Exterior House Painting Norwich
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How often should you paint the outside of a house?
Exterior paintwork on a Norwich property generally lasts five to eight years before it needs doing again, and the work itself runs from April to October because it needs dry weather above about five degrees to cure properly. What shortens that span is almost never the paint — it is painting over render that was not washed down, or over cracks that were never cut out and filled.
- Repaint every
- 5 to 8 years
- Best season
- April to October
- Needs
- Dry, above 5°C
- Coats
- Two, over primer
Why Exterior Paint Fails Early
Exterior paint that lifts, bubbles or comes away in sheets after two years has almost never failed because of the paint. It has failed because of what was underneath it: algae on a shaded north wall that was painted over rather than washed off, chalky old render that was never stabilised, or a hairline crack that was coated instead of cut out.
Water gets behind the coating through the crack, cannot get back out through the new film, and pushes the paint off the wall from behind. That is the bubbling people describe, and no amount of extra topcoat fixes it.
Which is why most of the days on an honest exterior quote are washing down and making good, and only the last two are painting. If a quote is much cheaper than the others, that is usually the difference.
What Drives an Exterior Quote
Exterior work is priced per property rather than from a list, because two houses on the same street can be a day apart once you have looked at the render. These are the things that move the number, so you can see what a quote is actually made of.
What moves the price
How much of the house is being painted
Render on all four elevations is a very different job to a front elevation and the fascias. Most quotes are built elevation by elevation rather than as one figure for the house.
Access and how many storeys
A bungalow is ladder and tower work. A three-storey townhouse, a rear extension roof or a tight side return can mean scaffolding, and that is a real cost we tell you about at the quote rather than after.
The state of the render
Sound render is straightforward. Hairline cracking, blown patches and paint that is already bubbling all have to be cut out, made good and sealed first, or the next winter puts water straight behind the new coat.
How much timber there is
Fascias, soffits, bargeboards, timber windows and doors are prepared individually — sanded, filled, knots sealed, primed. Timber is slow work compared with rolling masonry paint onto a wall.
What is being coated
Masonry, timber, metal railings, fencing and decking each need a different system, and a job that mixes four of them costs more than one that is all render.
The time of year
Work in the season is planned work. A late-autumn job that has to be started and stopped around the weather takes longer on site for the same finished result.
You get a fixed price once we have walked the property, and that price is what you pay. If we cut back a blown patch of render and find something bigger behind it, you hear about it there and then.
How the Job Actually Runs
Exterior work in order, and why the painting is the shortest part of it.
Survey and fixed price
30 to 45 minutesWe walk the whole property rather than just the front, because the elevation you look at every day is rarely the one in trouble. Cracked render, soft timber on the fascias, failing sealant round the frames and paint already lifting all get found now, and the access needed for each elevation is worked out before a price is given.
Wash down
Half a day to a dayEvery exterior surface in Norfolk carries algae, dirt and, closer to the coast, salt. It all comes off first. Painting over a green north elevation traps the growth under the coating and it comes straight back through, usually within a year.
Repairs and making good
Varies with conditionCracks in render raked out and filled, blown patches cut back to something sound, loose and flaking paint scraped off, timber sanded back with rot cut out and filled, knots sealed and sealant round frames renewed. This is where an honest exterior quote spends most of its money.
Masking and protection
Half a dayWindows, doors, glazing, sills, paths, drives, planting and anything under the working area sheeted and taped. Outside work has wind in it, and masonry paint on a block drive does not wash off.
Primer, stabiliser and two topcoats
2 to 4 daysChalky or previously unpainted masonry gets a stabilising solution first so the topcoat has something to bind to; bare and filled timber gets primed and undercoated. Then two full coats of the right system — masonry paint on render and brick, exterior wood paint or stain on timber, metal paint on railings and gates.
Cut in, clear and check
Final half dayMasking off, edges cut in by hand at the frames and the damp course line, everything cleared from the garden and the drive, and a walk round the whole property with you before we leave rather than a text saying it is finished.
Norwich Exteriors and the Weather They Take
Norfolk is flat and open. There is very little breaking up either the light or the wind, which means the sunny elevations of a Norwich house fade years before the shaded ones, and the shaded ones go green instead. One property regularly needs two different answers on two different walls.
Worth saying plainly: if the render is blown across a whole elevation, or timber has gone soft rather than just tired, that is a repair job before it is a painting job. We will tell you that at the quote rather than coat over it and be long gone by the time it shows.
