Exterior painting in Palo Alto

Eichler redwood and Professorville shingles in Palo Alto

Joseph Eichler built some 2,700 homes in Palo Alto. The City's Eichler guidelines describe exterior cladding of vertical tongue-and-groove redwood boards or scored redwood plywood, with exposed rafter tails under extended eaves. Board edges and rafter tails are where paint lifts first, so the prep there is slow handwork. Professorville's 105 contributing homes, built between the 1890s and 1929, are often sided in wood shingle.

About 70% of Palo Alto's housing units predate 1980, so lead rules come up often: paid work that scrapes or sands paint on homes built before 1978 falls under federal RRP rules. Construction, deliveries included, is allowed 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. on weekdays and 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturdays, with none on Sundays or City holidays.

Worth knowing about Palo Alto

• The City's Eichler guidelines describe post-and-beam framing on a concrete slab, radiant heat embedded in the slab, redwood siding, flat roofs and interior walls often paneled in mahogany.
• Eichler residents told the City about flat roofs prone to leaks, single-pane glass, a lack of insulation and foundations without crawl spaces.
• The Palo Alto NOAA station averages a summer high of 78.8°F and a winter low of 39.7°F, with 12 days a year at 90°F or more.