Old House Exterior Paint

Quote Summary

Base Quote

$6,900

Paint only · No siding replacement

Estimated Final Range

$8,500 – $11,500

Includes likely siding replacement adder

Lead Status

Lead Positive

Lead-safe practices required · debris removal included

Scope of Work · Per Quote

Encapsulate lead-positive area entirely per EPA RRP protocols
Remove storm window and seal around sash with tape
Remove all peeling paint by scraping, grinding, and sanding
Finish-sand all areas to smooth out surface
Powerwash all areas
Caulking, bondo repair, and putty holes as needed
Sand all repaired and puttied areas
Reglaze older window
Prime all repaired areas, storm window band, and exposed wood
Paint siding, trim, window, and storm with 2 finish coats · color scheme TBD
Cover and protect all grounds, shrubbery, roofline, windows, and lighting during work
Remove all debris from premises on completion
Materials included in quoted price

Siding Replacement · Cost Ladder

Assumptions

Clapboard replacement on a lead-positive 1830 historic property in CT. Labor rate includes lead-safe removal, disposal, and reinstall. Material assumes primed finger-jointed pine or cedar clapboard to match existing profile. Reference unit: one standard clapboard board is roughly 16 ft long with a 4 inch face exposure.

Boards to replace	Linear ft	Material	Labor	Siding adder	All-in total
5 boards	80	$120 – 180	$400 – 600	$520 – 780	$7,420 – 7,680	Minor
10 boards	160	$240 – 360	$800 – 1,200	$1,040 – 1,560	$7,940 – 8,460	Moderate
20 boards	320	$480 – 720	$1,600 – 2,400	$2,080 – 3,120	$8,980 – 10,020	Likely
30 boards	480	$720 – 1,080	$2,400 – 3,600	$3,120 – 4,680	$10,020 – 11,580	Worst case
Most likely range based on photo assessment					$8,900 – 10,400

Estimates based on regional CT contractor rates. Actual adder depends on Dennis's per-board pricing at quote renewal. Ask explicitly. The number on his quote letterhead matters more than my estimate.

Payment Schedule · Original Quote

Security deposit

Due at contract signing

$500

Down payment

Due 1 week prior to start

$4,000

Balance due

Due at completion

$2,400

Renewed quote will likely restructure the schedule, especially if siding adder gets added as a discrete line item. Confirm change order terms in writing before signing.

Storm Window Sequencing

What Dennis does with the existing storm

Removes the existing storm window per his lead-safe protocol so he can prep the casing
Scrapes, sands, primes, and paints the casing including the storm reveal
Repaints the existing storm with 2 finish coats (per quote line item)
Reinstalls the existing storm before demobilizing, sealed and ready for winter

What to tell Dennis

Storm replacement is a future separate project. Do not coordinate, do not bundle, do not adjust scope
Handle the existing storm carefully on removal so it can come off cleanly again later for permanent replacement
Caulk perimeter normally on reinstall. Caleb will cut through and re-caulk later when the new unit goes in
If the existing storm is too damaged to reinstall, flag it during the job rather than improvising. Worst case it stays off until the Allied unit arrives

See Bedroom Storm Windows project for vendor selection (Allied Window Saver), measurement protocol, and step-by-step install instructions for the future swap.

Questions to Ask Dennis at Renewal

Lead and certification

Can you provide your active EPA RRP firm certification number? For a job this size on a pre-1978 home this is legally required.
What is your lead-safe disposal plan? Where does debris go, and will you provide documentation of compliant disposal?
Will you provide a pre-renovation disclosure form for us to sign before work begins? Required under EPA RRP rules.

Siding replacement scope and pricing

What is your per-board or per-linear-foot price for siding replacement, separately from the paint scope? Want this as a discrete line item in the revised quote.
What siding profile are you planning to match? Confirm you can source an exact or close match to the existing clapboard profile before signing.
If you find rot or moisture damage behind boards once removed, what is your process and cost for sheathing repair? Need your policy on subsurface discoveries before work starts.
Does the siding replacement scope trigger a separate permit requirement in Litchfield? Confirm whether this crosses any CT building code thresholds.

Workmanship and contract

What workmanship warranty do you offer on the paint? Industry standard is 2 to 5 years on exterior. What is yours?
Will you or your crew be on site daily, or do you subcontract any portion? If subcontracted, who and what is your liability coverage for their work?
What is your change order process? If siding replacement exceeds quoted scope, how is that communicated and approved before the cost is incurred?
What paint brand and product are you specifying? On a moisture-damaged historic home, the primer spec matters as much as the topcoat.

Storm window handling · Existing units only

Confirm your scope on the existing storm window stays exactly as quoted: remove, paint, reinstall the existing unit. No new storm install bundling.
What is your handling protocol on storm removal? The existing units may need to come off again later for permanent replacement, so removal damage matters.
If the existing storm is too damaged to reinstall cleanly, what is your plan? Reinstall with patches, or leave off and seal the opening for winter?

Site logistics

The electrical panel and conduit runs are on the right corner of this wall. What is your plan for working around them — masking only, or do you need the utility company involved?
Where will staging and equipment be set up? The propane tank on the left side needs to stay accessible.
What is the projected start-to-finish timeline, and what weather conditions will cause delays?

