Minneapolis, Minnesota
Painting and coatings for Minneapolis homes and businesses
Book a free estimateMinneapolis has some of the oldest housing in the metro. About 43% of the city's housing units were built in 1939 or earlier, and the median year built is 1951. On houses this age, most of our time goes into careful scraping, repair and priming before any new paint goes on.
Oller Painting and Coatings is based in Bloomington and works across Minneapolis. We have finished more than 2,500 projects since 2014, every estimate is free, we never ask for a deposit, and our work carries a two-year warranty.
Our work in Minneapolis
In South Minneapolis we repainted the exterior of a story-and-a-half home with heavy peeling on its cedar shake and siding, with the windows masked off during the work. We have also repainted Minneapolis foursquares and Victorians: one in teal and one shown in green before painting and navy with a white porch afterward. Inside, we enameled the trim along a stairwell, and outside we have stained decks.
Apartment building exterior · Minneapolis
What we see in Minneapolis homes
Older homes, and plenty of them.
About 57% of Minneapolis homes were built before 1960, and about 72% before 1980.
Cooper's older bungalows put several surfaces close together: lap siding, window sash and porch woodwork. For a pre-1978 house, plan lead-safe preparation before disturbing old paint, then check the joints where water can reach the wood.
Lead paint is a real factor.
The City of Minneapolis says lead-based paint is primarily found in homes and apartments built before 1978, and that the older a building is, the more likely it is to have lead-based paint. Federal rules require anyone paid to disturb painted surfaces in a pre-1978 home to be certified.
Historic districts.
Once a property is locally designated, it cannot be modified without review by city staff and the Heritage Preservation Commission. Minor work such as general maintenance and changes that reproduce the existing design is reviewed by staff, while major alterations go to a public hearing. The city publishes design guidelines for more than a dozen historic districts, including the Lynnhurst and Lowry Hill East residential districts.
A stucco house like this Lynnhurst home needs its cracks and existing coating checked before a repaint. Keep the tile roof and masonry protected while preparing the painted shutters, door and trim.
Paint color is usually not the issue.
In the Lynnhurst district, "Paint color is not regulated by the HPC," and unpainted brick and stone should not be painted. Lynnhurst's guidelines note that wood lap siding is common and wood shake siding is also present. In Lowry Hill East, paint color is not regulated either, but siding and trim must have painted surfaces rather than a natural finish. Colonial Revival and Queen Anne are the main styles in Lowry Hill East.
Big trees.
A U.S. Forest Service study counted about 979,000 trees in Minneapolis, with canopies covering 26.4% of the city.
The Theodore Wirth House shows how much painted detail can surround an East Harriet stucco facade. On a home with dormers and deep planting beds, inspect the trim from close range and plan access that protects the shrubs below.
Minneapolis painting FAQs
My house is in a Minneapolis historic district. Do I need approval to repaint?
The Lynnhurst and Lowry Hill East guidelines both say paint color is not regulated by the Heritage Preservation Commission. Changing materials can need review, so check your district's guidelines first.
Can you paint the brick on my Lynnhurst home?
Lynnhurst's guidelines say unpainted brick and stone should not be painted. We can paint the trim, doors and wood siding instead.
My cedar shake is peeling badly. Can it be saved?
Often, yes. The South Minneapolis job above had heavy peeling on cedar shake and siding. We will look at the wood with you and tell you honestly what can be saved.
My foursquare has a big front porch. Can the porch be a different color?
Yes. Contrasting porch trim is one of our favorite Minneapolis looks, like the white porch against navy siding in the finished photo above. The green siding appears in the before photo.
Interior trim and deck work in Minneapolis
Helpful reading
Nearby areas
Project photos: Jose Oller / Oller Painting and Coatings