Painting older homes and townhomes on the Hilltop (98405)
The Hilltop sits on the high ground above downtown, centered on Martin Luther King Jr. Way, with the Tacoma General Hospital campus anchoring one end and views back toward Commencement Bay from the upper streets. Much of the housing dates to the late 1800s and early 1900s: tall wood houses, small cottages and older apartment buildings built close to the street. Since the Hilltop Link light rail opened along MLK, new townhomes and mid-rise apartments have filled in empty lots, so a single block can hold a 120-year-old house next to a building finished last year.
At a glance
- ZIP
- 98405
- County
- Pierce County
- Part of
- Tacoma, WA
- Best exterior window
- Late May to mid September
- Phone
- Answered 24/7
Those two kinds of buildings need very different handling. Older Hilltop houses often have lead paint, many layers of finish and some rot, so we use lead-safe prep and carpentry before primer. Newer townhomes have fiber cement panels and metal trim that mostly need cleaning, caulk and a quality topcoat. A lot of our work here is for owners of small rental buildings, where apartment and HOA painting covers hallways and exteriors in phases. For single homes, siding painting is usually the first priority, with trim and doors right behind.
Can you paint a Hilltop rental building without disturbing tenants?
Mostly, yes. We plan multifamily work in phases, so only one side of the building or one hallway is being painted at a time. Tenants get written notice of which areas are being worked and when, and we keep entries and stairways open. Interior hallways are painted with low-odor waterborne products, and we work during the day so evenings stay quiet. On exteriors, we tell tenants which windows to keep closed on spray days. Common areas like laundry rooms and stairwells are done on the quietest days of the week.
The order matters too. We start with repairs, like rotten trim and loose railings, then wash, prime and paint. For buildings with balconies, we work with the manager so tenants can clear them out ahead of time. A typical small Hilltop building of four to eight units can take a few weeks from start to finish. The price depends on the size, condition and access, and is set after a walk-through. We also share a simple weekly plan with the owner so tenant questions have quick answers, and we walk the finished building with the manager before we call it done.
What we watch for here
- Old wood houses with lead paint layers next to brand new buildings that need entirely different prep.
- Small multifamily buildings where painting must work around tenants and street parking.
- Homes built close to the sidewalk, where pedestrian safety and clean-up matter every day.
- Rot at porch posts, steps and window sills on older houses that have gone years between repaints.
- Fiber cement joints on newer townhomes where builder caulk has already started to crack.
Houses common in Hilltop and how we prep them
Late-1800s and early-1900s wood houses
Tall homes with narrow lap siding and old trim. We scrape and prime with lead-safe methods and replace rotten boards before topcoat.
Small cottages
One-story homes close to the sidewalk. We paint the front face and trim with extra care since they are seen up close by everyone walking by.
Older apartment buildings
Brick or wood buildings from the early 1900s. Hallways and units are painted in phases, and wood exteriors get washed, scraped and repainted.
New townhomes and mid-rise buildings
Fiber cement panels, metal trim and composite details. We clean, recaulk failing joints and repaint with acrylic made for fiber cement.
Painting jobs we do most in Hilltop
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 paintingApartment & HOA Painting
Apartment and HOA painting in Tacoma covers exterior repaints of apartment buildings, condos and townhome communities, plus common-area interiors like halls and stairwells.
See apartment & hoa paintingSiding Painting
Siding painting in Tacoma means matching the prep and paint to the material: fiber cement gets cleaned and primed at cut edges, T1-11 plywood gets its bottom edges sealed, vinyl needs a vinyl-safe color, and wood lap needs scraping and spot priming.
See siding paintingWood Rot Repair
Wood rot repair in Tacoma means probing fascia, trim, sills, corner boards and siding for soft wood, cutting out the decay, then replacing boards or rebuilding small areas with epoxy filler.
See wood rot repairInterior 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 paintingRental Turnover Painting
Rental turnover painting in Tacoma means repainting a vacant unit between tenants: patching nail holes and dents, spot priming stains, and repainting walls, ceilings, trim and doors in a durable, easy-to-match color.
See rental turnover painting
Painting questions from Hilltop
My new Hilltop townhome is only five years old. Does it need paint already?
Sometimes. Builder-grade paint and caulk often show wear by year five to eight, especially on south and west faces. Check for chalky siding, cracked caulk at panel joints and fading on trim. If you catch it early, a cleaning, recaulk and single repaint coat can be enough. We can look and tell you.
How do you keep the sidewalk safe when the house is right next to it?
We set up cones or tape lines around ladders and staging, cover the walking path below with drop cloths, and clean up chips and debris at the end of each day. On busy streets, we schedule spray work for calmer hours and keep an eye on foot traffic.
Do you handle older houses with porch damage on the Hilltop?
Yes. We replace soft porch posts, rails and step treads with matching wood, prime all sides of new boards and paint them with a durable porch enamel. If the problem goes into the framing or foundation, we will tell you before we start so you can bring in a carpenter for that part.
Neighboring areas we paint
Painting a home in Hilltop?
Call and tell us what you are painting. We answer 24/7 and set up a walk-through at a time that suits you.