Exterior Painting

Is the trim on your home’s exterior looking a little shabby? Give your exterior trim a fresh coat of paint to increase your home’s curb appeal! Read further to learn the cost of painting exterior trim in Minneapolis.

What Do Painters Consider To Be Trim?

When painting exterior trim, the word “trim” is used to define the accent woodwork. This would be anything you typically see being painted a separate color from the body. This includes fascia, windows, window trim, doors, door trim, horizontal/vertical accent trim, corner boards, etc.

Because there is such an array of trim items and everyone has a different need when painting, it is not as straight forward to give an estimate for painting it. We will do our best to give you the average cost of painting exterior trim in Minneapolis.

Styles of Homes In Minneapolis

Obviously the amount of exterior trim on your Minneapolis home will be a deciding factor when determining the cost of painting it. Depending on the type of home you have, the amount of trim could differ drastically. Here we will break down the 5 most common types of homes in Minneapolis and the cost of painting the exterior trim on them.

1. Bungalow Style Home – Cost of Painting Exterior Trim

Minneapolis has many Bungalow style homes and, since simplistic is a defining feature of a Bungalow, painting the trim on this style of home is going to be less expensive than other’s on this list. The cost of painting exterior trim on a Bungalow style home would be between $2,300 and $4,600, depending on the number of windows you may have. 

2. Victorian Style Home – Cost of Painting Exterior Trim

Victorian homes are typically large, beautiful homes with a lot of custom decorative trim. You will find these homes throughout Northern Minneapolis and the Summit Hill neighborhood in St. Paul(among other areas throughout Minnesota). Because these home’s feature a large amount of complex trim pieces, the cost of painting exterior trim on a Victorian style home can be quite expensive. Depending on the look you are going for it could range anywhere from $6,500 to $30,000+.

3. Tudor Style Home – Cost of Painting Exterior Trim

The Tudor style home, though popular in the 19th and 20th century, pulls inspiration from English dwellings of the 16th century—giving it a Renaissance look. One marking of a Tudor style home is the beautiful half timber work that sprawls across the front of the home. This additional woodwork would slightly raise the cost of painting exterior trim in this style of home. We estimate that the cost would range between $3,500 and $6,850 to paint the exterior trim on a Tudor style home, depending on the amount and complexity of the woodwork on the front of the home.

4. Cape Cod Style Home – Cost of Painting Exterior Trim

Primarily constructed in Minneapolis from the 1920’s to the 1950’s, the Cape Cod style home was built as a starter home. Due to it’s smaller size, it was more affordable than it’s bigger brother—the Colonial, and therefor attractive to first time homeowners. Because this house’s exterior is on the smaller size, painting it’s trim will be on the lower side. You can expect to pay anywhere from $2100 to $4600 to paint the exterior trim on a Cape Cod style home.

5. Colonial Style Home – Cost of Painting Exterior Trim

Colonials are boxy structured houses usually standing 2 to 2.5 stories tall. They have their roots in the New England area but are also spread throughout Minneapolis and St Paul. Due to it’s boxy, symmetrical shape, the cost of painting exterior trim on a Colonial style home wouldn’t be too high. You would be looking at spending anywhere between $3,000 to $6500 depending on the number and type of windows.

Factors Affecting The Cost Of Painting Exterior Trim

Condition Of Trim

The condition your exterior trim is one of the biggest factors determining the cost when estimating getting it painted. If your trim has a lot of peeling paint, not only will it cost more to paint it, but there is a good chance some of the wood has begun to rot. If this is the case, you will also pay to have some of the wood replaced before it gets painted. For reference, you should always try to paint your exterior before the paint begins to peel to ensure the wood is fully protected.

Hight Of Trim

If you have a tall house, the cost of painting exterior trim will most definitely be taller—pun intended. This is for a couple obvious reasons—it takes longer to paint when climbing up and down tall ladders and it holds a higher risk to the painters. We run into some homeowners who choose to paint all the single story trim themselves only hiring us to paint the tall stuff. If you are a DIYer, this is a great method to cut your painting bill in half!

