OlmosPainting
Dane County, Wisconsin

House Painters in Madison, Wisconsin

From the isthmus to the far west side, neighborhood by neighborhood

Madison is really three painting markets separated by about 70 years of building practice, and the number that matters most to a job here is 1978: roughly half of the city's housing predates it, which makes lead-safe certified work a legal requirement rather than an upsell. The three are pre-1930 wood and plaster on the near east and near west sides, 1950s and 60s ranches through Midvale Heights and Westmorland, and post-1995 engineered siding on the far west and far east. Each fails differently and needs different prep. Olmos Painting works in all three, with 26 years of experience behind the brush.

Get a free estimate(608) 555-0142
Distance
Home base
Drive time
Same day
Population
about 272,000
Travel charge
None

Madison is our home base, and we have a fairly specific mental map of the place. The Marquette and Tenney-Lapham bungalows have real plaster over lath and generally six or seven layers of paint on the exterior trim, the oldest of which is lead. The Midvale Heights and Westmorland ranches have aluminum or cedar siding that has usually been painted at least twice and is chalking. The far west subdivisions out past Junction Road have LP and vinyl that mostly needs washing rather than scraping.

That map is the reason a Madison estimate should never be a per-square-foot number quoted over the phone. What your house is made of, and what has already been done to it, determines the work. We walk it, we probe the soft spots, and we tell you what percentage of the surface actually needs to come off before anything new goes on.

Madison's near-east and near-west neighborhoods sit largely within local historic districts, and exterior color changes on contributing properties can require review. We have worked through that process and will tell you up front if your address is likely to need it.

Working in Madison

  • Home base, so scheduling is immediate
  • Lead-safe certified for the pre-1978 half of the city
  • Plaster repair and texture matching in-house
  • Every neighborhood from the isthmus to Grandview Commons
  • Free written estimates, usually within two business days

What Madison asks us for most

  • Interior repaints in occupied homes
  • Exterior repaints with heavy scrape prep
  • Kitchen cabinet refinishing
  • Plaster and drywall repair with texture matching
  • Popcorn ceiling removal

Neighborhoods and areas we work in

Marquette · Tenney-Lapham · Schenk-Atwood · Vilas · Regent · Westmorland · Midvale Heights · Nakoma · Monroe Street · Hill Farms · Maple Bluff · Shorewood Hills · Grandview Commons · Junction Ridge · Sherman · Eken Park · Bay Creek · Sunset Village

Services

What we do in Madison.

Same crew, same pricing, same written estimate as everywhere else in Dane County.

All 10 services
Our work

Projects near Madison.

Full gallery
Questions

Painting in Madison.

(608) 555-0142
Do you paint in historic districts like Marquette or Third Lake Ridge?

Yes, regularly. Exterior work on contributing properties in a local historic district can require a certificate of appropriateness from the Landmarks Commission, particularly for a color change. We will flag it during the estimate and work to the approved palette. Interior work is unaffected.

How much does it cost to paint a house in Madison?

It depends far more on the age and condition of the house than on its size, and in Madison that spread is unusually wide because the housing stock is. A post-1995 house on the far west side needs a wash and a good coating. A pre-1930 near-east home with five layers of lead paint over wood needs containment, hand scraping, and same-day priming, which is a different job entirely. We look at it and put the number in writing, free.

My house is from 1915. What does that mean for painting it?

Three things. It falls under the EPA lead-safe rule, so containment and HEPA cleanup are required and we are certified for it. The interior walls are likely plaster rather than drywall, which repairs differently. And the exterior trim probably carries six or more layers of paint, so the scrape percentage drives the price.

Do you serve the far west and far east sides?

Yes, all of Madison. The newer builds out toward Junction Ridge and Grandview Commons are typically vinyl or LP SmartSide, which usually needs washing and a repaint rather than the heavy scraping the older stock requires. Those jobs move fast and price well.

Nearby areas we serve

Guides for Madison homeowners