Exterior paint costs in Richmond

Inside Richmond's Old and Historic Districts, a new paint color needs a yes before the brush comes out. Staff of the Commission of Architectural Review can approve colors from their chart, and anything they find out of character goes to the full commission. Repainting in the same colors, or just touching up, needs no certificate at all.

The chart comes with rules that catch people off guard. Body and trim must be painted in contrasting colors, so an all-one-color scheme won't pass. Fluorescent and highly saturated colors are out, and the guidelines point out that the high Victorian "painted lady" look was never adopted in Richmond. Porches are generally white or off-white, often with a darker handrail, and iron fences and porch details should be painted a dark color.

Finish is spelled out too. Semi-gloss can go on any surface, but high-gloss enamel is for doors only. Before any color goes on, loose and peeling paint has to come off down to the next sound layer.

Outside those districts, age is the bigger factor. About 166,000 homes in the metro were built before 1960, nearly 50,000 of them before 1940. On a house that old, the scraping can take longer than the painting.