Typical Timeline for Exterior Painting in Colorado Springs
“How long will it take you to paint?”
You’re not the only one who wants to know how to plan for the disruption of a crew painting the exterior of a home.
We are happy to share some timeline estimations so you can plan ahead. Please note these are generalized time frames based on our 12 years personal experience painting homes.
On average most homes in Colorado Springs take 4-7 Days to prep and paint. The longest we’ve been on an exterior is 2 weeks, but that was a 6,000 square foot home in very bad condition.
Here’s the breakdown:
Power Wash: 1 Day
We gently power wash the ground level of most homes to get rid of dust, dirt, wildfire ash, cobwebs, and some loose paint. The house must be dry before we prep.
Proper Prep: 2-3 Days
The most important step of the process is prep work. This will make or break your paint job. We mask off windows, doors, and other things that shouldn’t have paint on them. We sand and prime, nail in loose siding boards, and replace caulk to make sure your home stands the test of time.
Painting: 2-3 Days
This step requires painters to get on and off ladders and move paint, pumps, brushes, and other tools around. We do two full coats of paint (translation: 2 full passes around your home) or the proper mill depth for other coverings. We also clean up in this phase, which is about half a day.
While it my seem like a long time, understand that most people in Colorado Springs repaint their home exteriors every 8-15 years. One week to make your house beautiful for years is a pretty small investment.
Contact us to arrange an estimate TODAY!
Best Exterior Paint Colors for Colorado
As we’ve mentioned in our article, Light Exterior Paint Color Can Save You Money, light exterior paint colors tend to be very popular in Colorado. With over 300 days of sunshine a year sun becomes our greatest paint enemy. Light colors fade less quickly and hide typical wear and tear very well.
First of all, let me say that the best exterior paint color is one that makes you happy and helps you comply with your HOA. Always, always, always buy samples and apply them to various places on your siding before making your decision. Being confident when choosing color will save you the hassle and expense of a re-paint.
We’ve painted a LOT of houses in Colorado Springs. A quick drive up and down the streets of the nicer areas of town will confirm what we tell you. There are three go-to exterior paint colors homeowners choose over and over again—they are all neutrals.
The great thing about these colors is you can add bold accents easily. It’s just like when you dress yourself. You can wear a navy top with gray pants and accessorize with a pop of kelly green or orange and it makes sense visually.
Here are the top exterior paint colors for Colorado Springs.
Tan
You will see an unending sea of tan houses in Colorado Springs. Our dirt is a light sandy color in most places and it blends well with our winter brown foliage. It’s hard to get this one wrong. Tread lightly when it begins to have pink undertones because it starts to look like skin tone peach or even a light pink in certain lights.
Colors to try:
- SW 7528 Windsor Greige
- SW 7518 Beach House
- SW 7538 Tamarind
Green (olive or sage)
Treat this like you would a great olive blazer, dress, or pair of slacks. It looks amazing with red, orange, purple, and neutrals. It’s the neutral that stands out a little bit. Be cautious about how close to yellow you go on the color swatch. It can start to look muddy or very retro like my mother’s green washing machine that was retired in 1985. Colors to try:
- SW 7728 Sprout
- SW 7726 Lemon Verbena
- SW Koi Pond 7727
Gray
I love gray. It goes with everything. You can put ANY color with it. And most grays that lean toward another color like blue, green, or yellow work better than a neutral prison cinderblock gray. Be sure to choose a color on the top 2/3 of a gradient paint swatch or one that uses a light or medium paint base. Go too dark and you run the risk of obvious fading and oxidation. Colors to try:
- SW 7643 Pussywillow
- SW 7642 Pavestone
- SW Collonade Gray
White or cream is very common for trim. Dover White or Extra White (both Sherwin Williams colors) are very common homeowner choices. If you want a darker trim color, try to keep it from being the absolute darkest color on the color swatch. A step or two up will be more forgiving over time.
Colorado Springs area homeowners mention this post and receive 10% OFF up to $300 on your next paint project*. Get your free estimate NOW!
*Offer details: This may seem obvious, but we need to say it. This is a great offer, but we won’t apply the discount to past work or current estimates—this is for new ones only. You get to use this coupon once. And we’re not able to make a living if we let you combine offers and discounts so that’s not possible here, either. We’re happy to help you with your job size of 10’x10’ room or larger. The offer is for 10% off the price of your paint project with a limit of $300 off.
Light Exterior Paint Color Can Save You Money
It can be fun to choose dark or bold colors when painting your the body of your home exterior. It adds punch and helps you stand out. But painting your whole house a dark or bright color may cost you more money!
Dark colors oxidize. Without getting too technical, dark colors fade and oxidize (display patches of white/fading) quickly. In Colorado the nearly constant sunshine is to blame.
Bright colors fade. Horribly. They don’t look nice for long when exposed to the elements. That great vivid shade could turn funky faster than a fruit salad.
How do I avoid this calamity?
Choose a light or medium color. Light colors camouflage damage and fade much less quickly.
When you care about your home looking crisp and fresh or have an HOA governing the appearance of the neighborhood, this saves you money in repainting costs. Big time.
What colors qualify as “light colors?”
- Choose colors on the top half of the gradient color swatch.
- Ask for a color that is mixed in a light/medium base. (Base is the liquid to which tint is added to make paint colors.)
Our next article, Use Fun Bold Colors to Accent Your Home Exterior, will show you how to use the colors you love to less expensively express your personality.