Residential Case Study

In August of 2024, CertaPro Painters® of Minnetonka, MN, completed an exterior painting project on cedar siding in Orono, MN. We highlight the details of the project below…

Describe the condition of the walls/surfaces at the time work began.

This beautiful cedar shake home was suffering from severe peeling. The home had been painted just 6 years earlier by another contractor – clearly the previous painter did not properly prepare the house before painting it.

What did the project involve?

Lots and lots of scraping! Proper preparation takes time and effort but unless all the loose and peeling paint is removed, the new coating will quickly fail. Once it was scraped, we primed all areas of bare wood with a special primer called Peel Bond. This product is very sticky when applied – that stickiness helps to seal down the leading edge of any paint that remained on the home after scraping. Proper priming is also critical for a successful project.

Were there any special challenges involved?

There were a lot of detailed areas on the front that required special attention (louvers, trim boards, covered porch ceiling, etc.). Safely preparing and painting those areas required the use of 40′ ladders. Also on the sides of the home, the landscaping was sloped which required us to use special equipment to safely access the side walls.

Did the project require any special equipment or techniques?

On renovation TV shows, they often show painters spraying a wall of siding without any additional effort. When painting cedar shakes, it is necessary to back-roll or back-brush both coats of paint. This technique ensures the paint is getting into all of the various cracks and crevices in the siding. Failure to back-roll will always lead to premature coating failure.

How long did the project take, from start to finish?

Four days.