Exterior painting for Normandy Park (98166) homes on the wooded bluff above the Sound
Normandy Park sits on the Puget Sound shore between Burien and Des Moines, sharing ZIP 98166 with Burien but feeling smaller, quieter and much more wooded. It began in the late 1920s as a planned community of French Norman-style homes, a plan the Depression cut short after only a handful were built. Growth came after the war, when Sea-Tac and Boeing brought new families, and the city incorporated in 1953. Most homes stand on large lots under tall firs and madronas, from 1950s-60s Northwest modern houses to custom homes on the bluff, with Miller Creek and Walker Creek running through ravines toward the water.
At a glance
- ZIP
- 98166
- County
- King County
- Part of
- Normandy Park, WA
- Best exterior window
- Late May to mid September
- Phone
- Answered 24/7
The city even has a Frank Lloyd Wright-designed house from the mid-1950s, and plenty of its homes follow the same idea of wood, glass and long, low lines. For a painter that means a lot of cedar, wide soffits, exposed beams and big windows, plus walls facing the Sound that take wind-driven rain while the wooded sides stay damp. Our cedar siding staining and exterior trim painting are the two most common jobs here. Normandy Park is a short drive up I-5 from our Puyallup shop, and longer projects on bigger homes are booked early in the season.
How do you repaint a mid-century modern Normandy Park home without losing its character?
These houses were designed around natural wood, so the first question is whether the siding should stay stained or move to paint. If the cedar is sound and was always stained, we usually keep it that way: clean, strip failing finish, brighten and restain in a tone close to the original. Painted cedar can stay painted. Beam ends, fascia and window stops are where water gets in, so rot is cut out and replaced before any finish. Soffits of tongue-and-groove wood are cleaned and recoated by brush.
Color does a lot of the work on a modern house. Earthy body colors, dark trim or wood-tone trim and a single bright front door are common choices that suit the long horizontal lines. We paint large samples on the house in shade and in sun before you decide. A larger Normandy Park home with cedar siding typically runs $10,960-$18,740 to restain or repaint, which is a typical range and not a quote. Your number is set after a walk-through of the house and the lot.
What we watch for here
- Sound-facing walls on the bluff that take wind-driven rain and lose stain color first.
- Heavy tree cover that keeps the landward sides of homes damp and drops needles into wet finish.
- Ravine lots along Miller Creek and Walker Creek, where wash water and debris must stay out of the creeks.
- Cedar siding with years of stain build-up that needs stripping before a fresh coat will soak in.
- Hairline cracks in stucco on older Norman-style homes that open up over the wet season.
Houses common in Normandy Park and how we prep them
Early French Norman-style homes
Steep roofs, stucco, brick and half-timber boards from the late 1920s and 1930s. We clean the stucco gently, repaint the timbers and leave natural brick alone.
1950s-60s Northwest modern homes
Low roofs, wide eaves, cedar siding and walls of glass. We restain or repaint the cedar and seal every beam end and window stop.
Ranch homes on wooded lots
Long single-story houses set back under the trees. A soft wash with mildew treatment comes first, then lead-safe prep on older trim.
Custom homes on the bluff
Larger homes with decks and stairs facing the water. We plan staging for the tall Sound-side walls and use fade-resistant coatings.
Painting jobs we do most in Normandy Park
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 paintingCedar Siding Staining
Cedar siding staining in Tacoma involves soft washing off mildew and gray fibers, brightening the wood, letting it dry to about 15% moisture, then applying one or two coats of penetrating semi-transparent or solid stain.
See cedar siding stainingExterior Trim Painting
Exterior trim painting is a trim-only repaint: fascia, soffits, rake boards, corner boards and window and door casings, done while the siding still holds up.
See exterior trim paintingDeck Staining
Deck staining in Tacoma means cleaning off moss and gray wood, sanding rough or failing areas, brightening, then applying a penetrating stain to the boards, rails and stairs once the wood reads about 15% moisture.
See deck stainingStucco & Masonry Painting
Stucco and masonry painting in Tacoma covers stucco walls, concrete block, brick and chimneys.
See stucco & masonry 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 repair
Painting questions from Normandy Park
Can you keep the stucco and half-timber look on an older Normandy-style house?
Yes. Stucco is cleaned with low pressure, cracks are opened and filled with a flexible patch, and the walls are finished with a breathable masonry paint so moisture can still escape. The half-timber boards are scraped, primed and painted in a darker contrasting color by hand. Brick and stone stay natural. Older paint layers get lead-safe prep, since many of these houses date from the late 1920s and 1930s.
What does it cost to repaint a larger Normandy Park home on a wooded lot?
Big lots and tall trees add setup time, extra washing and more masking, so these homes often cost more than the square footage suggests. A two-story home of about 3,200 square feet typically runs $12,380-$21,640 for a full exterior, a typical range rather than a quote. Long driveways, steep yards toward the bluff and the amount of rot repair all move the number.
Can you paint my Normandy Park house without cutting back the madronas?
Usually, yes. We tie branches back gently with soft straps, work around trunks with brushes instead of sprayers and lay ground covers so peeling madrona bark and leaves do not land in wet paint. Any pruning is your call or your arborist's, never ours. Madronas shed most heavily in summer, so we check the walls before each coat and wipe off debris as we go.
Neighboring areas we paint
Painting a home in Normandy Park?
Call and tell us what you are painting. We answer 24/7 and set up a walk-through at a time that suits you.