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Real Prices from 5,900+ Twin Cities Estimates, What Drives Them, and How to Read a Proposal
Several Factors Influence the Cost of an Exterior Painting Project. The Biggest Considerations Include:
Understanding these variables helps you plan confidently and choose the best approach for your home.
The average exterior painting project Paris Painting completed in the Twin Cities in 2026 was about $7,000 for a home without lead paint and about $9,400 for a pre-1978 home that needed lead-safe prep. Most full repaints land between $4,500 and $11,000. Small ramblers can come in under $4,000; large two-and-a-half-story homes in Minneapolis and St. Paul's historic neighborhoods can run $20,000 or more.
Those aren't national averages copied from a website. They come from the 1,300+ exterior projects Paris Painting sold and completed in 2026, and the 5,900+ estimates we wrote in 2025 and 2026. One thing to know up front: the base bid is where most projects start, not where they end. Once homeowners add options and time-and-materials carpentry, the final invoice typically runs about 15 percent higher than the original proposal. Here is what drives the number, what a real proposal looks like, and how to tell whether a bid is fair.
Square footage is only a starting point. Two 1,800 sq ft homes can be $4,000 apart depending on siding, height, prep and how many colors are involved. But if you want a ballpark before anyone comes out, this is the range most Twin Cities homes fall into for a full repaint of siding and trim, including washing, prep and two coats of premium paint.
| Home size & style | Full exterior repaint | Trim & accents only | What pushes it higher |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rambler or 1-story, under 1,500 sq ft | $3,500 – $7,000 | $1,800 – $3,000 | Lead-safe prep, heavy peeling, many windows |
| 1.5-story or small 2-story, 1,500 – 2,000 sq ft | $5,500 – $9,500 | $2,200 – $4,000 | Cedar or wood lap siding, dormers, color change |
| 2-story, 2,000 – 3,000 sq ft | $8,000 – $14,000 | $3,000 – $5,500 | Detailed trim, tall gables, steep lots |
| Large 2- to 2.5-story, 3,000 – 4,000 sq ft | $12,000 – $22,000 | $4,000 – $7,000 | Multiple colors, porches, carpentry repairs |
| 4,000+ sq ft, historic or highly detailed | $18,000 – $40,000+ | $6,000 – $10,000+ | Victorian trim, three stories, lead-safe, full color change |
| Item | Typical cost | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Detached garage (siding + trim) | $1,400 – $3,500 | Trim-only garages start around $1,400; full siding and trim $2,500 – $3,500. Priced as its own section. |
| House wash (cold, soft or oxidation wash) | $350 – $900 | Cold wash or lead rinse $350 – $450 ($350 minimum); oxidation wash for chalky stucco or aluminum $750 – $900 |
| Porch floor or deck, stain or floor enamel | $700 – $3,500 | Depends on size and whether railings/spindles are included |
| Windows, sashes and sliding doors | $60 – $190 per window | Trim only at the low end; sash, storm removal and trim at the high end. Often quoted as an option. |
| Entry and side doors, exterior face | $130 – $240 each | Two-color or clear-coat doors at the top of the range |
| Deck and porch railings, spindles | $100 – $350 per run; $5 – $8 per spindle | Spindles are counted individually on the proposal |
| Garage doors, shutters | $250 – $400 each | Quoted as options so you decide |
| Lead-safe prep (homes built before 1978) | +10 – 15% | Required by EPA rules; Paris Painting is Lead-Safe Certified |
An 1879 Summit Avenue Home, Before and After
Drag the slider. This is the Joseph McKey House on Summit Avenue in St. Paul, built in 1879 and restored by our crews in spring 2026: cold wash and lead rinse, lead-safe prep, Peel Bond primer on the weathered wood, then a five-color scheme across siding, trim, corbels and doors. The proposal ran 14 pages, one line per surface, so the owner could see exactly where every dollar went. More on historic exteriors.
These are recent proposals for Twin Cities homes, with names removed. The full repaints include washing, scraping, spot priming, caulking and two coats of premium Sherwin-Williams or Benjamin Moore paint; the smaller ones show what a partial project looks like.
Base-bid totals from 2026 proposals; optional items and time-and-materials carpentry are not included unless noted, and finished projects typically come in about 15 percent above the base bid once those are added. Every estimate is valid for 90 days.
Schedule a Free EstimateThe paint you see is maybe a third of what determines how long a job lasts. The rest is what happens before the first coat: washing, scraping every loose edge, priming bare wood, caulking (up to 100 linear feet is included in standard prep), and filling. A home that has been painted every eight years needs far less of this than one that has gone twenty. In Minnesota, freeze-thaw cycles and south-facing sun age a surface faster than almost anywhere in the country, so prep is where a good painter earns the money.
A 2.5-story home on a sloped Minneapolis lot means longer ladders, more staging and slower work than a rambler. Shake roofs and steep pitches can require lift rental.
