From coal town to subdivisions
Frederick began as a coal-mining town and is one of the three Carbon Valley towns, with Firestone and Dacono. The original town center still has small older homes, and any built before 1978 get lead-safe prep. Most of Frederick is far newer: subdivisions that spread out from the old core from about 2000 on, with lap siding in engineered wood or fiber cement, stone veneer at the base and, on some homes, stucco.
What a first repaint should include
Builder paint is usually one coat, applied quickly. At about 5,000 feet with little shade from young trees, it breaks down on south and west walls first. Here's what we include on a first repaint in Frederick, and what we'd look for in any bid:
- A full wash to remove chalk, dust and any mildew on north walls, followed by dry time.
- Recaulking of butt joints, trim gaps and penetrations, since builder caulk has often shrunk and split.
- Sealing the bottom edges and cut ends of engineered wood siding, where water gets in first.
- Spot priming bare wood, nail pops and hail chips.
- Two full topcoats on the body and trim.
- Stone veneer, windows and fixtures masked, not just worked around.
- Gutters, downspouts and garage doors clearly included or clearly left out.
Stucco homes need a different plan
Some Frederick homes are fully or partly stucco. Stucco cracks with settling and freeze-thaw, and hairline cracks around windows and corners let water behind the finish. We fill cracks with a compatible patch or elastomeric filler, then choose between a standard masonry coating and an elastomeric one based on the cracking and on whether the wall needs to breathe. Synthetic stucco finishes call for different products than cement stucco, so we identify which one you have before choosing anything. More on that on our stucco painting page.
Garage doors and entry doors
Steel garage doors on newer Frederick homes come with a factory finish that chalks and fades on the same schedule as the siding, sometimes faster on a west-facing driveway. Painting them well takes a wash to remove chalk, a light scuff, and a bonding primer anywhere the factory coat has worn through or hail has chipped it. We paint garage doors when the metal is out of direct sun, because a steel door in afternoon light gets hot enough to flash-dry paint and leave lap marks. Dark colors on steel run hotter still. Entry doors get the same timing, and we take hardware off where it makes sense instead of painting around it.
Matching colors under HOA review
Many Frederick subdivisions have HOAs or covenants that review exterior colors, including repaints.
If you're coordinating with a board or a group of neighbors, see HOA and townhome painting.
Sun, hail and the painting season
Frederick sits on open ground near I-25 with long views west to the mountains, which also means full afternoon sun on west walls. Spring and summer storms bring hail, so check garage doors, gutters and trim edges after a hard one. Our season runs from late spring into early fall, with the shoulder months limited by cold nights and the temperature minimums on each product data sheet. Deck and fence staining fits in the same window. Homeowners next door in Firestone face the same conditions.
Request an estimate and we'll tell you whether your house is ready for its first repaint.
