Project story · Exterior
Every last detail: a full exterior repaint of a period red-brick home
Windows, doors, sills, columns, hoods, fascia, soffits, gutters and downpipes — the whole house, finished properly.
By Arthur · Paint House Full Colouring · 30 August 2026 · 6 min read
This one was a full exterior job on a lovely old red-brick house, and when I say full, I mean full. The whole house was painted — every window, every door, the hoods over the windows, the porch and its columns, the sills, the fascia and soffit, the gutters and the downpipes. Absolutely everything. When we walked off site there wasn't a surface left that hadn't been prepped and coated properly.
“If you look closely at the photo, you'll see how these are painted for draining water. That's very important. Every little detail matters — and the clients notice.”
The bit most people never look at
Have a proper look at the gutters, the hopper heads and the downpipes in the photos below. They're not just painted for the sake of colour — they're finished and set so that water runs off and away from the wall instead of sitting on a joint or tracking down the render. Paint on the outside of a house isn't decoration on its own; it's the skin that keeps weather out. Get the water moving in the right direction and the finish lasts years longer.
The same thinking goes into the sills, the copings and the little hoods over the windows. Those are all shaped to throw water clear. If you paint them lazily, you clog the drip edge and the water comes straight back onto the wall. So they get cut in by hand, kept clean underneath, and left to do the job the builder designed them for. It's a small detail. It's also the difference between a paint job and a proper job.
Three photos worth a closer look
These are the ones I'd point at if you were standing beside me on the driveway.
The full frontage, finished
Brickwork left as it should be, everything around it repainted — sills, reveals, porch ceiling, columns, gutters and every window.
Porch, columns and front door
Fluted columns cut in by hand, porch soffit rolled flat, and the front door finished in a deep satin navy that lifts the whole entrance.
Gutters, hoppers and downpipes
Look closely and you'll see these are painted and set so water drains away cleanly. Small thing — but it's what protects the wall behind it.
Everything that was painted
- All render and pebbledash walls
- Every window frame, sash and reveal
- Front door, side door and rear doors
- Stone sills, plinths and copings
- Porch columns, soffits and ceilings
- Window hoods, canopies and flashing details
- Fascia, soffit and bargeboards
- Gutters, hopper heads and downpipes
- Full prep: wash down, fill, sand, prime, two topcoats
How the job ran
We started with the boring part, which is really the most important part. The house got washed down, any flaking or blown coating was taken back, cracks were filled, and bare areas were primed. Glass, stone and planting were masked and sheeted before a brush was lifted. On a house like this — brick you must not touch sitting right beside painted render and stone — the masking is half the finish.
Then it went in order: top down, back to front, so nothing finished got walked on or splashed. Render first, then fascia and soffit, then the rainwater goods, then all the joinery — windows, frames, reveals, doors — and finally the porch, columns and the fine detail around the entrance. Two topcoats everywhere, cut in by brush where spray or roller couldn't hold a line.
The house was tidied at the end of every day. Sheets folded, tools away, drive clear. The family were living there the whole way through, and that matters as much to me as the paint does.
The full photo story
Prep, progress and the finished elevations — including the sides of the house nobody usually photographs.
Prep day — everything covered
Dust sheets down, glass and stone masked, planting protected. Nothing gets painted until the prep is right.
Mid-job on the front elevation
Filling, priming and first coats. You can see the patched areas being brought level before topcoats go on.
Columns and soffits
Fluted columns are slow work — every flute cut in by brush so the lines stay sharp.
Bay windows and sills
Sills, reveals and the plinth line all coated. Sharp edges against brick are where a job is judged.
The side nobody photographs
The passage gets the same treatment as the front. Render, gutter run and downpipe all done to the same standard.
Rear render and rainwater goods
Crisp white render with the downpipes picked out — clean falls so water is carried away instead of tracking down the wall.
Rear elevation
Upper render, fascia, soffit and the back door and frame — the house painted the whole way round.
The result
A house that looks cared for from every angle. The brick is untouched and clean, the painted work is sharp against it, the doors carry the whole front, and the rainwater goods are doing their job quietly in the background. That's what a full exterior repaint should look like — not just the front elevation you see from the road.
If you're thinking about the outside of your own house, call me and I'll come out and look at it. The quotation is free and I'll tell you straight what it needs.
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