Exterior painting in San Francisco

Painting San Francisco stucco and Victorian wood siding

SF Planning describes the standard Sunset District house, built mostly between 1925 and 1950, as stucco-clad, with the garage at street level and living space above. Older neighborhoods have Italianate, Stick and Queen Anne houses with rustic wood siding, shingles and applied trim. Stucco needs its hairline cracks filled before paint; old wood needs loose paint scraped, bare spots primed and every joint caulked.

The National Weather Service notes summer fog that clears on the bay side but only partly on the ocean side, so a west-side wall can stay damp well into the day. We paint once the surface is dry and hold off when drizzle is coming. Painting is on DBI's no-permit list. About 76.5% of the city's housing predates 1980, and federal lead rules cover paid scraping of paint on homes built before 1978, so we ask the build year before quoting.

Worth knowing about San Francisco

• Sunset tract houses of the 1920s to 1940s often had colorful polychromatic ceramic tile in bathrooms and kitchens, and wood or parquet floors.
• Summer brings cool marine air and persistent fog. Mornings typically start overcast across the city, then clear on the warmer bay side and only partly on the cooler ocean side.
• SFPUC's 100-year storm map puts about 2,100 parcels in the flood zone. Water can enter through street-level doors and garages, foundation cracks, or a sewer connection without a backflow preventer.