What owners ask before they call

Three years is where we start. Salt, sun and snow wear a house unevenly, so the spring look-over decides your date. The written report sets it, not the calendar, and some houses want a visit sooner or can wait a year.

Every plan includes a spring look-over and a written report with photos. The Caretaker and Shoreline plans add the wash, spot-prime and touch-up on the schedule in the plan. A full repaint, rotted boards, roof or gutter work and damage from a storm are not included. We quote them separately, in writing, before any work starts.

Yes. If the siding is past spot-priming, the look-over report says so and we write a repaint estimate. After a repaint, the plan keeps it from getting there again. A plan is not a way around a repaint the house needs.

No. We ask for one walk-through by phone or on site, then work from a written scope. You get photos by text when each step is done, and we arrange access with you for the days you're away.

If it was, the EPA's Renovation, Repair and Painting (RRP) rule applies to paid work that disturbs paint in homes and child-occupied buildings built before 1978. The firm must be EPA Lead-Safe Certified and follow set work practices: containment, wet scraping, a HEPA vacuum and a documented clean-up. Our firm number is in the footer. Your state or town may add rules, and we'll tell you what we know.

We wait. Paint needs dry siding and a dry forecast, and Maine doesn't always give us one. When the day is off, we text you before 7 a.m. with the new start. Rain days move the schedule; they don't change the scope or the price in your written estimate.

The surfaces and areas, the repairs we expect, the number of coats, the products and sheens, how many colors, the clean-up, the schedule and the payment schedule. If a board turns out to be rotted behind the paint, we show you and write the change before we do it.

Repairs we can't see until the paint is off, extra colors you add later, and work on roofs, gutters, window glass or decks unless the estimate lists them. Anything found is quoted in writing before we go ahead.

We probe the suspect boards at the look-over and mark them in the report. A board that is soft all the way through is replaced, not painted over. The new board is primed on all faces before it goes up.

We ask for the color name from the last job if you have it. If you don't, we take a sample from a spot the weather hasn't reached and have it matched. Touch-up is on the places that wore, then a full coat on the trim that did.

The written estimate sets a deposit and a payment schedule tied to the steps of the work. Plans are billed once a year in spring. Ask us for the schedule before you sign.

No. We cover plants and shrubs, move outdoor furniture away from the walls and protect walkways. Moving anything inside is only for windows we work on from the inside.

We buy it. The estimate lists the product and the sheen, and we'll give you the product data sheet for either on request. We use premium exterior paints and a primer made for the surface.

Call or text before your renewal date. We send a reminder 30 days ahead. A plan renews one year at a time and is billed once a year, in spring. Visits already made aren't refunded. The terms are in your written plan agreement.