Exterior trim, soffit and fascia painting in Naperville, IL

Why trim fails before the siding does

Trim is where water collects. Window sills hold rain, fascia boards sit right behind the gutters, and the joints where trim meets siding open up every winter. Wood trim takes in that water at its joints and end grain, and the paint lifts from behind. Vinyl or aluminum siding next to it can look fine for years longer.

So a trim job is mostly prep. Loose paint is scraped to a sound edge, soft wood is cut out and replaced, bare wood gets primer, and every joint is caulked before two coats of exterior enamel. Painting over failing trim only buys a season.

What moves the price of trim painting

Trim is priced by the linear feet and the height, not the size of the house.

• How much trim there is: windows, doors, corners, fascia
• Second-story and gable work that needs taller ladders
• Scraping and priming on peeling or bare wood
• Soft or rotted boards that need replacing first
• Shutters taken down, painted and rehung

Window and Door Trim

Window casings and sills fail first on the south and west sides of the house, where sun and rain hit hardest. We scrape them to a sound edge, check the sill for soft wood, prime the bare spots and caulk the joints where trim meets siding and glass. Two coats of exterior enamel finish them, with the glass edge masked so the paint seals onto the glazing just enough to keep water out. Storm windows and screens come off first where they cover the casing, and go back on afterward.

Soffits and Fascia

Fascia boards sit behind the gutters, so a slow gutter leak shows up as peeling or soft fascia first. Soffits are underneath, out of the rain, but collect mildew and peel where attic moisture comes through. We work from ladders along every eave, replace soft fascia sections, clean and prime the soffits, and repaint both. If the gutters need to come off for the fascia, we will tell you before we start. Vented soffits are masked or brushed carefully so paint does not clog the vents the attic depends on.

Shutters and Porch Posts

Shutters are easier to paint off the house: we take them down, clean and scuff them, paint them on racks and rehang them with new fasteners where the old ones have rusted. Vinyl shutters get a paint rated for vinyl. Porch posts and columns are painted in place, with their bases checked for rot, since water sits where the post meets the porch floor. Porch ceilings and beadboard under the roof can be repainted at the same time if you want them included.

Trim colors and approvals around Naperville

How a trim job runs

1. 1

   Walk the house

   We mark peeling areas, soft wood and every color on a sketch.

2. 2

   Scrape and repair

   Loose paint off, rotted pieces replaced.

3. 3

   Prime and caulk

   Bare wood primed, open joints sealed.

4. 4

   Two finish coats

   Exterior enamel, glass edges masked.

5. 5

   Final walk

   We circle the house with you and touch up what you mark.

Signs the trim needs paint now

Painting trim yourself: what to weigh

Ground-floor trim is a reasonable weekend job. Height is where it changes.