Rendered semis in Sprowston, Hellesdon and Thorpe St Andrew
Painted render is the bulk of exterior work around the city. The south and west elevations chalk and fade years before the north side, and the north side goes green instead. It is very common for one house to need two different remedies on two different walls.
Victorian and Edwardian terraces in the Golden Triangle
Timber sash frames, painted brickwork, rendered front elevations and a lot of decorative detail at high level. These are the properties where the timber is worth saving properly rather than replacing, and where access is the real cost.
Anything on an exposed or coastal aspect
Norfolk is flat and open, so walls take weather from directions that would be sheltered almost anywhere else, and salt in the air east of the city is hard on both paint and timber. Exposed elevations want a more flexible, more breathable system than a sheltered one, not just another coat of the same thing.
What We Paint Outside
Render and Masonry
Cleaned down, cracks cut out and filled, chalky surfaces stabilised, then two coats of masonry paint. Painting over unsound render is the most expensive shortcut there is.
Fascias, Soffits & Guttering
The first thing to go and the easiest to ignore until the timber starts to soften. Sanded back, rot cut out, primed and coated properly.
Timber Doors & Window Frames
Older Norwich housing is full of good joinery worth keeping. Stripped, sanded, filled, knots sealed, primed and painted rather than ripped out for plastic.
Fences & Garden Walls
Boundary timber takes wind and salt-laden air. The stain or paint is chosen for how exposed the run actually is, not for what looks best in the tin.
Decking
Damp and shade make decking slippery long before it looks worn. Specialist deck coatings, with non-slip finishes where you need them.
Outbuildings & Garden Rooms
Sheds, garages, summerhouses and garden offices. Usually the most exposed structure on the plot and almost always the least protected.
Systems We Use
The right coating for the surface, rather than one tin for the whole house.
- Masonry paint for rendered and brick walls
- Stabilising solution for chalky or previously unpainted masonry
- Exterior wood paint and undercoat for timber frames and fascias
- Wood stain and preserver for fencing and decking
- Metal paint for railings, gates and downpipes
- Anti-damp and anti-mould coatings where the north elevation needs them
Common Questions
The cleaning method depends on the surface and the existing coating. Dirt, algae and loose material need removing without damaging the render or masonry, and the wall must dry before coating. Flaking paint, failed patches and sources of moisture also need assessing. Cleaning alone will not make an unsound surface ready for paint.
Every five to eight years for most Norwich properties. Sheltered elevations go longer; south and west-facing walls and anything on an exposed or coastal aspect go sooner, so it is common for one house to need one elevation doing before the others.
April to October. Exterior coatings need dry weather above roughly five degrees to cure properly, and enough daylight either side of the application to get a coat off before the evening damp comes down.
No, and nor will we paint a wall that is still wet from yesterday. We schedule around the forecast and will move a date rather than put a coat on that is going to fail. Rain on fresh masonry paint takes it straight back off the wall.
Almost always moisture behind the coating rather than a fault with the paint. Water gets in through a crack or unsealed render, cannot escape through the newer film on the surface, and pushes the paint off from behind. Another coat will not fix it — the crack has to be cut out and the wall sealed first.
Washed down to remove algae, dirt and salt; cracks raked out and filled; blown patches cut back to something sound; loose and flaking paint scraped off; then a stabilising solution on chalky or previously unpainted render so the topcoat has something to bind to. Only then does the masonry paint go on.
Not usually. Bungalows and standard two-storey houses are ladder and tower work. Three storeys, a difficult side return or a rear extension roof may need it, and if so it is in the quote as a separate line rather than appearing later.
Yes. It takes noticeably more paint than smooth render because of the surface area, and it has to be cleaned thoroughly first — the texture holds a great deal of dirt and algae. Both are accounted for in the quote.
Yes, and they are usually the part most in need of it. Timber is sanded back, any rot cut out and filled, knots sealed and primed before coating. UPVC fascias and guttering can be sprayed rather than painted.
A typical house is several days to a week, and most of that is washing down and making good rather than painting. The coating itself is normally the last two days.
Planning more work in Norwich?
Explore these services if your project includes more than one part of the property.
UPVC window and door spraying in Norwich
A colour change for sound existing frames and conservatories.
Commercial painting and decorating in Norwich
Offices, shops and hospitality spaces, planned around trading hours.
Looking for this service elsewhere? See our exterior house painting across Norfolk or our exterior house painting in Great Yarmouth.
Explore all our painting and decorating services in Norwich.
Want a Fixed Price for the Outside?
We walk the whole property, not just the front, and give you a number for exactly what needs doing.