Cost Levers

Reduce Cost

Agree a board count cap with a change order threshold upfront. Prevents open-ended siding scope creep.
Lock in color before he starts. Color TBD can delay primer selection and add a mobilization cost.
Clear the work area yourself. Move the propane tank, remove the iron furniture, clear foundation plantings. Less setup means less billed labor.
Bundle front and side walls into the same mobilization. Dennis will likely discount the per-wall rate when two or more walls are done together.

Watch These

Subsurface rot at the lower course near grade is highest risk. Sheathing repair if found is not in any current estimate.
Reglazing scope is in the quote but labor-intensive on lead-positive wood. Ask how many windows are included.
Color selection. Darker colors may require 3 coats on heavily repaired surfaces. Ask if color affects price.
Storm reinstall quality. If Dennis reinstalls the existing storm carelessly, removal later for the Allied swap gets harder. Ask him to use stainless screws he can back out cleanly.

What Could Go Wrong

Renewed quote comes back materially higher than the 2025 number

Material costs have moved since March 2025 and Dennis is unlikely to honor the original $6,900 base. If the renewed base creeps past $8,000 paint-only, the all-in number with siding adder could push past $13,000 on this wall alone, which changes the bundling math.

What to look for Renewed paint-only base above $7,500, or per-board siding pricing meaningfully above $40 per board labor. Compare against the 2025 numbers as a baseline.

Mitigation Get a second quote from one other lead-safe RRP-certified painter in Litchfield County before signing. Bedford Painting and Litchfield Restoration are two reasonable second-opinion options. If Dennis comes back high, having a comp gives you negotiating leverage and a real fallback.

Subsurface rot found behind clapboards once removed

Sheathing damage is the most common scope explosion on historic exterior repaints. Not in any current estimate. Could add $1,500 to $4,000 depending on extent, and may require a separate carpentry trade if Dennis doesn't do framing.

What to look for Look at the lower course near grade before Dennis arrives. Soft spots when pressed with a screwdriver, dark staining at the bottom edge of clapboards, gaps at the foundation line where water can wick up. Photograph anything suspect.

Mitigation Get Dennis's per-square-foot sheathing repair price in writing as part of the quote, even if the line item starts at $0. If rot is found, the repair price is pre-negotiated rather than written in panic mid-job.

Dennis preps in a way that complicates the future storm swap

Storm replacement is decoupled from this project and happens later. If Dennis caulks the existing storm in heavy or uses fasteners that strip on removal, the Allied swap turns into a chiseling project that risks chipping the freshly painted casing.

What to look for Heavy bead of polyurethane caulk locking the storm to the casing on reinstall, fasteners driven flush or countersunk into the painted surface, or any sign that the existing storm is being treated as a permanent install rather than a temporary one.

Mitigation Tell Dennis explicitly during the walk-through: existing storm is going to be removed again later. Ask him to use stainless screws he can back out cleanly, run a moderate caulk bead rather than a heavy one, and avoid driving fasteners deeper than necessary. Worth a 5-minute conversation upfront.

Color selection drags and delays primer spec

Color is listed as TBD in the quote. Primer spec depends on topcoat color (darker colors need tinted primer for coverage). Indecision on color can delay the entire job by a week or more if Dennis has already mobilized.

What to look for Still debating colors within 30 days of Dennis's start date, or Julia hasn't seen the final paint chips yet. Color decisions made jointly take longer than solo decisions.

Mitigation Lock color across all three walls simultaneously, ideally 60 days before Dennis mobilizes. Order paint chips, mock up against a south-facing wall in actual sunlight, and decide. Then send Dennis the final spec in writing.

Bundled scope (north + front + side) collapses under one wall renegotiation

The economic case for bundling all three walls is real (single mobilization, discounted per-wall rate). If one wall's renewed quote comes back unacceptable, you have to decide whether to drop that wall or renegotiate the whole package.

What to look for One wall's renewed quote increasing more than 20 percent from 2025, or Dennis offering a flat bundle price that doesn't itemize per wall.

Mitigation Insist on itemized per-wall pricing in the bundle quote so any one wall can be removed cleanly. Treat the bundle discount as a separate line item, not a price baked into the wall rates.

Next Actions

01

Call Dennis to renew the quote

Original expired April 2, 2025. Request a revised version that adds a siding replacement line item with explicit per-board or per-linear-foot pricing so scope increases are priced transparently. Include the bedroom storm window coordination as a discrete adder.

02

Walk the wall with Dennis before signing

Agree a board count threshold with change order terms. For example: "up to 15 boards included at $X per board, anything over requires a written change order." Caps surprise costs and keeps both parties honest about scope creep.

03

Verify EPA RRP certification

Confirm Dennis holds an active EPA RRP firm certification and ask for the certification number in writing. Required for disturbance of this scale on a pre-1978 home. Cross-check at epa.gov/lead/rrp-firms-search.

04

Finalize color scheme across all three walls

Quote lists this as TBD. Color selection affects primer spec and may affect material cost. Decide before signing, ideally with Julia, with paint chips mocked up against a south-facing wall in actual sunlight.

05

Coordinate electrical panel and conduit access

Right corner of this wall has the electrical panel and conduit runs. Masking alone may not be sufficient. Confirm Dennis's plan for working around them, and whether the utility company needs to be involved for any temporary disconnect.

06

Get a second quote for negotiating leverage

One other lead-safe RRP-certified painter in Litchfield County. Bedford Painting or Litchfield Restoration are two reasonable starting points. Even if you intend to hire Dennis, a comp quote gives you leverage and a real fallback if the renewed number is uncomfortable.