Ranch home and storefront painting for Burien (98166), from Olde Burien to Seahurst
Burien's 98166 ZIP runs from the Olde Burien blocks along SW 152nd Street, west of Ambaum Boulevard, out to the Puget Sound shoreline at Seahurst Park and Three Tree Point. The city only incorporated in 1993, but the town is much older, and Olde Burien still has low brick storefronts from the early and middle 1900s. Most houses went up in the postwar decades, when Sea-Tac Airport opened to the southeast and the area filled with ranch homes and mid-century ramblers on modest lots. A few early cottages and bungalows remain, and newer condos and apartments have gone up around Town Square.
At a glance
- ZIP
- 98166
- County
- King County
- Part of
- Burien, WA
- Best exterior window
- Late May to mid September
- Phone
- Answered 24/7
From our Puyallup shop we come up I-5 and over on SR 518, so Burien fits into our regular south King County runs. The typical job here is a rambler that needs a full refresh: faded siding and eaves outside, tired walls, dated cabinets and original doors inside. Our exterior house painting handles the outside, and cabinet painting is a common add-on for kitchens that still have their original boxes. On the business side, we paint storefronts and small offices along SW 152nd and Ambaum. Homes close to Seahurst Park and the water also deal with wind and damp air coming off the Sound.
What goes into refreshing a postwar Burien rambler inside and out?
Most Burien ramblers we see have had one or two repaints in their life and a kitchen that has not changed much since it was built. Outside, we wash the siding, scrape loose paint, replace soft fascia or window sills, prime bare wood and repaint in two coats. Carport posts, the front door and the garage door get their own colors if you want some contrast. Many owners pair the exterior with a new body color, and our color consultation helps pick one that suits a low, wide house.
Inside, the work usually covers walls, ceilings, trim and doors in the main rooms, plus the kitchen cabinets. Textured ceilings from the 1960s and 1970s are tested for asbestos before any removal, and patching comes before primer. We work room by room so you can live in the house. A typical Burien rambler of about 1,300 square feet runs $5,740-$9,860 for the exterior and $4,420-$8,190 for a full interior, typical ranges rather than quotes. The price is set after a walk-through.
What we watch for here
- Wind and damp air off the Sound on homes near Seahurst Park and Three Tree Point.
- Road film from traffic on Ambaum Boulevard and 1st Avenue South dulling siding and trim.
- Popcorn ceilings in 1960s-70s homes that need an asbestos test before any scraping.
- Single-pane wood windows on unrenovated homes where the glazing putty has dried and cracked.
- Painted brick on older storefronts that traps moisture when coated with the wrong product.
Houses common in Burien and how we prep them
1940s-50s ranch homes
Single-story houses with simple lap or board siding and wide eaves. Pre-1978 paint is scraped with lead-safe methods, then bare wood is primed before two topcoats.
1960s ramblers with brick accents
Brick wainscot or planters on the front with wood siding above. The brick stays natural, and the wood, trim and carport posts get repainted.
Early cottages and bungalows
Older homes from before the war, often with wood windows and porch trim. We reglaze where putty has failed and repaint the details by brush.
Brick storefronts in Olde Burien
Low commercial buildings on SW 152nd Street. Painted brick gets a breathable masonry coating, and sign bands and window frames get enamel.
Painting jobs we do most in Burien
Exterior House Painting
Exterior house painting in Tacoma means washing off mildew and dirt, checking that the siding reads about 15% moisture or less, scraping and sanding loose paint, fixing rot, caulking, priming bare wood, then applying two coats of exterior acrylic.
See exterior house paintingInterior Painting
Interior painting in Tacoma covers moving and covering furniture, filling nail holes and dings, sanding, spot priming, cutting in edges by hand and rolling two finish coats on the walls, with ceilings and trim as add-ons.
See interior paintingCabinet Painting
Cabinet painting means removing doors and drawer fronts, degreasing and sanding every surface, priming with a bonding primer and spraying a hard urethane-modified enamel.
See cabinet paintingCommercial Painting
Commercial painting in Tacoma covers offices, retail stores, restaurants, medical suites, churches and light industrial buildings, inside and out.
See commercial paintingPopcorn Ceiling Removal
Popcorn ceiling removal means testing the texture for asbestos, sealing the room in plastic, wetting and scraping the texture off, repairing and skim coating the drywall, then priming and painting.
See popcorn ceiling removalGarage Door Painting
Garage door painting in Tacoma starts with washing off chalk and grime, sanding and spot-priming rust on steel, or scraping and priming bare wood.
See garage door painting
Painting questions from Burien
Can you repaint a brick storefront in Olde Burien along SW 152nd Street?
Yes. Our commercial painting crews start early or work after closing so the shop can stay open. Brick that has been painted before gets cleaned, loose paint removed and a breathable masonry coating applied so moisture can still escape. Unpainted brick is usually best left alone. Sign bands, door frames and window trim get a tough enamel, and the sidewalk is kept clear and protected.
My Burien rambler still has its original wood slab doors. Can you refinish them instead of painting?
Often, yes. Many 1950s and 1960s doors are birch or mahogany veneer under an aging clear coat. If the veneer is intact, we clean, sand lightly, touch up the stain and apply a fresh clear finish. Doors with deep scratches, water damage or old paint drips may be better painted. We look at each door and tell you which way makes sense.
Should I paint the outside or the kitchen first in my Burien rambler?
Let the weather decide. Exterior work needs the dry months, roughly late May to mid September, so book those dates first and plan the kitchen around them. Cabinets and interior rooms can be done any time of year, and many owners do them in fall or winter. If you are selling, the outside usually comes first, since buyers see it before anything else.
Neighboring areas we paint
Painting a home in Burien?
Call and tell us what you are painting. We answer 24/7 and set up a walk-through at a time that suits you.