Siding painting and pressure washing in Bedford, TX (76021)

Bedford's housing is mostly 1970s and 1980s, with many two-story homes featuring brick on the lower level and wood, cedar or hardboard siding on the upper floor and gables. There are also single-story brick homes with painted trim and some newer infill homes. Many lots have mature trees, which create shade but also drop leaves and keep siding damp. For paint, the big jobs are cleaning mildew and dirt, replacing swollen hardboard boards and sealing the many lap joints and corners before repainting.

Pressure washing removes chalk, dirt, pollen and mildew so paint can bond. On wood and hardboard siding, too much pressure can raise the grain or drive water behind the boards. We use a moderate pressure fan tip and a cleaning solution for mildew, washing from the top down.

After washing, siding needs time to dry, usually at least a day or two depending on shade and humidity. Shaded walls under big trees dry slowest. We check with a moisture meter before priming, because painting damp wood leads to blistering.

• Moderate pressure, fan tip, top-down washing
• Mildew treatment on shaded walls
• Drying time checked with a meter
• Priming only once wood is dry

Many Bedford homes built in the late 1970s and 1980s used hardboard lap siding that swells when water gets into exposed edges. Common problem spots are near downspouts, under windows and at the bottom of the upper-floor siding where it meets the roof. We replace boards that are soft or crumbling with fiber cement.

Boards that are firm but rough get sanded, primed with an oil-based primer and caulked at the ends. Then we paint the whole wall so the repairs blend in. A typical two-story Bedford home siding and trim repaint usually costs around $4,650 to $9,800, depending on siding area, height and repair needs.

Some Bedford homes have cedar siding that was originally stained. If you want to keep the wood look, we clean it, brighten it and apply a semi-transparent or solid stain. If it's already been painted, we stick with paint.

Gable trim and fascia on two-story homes are often hard to reach. We use tall extension ladders and sometimes lifts, with stabilizers to protect the roof edge. Each section is scraped, primed and painted in two coats.