Exterior paint costs in Vallejo

Vallejo sits at the mouth of the Carquinez Strait, and on a paint day the wind has a say. The Bay Area's air district says that in summer and fall, marine air gets pulled east through the strait almost daily, and afternoon westerly winds are common along it.

That breeze dries paint faster on the walls it hits, blows grit into a wet coat and turns spraying into a mess. A careful crew gets the exposed west side done in the morning, before the wind picks up, and rolls instead of sprays when it's gusty.

The same marine air keeps temperatures moderate, the district notes, so a summer paint day here rarely turns into a fight with the heat.

If your house is in one of the city's three National Register historic districts, such as St. Vincent's Hill, the city points to its Certificate of Appropriateness process for work on properties in historic districts. Ask the planning division whether your paint job needs one before the crew shows up.

Outside those districts, the picture changes. The 1980s were the metro's peak building decade for homes standing today, about one in five. Even so, pre-1980 houses still make up about 44% of the metro, so old paint is common well beyond the historic blocks.