Interior, exterior, cabinet, and commercial painting across San Jose — from 1920s Willow Glen bungalows to Almaden stucco tract homes. Written fixed price within 24 hours.
San Jose is the largest city in the Bay Area and its housing runs from 1900s downtown Victorians to homes finished in the last ten years. A 1930s bungalow and a 1988 Evergreen tract house are not the same job, and the difference is rarely the square footage. It is the number of coatings already stacked on the substrate and whether any of them are still bonded.
A San Jose exterior that has been repainted every eight years since it was built can be carrying five or six coats. Somewhere in that stack there is usually one layer that never adhered properly, and every coat above it is riding on that failure. Painting over it buys you two seasons. We test adhesion during the walkthrough and tell you when a section needs to come back to a sound layer before anything new goes on.
Willow Glen, Rose Garden, Naglee Park, Japantown, and most of the downtown core were built before 1978, which is the year lead-based paint was banned for residential use. Disturbing paint on those homes is governed by the EPA Renovation, Repair and Painting rule — federal law, not a preference.
In practice that means the work area gets contained in plastic, sanding is done wet or with HEPA-shrouded tools, no open dry-scraping is allowed, and the site is cleaned and verified before containment comes down. If a contractor bidding your pre-1978 San Jose home has not raised this with you, they are either not certified or they are planning to skip it. Both should end the conversation.
The tract stucco built across south and east San Jose from the 1970s through the 1990s develops hairline cracking as the framing behind it moves seasonally. Those cracks are normal. What matters is whether they are filled with an elastomeric patching compound that can move with the wall, or with a rigid filler that will simply crack again in the same place.
We map cracking during the walkthrough and price the patching as a line item, so you can see what you are paying for rather than discovering it as a change order in week two.
Large parts of Almaden Valley, Evergreen, Silver Creek, and Communications Hill are HOA-governed and require written color approval before exterior work begins. Boards typically meet on a fixed monthly cadence, so a submittal that misses a meeting can cost you four weeks.
The estimate identifies whether approval is required and we hold the start date until it is in hand, rather than starting and hoping.
The street trees that make Willow Glen and Rose Garden desirable also keep north and east elevations shaded and damp most of the day, and they drop sap and organic debris onto horizontal surfaces year-round. Both feed mildew. A mildewcide wash with proper dwell time, then a rinse, comes before any prep on those elevations.
Occupied office, retail, and R&D space is routinely scheduled after hours so tenants and customers are not disrupted. That means coordinating building access, badge or escort arrangements, and HVAC shutdown with property management, and working inside the city noise ordinance windows.
San Jose is not one market. These are the districts we work in most and what each one typically needs.
1920s–30s craftsman and Spanish revival, almost entirely pre-1978. Wood lap siding, original double-hung windows, lead-safe prep required.
Tudor and Spanish revival under heavy tree canopy. Shaded elevations carry persistent mildew and the ornate trim is brush work, not spray.
Early-century two-storey homes near downtown. Pre-1978 throughout, tight lots, and street parking that has to be planned before day one.
Post-war ranch stock, much of it re-sided or stuccoed over at some point. Worth confirming what the substrate actually is before quoting.
Larger 1970s–90s homes, widely HOA-governed. Stucco with seasonal hairline cracking and color approval built into the schedule.
Tract stucco from the 1980s–90s. Consistent construction across the district, which makes scoping predictable and pricing tight.
Mixed 1960s–80s single-family. South and west elevations take the worst UV load and usually drive the recoat cycle.
Ranch and split-level stock plus newer infill. A frequent mix of original wood trim on stuccoed bodies.
Later tract development on larger lots. Fascia, eaves, and garage doors are typically the first surfaces to fail.
Historic small-lot housing and street-level commercial. Pre-1978 throughout and often zero setback to the neighbour.
Mixed-use, retail frontage, and multi-storey residential. After-hours scheduling and noise ordinance compliance are standard.
R&D, flex, and office along the 237 corridor. Tenant-occupied repaints scheduled nights and weekends.
Nearby but not on this list? Call (408) 685-7055. We will tell you straight whether we can service you well or whether you are outside our range.
Interior and exterior residential, cabinet refinishing, HOA common areas, commercial office and retail, and multi-family turns.
Before You Hire Anyone
The 9-Point Checklist Every Homeowner Should Run Before Hiring a Painter — license verification, insurance, written scope, prep spec, coat count, product, payment schedule, warranty, and punch-list.
Download the ChecklistAny home built before 1978 falls under the EPA Renovation, Repair and Painting rule. That covers most of Willow Glen, Rose Garden, Naglee Park, Japantown, and downtown. The work area is contained, sanding is wet or HEPA-shrouded, dry-scraping is not permitted, and the site is cleaned and verified before containment is removed. Ask any contractor you are considering to confirm this in writing.
A typical single-family exterior runs several working days depending on square footage, how much prep the surface needs, and the weather. Pre-1978 homes requiring lead-safe containment take longer because the containment and cleanup verification are part of the work. Your written estimate gives a specific schedule, not a range.
Yes. We identify in the estimate whether your community requires written color approval, and we hold the start date until approval is in hand. Boards usually meet monthly, so getting the submittal in ahead of a meeting matters more than most homeowners expect.
Written fixed price within 24 hours. No deposit until the morning we start.