Level Of Detail

Another determining factor when estimating the cost of painting exterior trim is the level of detail of the trim itself. Painting a flat surface is not only faster, it also requires less skill and less paint. If your trim is very detailed and has many dimensions to it, you should expect to pay at least 20% more to get it painted professionally. 

Number Of Colors

One fun thing about planning to paint is being creative with the color scheme. This is fun for us painters also because, when the color scheme is well thought out, the final product is that much more gratifying. With that said, be aware that the more colors you select, especially when they are touching each other, the higher the cost will be to complete the project. This is because anytime colors intersect it requires more tape, more product, and more skill to get it to look great. 

Do you need help selecting paint colors? Check out our Color Consultation Services!

Other Cost Guides

• Cost of Painting Windows
• Cost to Remove Popcorn Ceiling
• Cost to Paint Kitchen Cabinets

Conclusion

The cost of painting exterior trim can vary quite a bit depending on the style of your home and the detail level and condition of the trim, with the average cost landing somewhere between $3,000 and $5,000. If you are looking for an estimate on painting anything on your home’s exterior give us a call at 612-787-2583 or click below for a free estimate.

When is the best time to paint outside in Minneapolis, MN?

Painting the exterior of your home is one of the quickest and cheapest ways to increase its value. It’s important, not only for curb appeal but maintaining a fresh coat of paint on your home is how you protect it from harsh weather conditions. When planning out your exterior painting project, timing plays a bigger role than you might think. Keep reading to learn more about the best time to paint outside in Minnesota!

Selecting When To Paint

Some things to consider before discussing the timing of your exterior paint job with a painting company are any deadlines or prior obligations you may have. Think about things like graduation parties, extended vacations, family gatherings, etc. House painting is a personal thing, so even if the weather permits painting, you should have a clear idea of what outside obligations will hinder your painting experience. For instance, if you have a graduation party planned for June 1st, you will most likely want the the outside of your home to be painted before you have guests over.

Best Weather Conditions To Paint in Minneapolis

When answering when the best time to paint outside is, we must talk about weather. Weather plays a major role in the scheduling of exterior house painting or staining. Because of this, certain times of the year are better than others. What makes for perfect outside painting conditions in most scenarios is a temperature of around 50 degrees, dry, and semi-cloudy. In Minnesota, this would mean sometime in spring/early summer or fall/late summer.

• Too cold outside(under 35 degrees for most paints), and the paint will cure incorrectly, causing it to fail prematurely.
• Too hot outside(100 degrees or so), and the paint will dry quicker than expected—causing visible flashing in the finish coat of the paint.
• If the surface has too much moisture before painting it will get trapped and cause bubbling.
• Painting in direct sunlight can also cause it to dry too fast causing visible inconsistencies in the finish of the paint.

With that said, the right professional painting company should know how to work around these issues to ensure that, even if the conditions outside aren’t perfect, you will still get a superb result.

Tips To Save Money

If you are looking to save money, the timing of your exterior paint job shouldn’t only come down to great weather. Most painting companies, including BLUE Painting, will give out discounts for being placed into a preferred scheduling spot. For instance, because the winters get very slow for all companies(as does cashflow), if you book your exterior painting project in the fall or winter, but schedule it for the following spring, you will get a major discount. Before you book your external paint job, don’t only ask when the best time to paint outside is, ask the company you’ve chosen how you can save money by adjusting the scheduling of your paint job.

So, when is the best time to paint outside in Minnesota?

Selecting the perfect time of year to paint your house’s exterior can be difficult when the weather is as unpredictable as it is in Minnesota. But, following the tips above, you should have no problem getting it scheduled—You may even be able to save some money while doing it!

If you’re in Minnesota and have any further questions about when is the best time to paint outside, give us a call! 612-787-2583