Exterior paint costs in Salt Lake City

Thinking about painting the brick on your Salt Lake City house? If you're in a local historic district, check with the city first. In 2021 the Historic Landmark Commission heard a request from an owner who had already painted his brick without a certificate of appropriateness, and the property was under enforcement. Paint on brick is hard to take back, so ask before the first coat, not after.

On most older houses here, the paint goes on the wood: trim, porches, eaves and gable ends. The city is much older than the valley around it. In Salt Lake City proper, nearly six homes in ten predate 1980 and almost one in four is from 1939 or earlier, while across the metro the pre-1980 share is closer to four in ten. Utah runs its own lead-safe renovation program under EPA authorization, and a contractor paid to disturb paint on a pre-1978 house must be certified. On an older bungalow, plan for scraping, lead-safe setup and cleanup.

Sun is the other force. From spring through fall, skies here deliver roughly 65 to 75 percent of all the sunshine possible. That much light fades and chalks paint on south and west walls, darker colors first, so a lighter trim color tends to hold its look longer.