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Services

Five jobs. Each one starts with prep.

What we do, how long it takes, and exactly what's in the scope. We price after we've seen the walls, never from a form.

A finished craftsman house painted sage green with crisp white trim, a black front door and a new garage door, olive tree in the foreground.

Interior painting

Walls, ceilings, trim and doors.

One room or the whole house. We move the furniture to the middle, cover everything, fill every nail hole and caulk every gap before the first coat. Cut in by brush, roll, back-roll, second coat the next morning.

A painter rolling a tall white wall in a double-height living room, furniture covered in drop cloths.
Time on site
2–3 days a room, 1–2 weeks a whole house
Sheen
Flat ceilings, eggshell walls, semi-gloss trim
Paint
Benjamin Moore Aura or Regal
Pre-1978 homes
Lead-safe (RRP) practices, every time
What's included
  • Furniture moved and covered
  • Floors masked, outlets taped
  • Holes filled, cracks caulked
  • Glossy trim scuff-sanded
  • Primer on patches and bare spots
  • Two finish coats, back-rolled
  • Walk-through under a work light
  • Labeled touch-up quart left behind

Exterior painting

Stucco, wood siding, shingles, trim.

The Palo Alto sun is harder on paint than the rain. We pressure-wash, scrape and sand every failing edge, spot-prime bare wood with oil, caulk the joints, then two coats of 100% acrylic. Garage doors, gutters and downspouts are in the scope, not extras.

A craftsman bungalow freshly painted in warm white with dark windows and brick porch piers.
Time on site
About a week for a 3-bedroom house
Season
March to November; dry nights above 50 °F
Paint
Sherwin-Williams Emerald or Duration
Lead paint
Tested first on any house older than 1978
What's included
  • Pressure wash and dry day
  • Scrape, sand, feather edges
  • Rotten trim replaced before painting
  • Oil primer on bare wood
  • Caulk at every joint and window
  • Two coats, brushed and rolled
  • Plants covered, beds cleaned daily
  • Written workmanship warranty

Cabinet refinishing

Factory-smooth, without a new kitchen.

Doors and drawer fronts come off, get numbered and go to our spray shop. The boxes stay and get sprayed in place behind a sealed plastic room. Degrease, sand, bonding primer, two coats of a waterborne alkyd enamel that cures hard enough for a dishwasher next to it.

Kitchen cabinets refinished in a soft gray-white, with new hardware and a window over the sink.
Time without the kitchen
5 working days
Finish
Satin enamel, sprayed
Paint
Benjamin Moore Advance or SW Emerald Urethane
Works on
Oak, maple, MDF, thermofoil (tested first)
What's included
  • Kitchen sealed from the house
  • Hardware removed and bagged by door
  • Degrease, sand, grain fill on oak
  • Bonding primer
  • Two sprayed enamel coats
  • Soft-close hinge swap on request
  • Doors rehung and adjusted
  • Two-year finish warranty

Decks & fences

Redwood and cedar, brought back.

Gray redwood isn't dead, it's just dirty. We clean, brighten with oxalic acid, sand to 80 grit and lay down one coat of penetrating oil stain while the wood is thirsty. Fences get a solid stain or paint, both sides if the neighbor says yes.

A freshly stained redwood deck in a warm cedar tone under an oak tree, with a gray fence and terracotta pots behind.
Time on site
2 days, then 48 hours to cure
Finish
Semi-transparent oil on decks, solid stain on fences
Stain
Penofin or Cabot, your choice of tone
Recoat
Every 2–3 years for decks, 5+ for fences
What's included
  • Clean and brighten
  • Loose boards and nails reset
  • Sand to 80 grit
  • Stain brushed, not sprayed, between boards
  • Railings and stairs included
  • Plants and patio protected

Color consultation

Ninety minutes, three colors, no guessing.

Lena, who has picked colors for over four hundred Palo Alto houses, comes to the house with fan decks and a camera. We look at the floors, the light at the time of day you're home, what you're keeping. You get three color schemes for walls, trim and doors, plus real paint samples on the wall.

Two women comparing three painted sample patches on a living-room wall, one holding a fan deck of color chips.
Time
90 minutes at the house
Cost
Free when we paint the job
You get
Three schemes in writing, by product and code
Samples
Three 2-foot patches in real paint
What's included
  • Walk-through with fan decks
  • Light checked morning and evening
  • Sheen chosen per surface
  • Written scheme you can keep
  • Samples painted the same visit
  • One follow-up visit to adjust

Not us

Three things we'll point you elsewhere for.

Drywall from scratch, faux finishes and murals, and commercial jobs over three stories. We know good people for each. Ask and we'll pass on a name.

Call (408) 555-0171

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