Chester, PA

More of our Chester work is for owners and property managers than for homeowners, and that shapes how we quote it.

Turnovers run on lease dates, which means the schedule matters as much as the price. Vacant units move fast because there is nothing to protect or move. Common areas, hallways, and stairwells in multi-family buildings get done in phases so tenants keep access. For owners with several properties we set up a recurring schedule rather than quoting each unit cold. See commercial and specialty coatings.

Chester's older housing is solid masonry, and the same rule applies here as in Philadelphia. Brick has to release moisture. A conventional exterior coating seals the face and the water pushes it back off, frequently taking brick with it.

Where a building has already been painted, and many have been more than once, the job usually starts with assessing what is on the wall and whether it is sound enough to recoat or has to come off.

Offices, storefronts, community buildings, and the properties around Widener are all work we take. These jobs have their own constraints: hours of access, keeping exits clear, low-odor products in occupied space, and materials secured rather than left out.

The prep discipline is identical to a house. Wash, patch, prime, then finish. The difference is the logistics.

Every turnover produces the same list, and pricing it as a straight repaint is how a job runs over.

Dozens of nail and anchor holes. Damaged drywall corners in hallways. Doors and frames that have been kicked and scraped. Bathroom and kitchen ceilings that need more than a coat, usually from steam and ventilation problems. Old patches done badly by the last tenant or the last contractor.

We price the repair separately so an owner can see what the unit's condition is actually costing, and so there is no argument about scope halfway through.

Chester has properties that have been vacant for a while, and a building that has been closed up is not the same job as one that has been lived in.

Long vacancy means no heat, no ventilation, and no one noticing a roof leak for a couple of winters. What that produces is damp plaster and drywall, mildew on interior surfaces, swollen and delaminated trim, and ceilings that have failed in places rather than just stained.

None of that is a painting problem until the moisture source is closed off and the building has dried. Coating a damp wall in a building that has been sitting seals water in and the finish releases within months.

We walk a vacant building honestly. If it needs to dry before anything is coated, Ed will tell you that instead of quoting a repaint that is going to fail.