimore's humid climate

We use different primers for different situations. Bare wood gets a penetrating oil-based or bonding primer. Previously painted surfaces in good condition may only need spot priming.

Caulking and Wood Repair

Every gap, crack, and joint gets fresh caulk — around windows, doors, trim joints, and where different materials meet. Old caulk that's cracked or pulling away gets removed and replaced.

Minor wood rot gets cut out and filled with two-part epoxy wood filler. This creates a surface as hard as the original wood and takes paint beautifully.

Lead Paint Considerations for Baltimore Homes

If your home was built before 1978, there's a good chance it contains lead paint. This is particularly common in Baltimore City and older suburbs like Towson, Catonsville, and Lutherville-Timonium.

Lead paint in good condition (not peeling or flaking) can be safely painted over — the new paint encapsulates the lead. But peeling or damaged lead paint must be handled by an EPA Lead-Safe Certified contractor using proper containment procedures.

Elite Painting Co. is EPA Lead-Safe Certified and has been since the program started. We follow all federal and Maryland state requirements for lead paint handling, including proper containment, HEPA filtration, and post-work cleaning verification.

Timeline: What to Expect

For a typical Baltimore-area single-family home:

Weather delays are common in Maryland, especially in spring and early summer. We build buffer days into every schedule and communicate proactively about weather-related changes.

Ready to Get Started?

The best exterior paint job starts with thorough prep and a clear plan. Call (410) 675-8429 to schedule a free exterior painting estimate. We'll inspect your home, document every prep need, and give you a detailed written quote with no surprises. Serving Baltimore City, Baltimore County, and Harford County since 1989.