Protecting Landscaping, Sprinklers and Neighbours During an Exterior Repaint
An exterior repaint changes the look of a house, and it also takes over the yard for several days. Ladders lean on shrubs, scaffolds stand on lawn, overspray drifts toward a neighbouring car, and a sprinkler timer that fires at dawn can ruin a freshly coated wall. The painting is only part of the job. The rest is protecting everything that is not supposed to be painted and arranging the property so the work can proceed without delay.
On a typical lot in Temecula, the planning that happens before the first brush stroke makes the difference between a clean job and a messy one. This article covers how a crew prepares the landscaping, irrigation, vehicles and neighbours around a house during a whole-house exterior repaint.
What happens to the plants and landscaping?
Plants suffer from three things during a repaint: crushing, overspray and water runoff from washing. The planning takes each one in turn.
Shrubs and small trees close to the wall are tied back with soft cord or pulled gently away so the crew can reach the surface behind them. Branches are tied, never cut, unless the owner asks for a trim. A wall with a hedge pressed against it cannot be washed, scraped or painted properly, so the hedge has to move or be trimmed in advance.
Drop cloths cover ground cover, flower beds and low plants. Canvas works better than plastic in summer, because plastic sheeting laid over plants in the Temecula sun cooks the leaves underneath. Plastic is fine for a short section and is lifted at the end of each day.
Washing sends dirty water, loose paint chips and detergent into the soil. A wall with chalking paint sheds a surprising amount of grey runoff. Beds below the wall are covered or the water is directed away with a temporary berm of rolled tarp, and the beds are rinsed with clean water afterward.
How are sprinklers and irrigation handled?
Irrigation is the most common cause of damage to a new coat, and it is easy to prevent. A sprinkler head that hits a fresh wall leaves spots in the finish and can wash wet paint right off the lower courses.
The timer is switched to manual or off for the entire job, and the homeowner is told in advance, so no one turns it back on out of habit. Heads that spray the wall are turned, capped or lowered to run below the wall line. Drip lines are left in place and covered, because they rarely reach the wall.
Before work starts, the crew looks at where the water hits the house. A wall with a wet band at the base tells the story right away. If irrigation has been hitting that wall for years, the paint along the bottom will have failed first, and fixing the sprinkler arc is part of making the repaint last. After the paint cures, the system is reset with the heads pointed away from the house.
What gets covered and masked?
Everything that is not paint gets protected, and the masking often takes longer than the spraying. A crew masks in this order.
- Windows, glass doors and frames, covered with film and tape so overspray cannot reach the glass.
- Light fixtures, house numbers, hose bibs, electrical boxes and vent covers, which are either removed or wrapped.
- Walkways, patios and driveway edges, covered with paper or canvas below the work area.
- Garage doors, front doors and any surface that gets a different colour or sheen, taped to a clean line.
- Outdoor furniture, grills and planters, moved well away from the walls or covered completely.
Tape left on too long in the sun bakes onto the surface and leaves residue. Masking is pulled while the paint is dry to the touch but not fully cured, so the edge stays crisp and the tape comes off cleanly.
How is overspray kept off cars and neighbours?
Airless sprayers are fast and they also throw a fine mist that carries on any breeze. The valley wind picks up in the afternoon, and a house near the Interstate 15 corridor or along a ridge can see steady gusts. A mist of paint settling on a car or a neighbour fence is a problem that cannot be undone.
Vehicles are moved off the driveway and the street frontage for the duration of spraying. The owner is told which days, so cars are parked out of range. Neighbours get a heads-up when a wall faces a shared fence, especially on tight lots where houses sit only a few feet apart. A shield board held next to the wall catches most of the drift when the wind is light.
When the wind picks up past a steady breeze, spraying stops. The work shifts to brush and roller on the sheltered sides, or the crew waits for the wind to settle. A job that takes an extra day in the wind is cheaper than a repaint of a neighbouring property.
What should the homeowner do ahead of time?
A little preparation by the owner makes the crew work faster. This is a practical checklist.
- Move patio furniture, planters and anything breakable away from the walls.
- Trim shrubs and vines back from the house so every wall can be reached.
- Turn off the sprinkler timer and tell the crew where the heads are.
- Clear the driveway and the street frontage of cars.
- Secure pets indoors, since open gates and ladders do not mix with dogs.
- Tell the neighbours which days the spraying will happen.
- Pull back any decorative items fixed to the walls, such as hangers and wall art.
Homes in gated or association-managed streets, like those in Redhawk, sometimes have extra rules about vehicles, noise hours and dumpsters. Checking those rules first prevents a stop-work notice halfway through the job.
What about pets, pools and children?
Painting goes on near the places families use most. A pool next to a wall needs a cover during washing and spraying, because wash water and paint chips will otherwise end up in the filter. Pets are kept indoors, since wet paint on a paw gets tracked everywhere. Children and ladders stay apart, and the side yard where a scaffold stands is closed off for the duration.
Modern acrylic latex is water-based and low in odour, but fresh paint still needs a day or so to cure before it is touched. Doors and trim should be left alone during that window. Wet paint on a sleeve or a paw carries colour into the house.
How is the site cleaned up at the end?
Cleanup is a step in the job, and it is checked as one. Drop cloths are folded and removed, tape is pulled, and paint cans are sealed and taken away. The yard is walked from end to end for chips, drips and stray tape. Any speck of paint on a walkway or a window pane is cleaned while it is still fresh, since dried paint takes a blade to remove.
The final walk-through with the owner covers the walls, the trim and the ground below them. Plants that were tied back are released and watered if they sat in the sun under wraps. The sprinkler timer is reset, with the heads aimed away from the freshly painted base of the wall.
What to remember
The coat of paint is the visible part of an exterior repaint, and the protection around it is what keeps the yard intact. A crew that plans the plants, water, masking and wind has finished half the job before the first gallon is opened.