New Homeowners Ask This All the Time: Should You Paint Now or Wait?
Posted on December 17, 2025
If you’ve moved into a new construction home, you’ve probably wondered whether it’s better to live with the builder’s coat for a few years or paint sooner.
It’s a smart question — and one we hear often from homeowners across the Main Line.
Understanding the Builder’s Coat
Most builder-grade paint is applied quickly to get a home to closing. While it looks clean and fresh at first, it’s typically:
- Thin
- Flat or low-sheen
- Not designed for long-term durability or easy cleaning
Waiting a couple of years doesn’t improve builder paint — it simply means living longer with scuffs, marks, and limited protection.
What About Nail Pops?
Nail pops are one of the biggest reasons homeowners hesitate to paint early.
The truth is, nail pops are a normal part of a new home settling. As framing lumber dries and a house goes through heating and cooling cycles, fasteners can push slightly against the drywall surface. Most nail pops appear within the first 6–18 months, often after the first winter.
Here’s the key takeaway: waiting years does not prevent nail pops.
They’re a maintenance item, not a paint failure. A professional approach means repairing them correctly when they appear — securing the drywall, skim coating, priming, and touching up — rather than delaying enjoying your home indefinitely.
Why Winter Is a Great Time for Interior Painting
Winter is one of the best — and most overlooked — times to tackle interior painting projects.
During the winter months:
- Demand is lower
- Crew availability is higher
- Scheduling is easier
- Projects often move faster
Simply put, supply is high and demand is low, which benefits homeowners looking to move projects forward efficiently.
A Team Built for Any Size Project
At CertaPro Painters® of the Main Line, our team structure allows us to handle projects of all sizes.
We have 15 specialized crews, including:
Crews focused on small jobs and punch-list work
Larger crews built for full-home interior projects
With the right planning and crew size, we’ve completed entire interior paint jobs in as little as three days — without sacrificing quality or craftsmanship.
PAINT-FREE Painting: A Winter Opportunity
This winter, we’re offering PAINT-FREE Painting — you pay for the labor, and we pay for the paint.
It’s a way to help homeowners take advantage of winter availability while keeping our painters busy during the slower season. It’s a win for our clients and a win for our team.
More Than Paint
For over three decades, we’ve been guided by the same values:
Integrity. Craftsmanship. Lifting Others.
That means honest advice, high-quality work, and doing the right thing for our clients, our painters, and our community — even when no one’s watching.
The Bottom Line
You don’t need to wait years to paint a new construction home. With the right plan, the right timing, and the right team, painting sooner can protect your investment, improve durability, and help your house truly feel like home.
If you’re living with builder paint — or considering your next interior project — winter may be the perfect time to get started.