Homes built before 1978 are assumed to have lead paint. Federal rules require containment, HEPA cleanup and safe disposal, and prohibit dry sanding. Expect this to add roughly 10 to 15 percent. It is not optional, and any contractor who skips it is putting your family and their crew at risk.
Going from light to dark, or dark to light, usually means a primer coat or a third coat. Adding a second or third accent color adds cutting-in time. Repainting the same color scheme is always the least expensive option.
Rotted window sills, split fascia, and missing siding need to be fixed before paint goes on. Paris Painting's handyman crew bills this at $135 per hour plus materials with a four-hour minimum, and materials are billed at cost plus 5 percent. You approve an hour range before any repair work begins.
We price with premium lines such as Sherwin-Williams Duration, Loxon XP and Latitude, and Benjamin Moore Element Guard. A better coating costs more per gallon but stretches the repaint cycle, which is the cheapest way to lower the lifetime cost of your exterior.
Every estimate is done in person, because the surface underneath the paint decides how long the job lasts and you can't see that from a photo. Here is exactly how the appointment runs:
A Paris Painting proposal is built section by section so you can see where every dollar goes and adjust the scope yourself:
See a real exterior proposal (PDF).
Exterior paint needs mild temperatures to cure, so the Twin Cities exterior season runs roughly spring through mid-fall, and the most popular weeks book first. Booking early gets you the dates you want; interior work fills the winter.
Most full repaints take two to four days on site. Larger or heavily detailed homes take longer, and your proposal review covers the expected schedule.
If three bids come back $4,000 apart, the difference is almost always in prep, products and what's excluded. Before you compare totals, check that each proposal spells out:
A bid that's dramatically lower usually means one of those lines is missing.
Five exteriors we painted in 2026, with the base bid and what the homeowner actually paid.
Stucco, half-timber trim and a wraparound porch, all original. The base bid covered a cold wash and lead rinse, lead-safe prep and two coats on every surface. Once the crew opened up the porch, rotted trim and soft porch boards were rebuilt on time and materials, which is what took the final invoice above the bid.
Smooth LP siding on a tower-and-porch Victorian, with fish-scale shingles picked out in a third color. The scheme came from Tanya at Paper House Studio. Oxidation wash plus lead rinse, then Benjamin Moore Element Guard. No carpentry needed, so the final matched the revised bid.
What a full exterior costs when nothing has to be fixed first. Lap and shake siding in Sherwin-Williams Emerald Rain Refresh, metal soffits primed with a DTM primer, and no lead-safe steps because the house is brand new.
A good picture of a typical suburban repaint: lap siding painted, front shakes stained, and a mix of oxidation, soft and cold washing depending on the surface. A small time-and-materials repair found during the job added about $1,000.
The paint was the small part here: $4,228 for stucco and trim. Seventeen of the 25 window trims had rotted past repair, so this one got a formal carpentry bid (30 hours plus materials) instead of an open-ended hourly rate. That is how we handle bigger carpentry: a fixed number you approve before anyone starts.
Not every exterior is paint. This one is redwood siding, rafter tails, window trims and the front door in Sikkens Proluxe SRD transparent stain after a soft wash, with the black body color matched and the garage interior painted while the crew was there. Rear rafter tails, a frieze board and the brick were priced as options the owner could add later.
Every one of these started with a free, in-person estimate and a printed proposal. Schedule yours or read more about historic exteriors.
Once your contract is signed, our team handles every detail:
Scheduling & Coordination
Color & Project Details Confirmation
A Dedicated Project Manager
Kickoff Meeting On-Site
Final Walkthrough to Ensure Satisfaction
Every exterior project is backed by our three-year warranty, covering premature paint failure on non-horizontal surfaces.
These ranges reflect more than square footage. In Minnesota’s older neighborhoods—where surfaces age faster due to freeze–thaw cycles—prep work, materials, and home age all influence final pricing.
Every Paris Painting exterior project includes:
Full House Wash
Scraping Loose or Peeling Paint
Spot Priming Exposed Surfaces
Up to 100 Linear Feet of Caulking
Filling Small, Non-Structural Holes
Two Coats of Premium Exterior Paint
Not included unless noted: sanding, glazing, and storm window removal.
Proper preparation is the foundation of a long-lasting exterior, and it’s included in every estimate.
Paris Painting is an EPA Lead-Safe Certified firm.
For homes built before 1978, we follow strict federal guidelines that require:
Specialized Containment
Protective Barriers
HEPA Vacuum Cleanup
Safe Debris Disposal
Lead-safe prep on older homes can increase the overall project cost by roughly 10–15%, reflecting the additional time, materials, and containment required. While it can increase the overall cost, lead-safe practices ensure your home is painted safely and correctly, protecting your family and meeting EPA standards.
We offer carpentry support to ensure your exterior is fully ready for paint. Common repairs include:
Wood Siding Replacement
Deck Repair or Replacement
LP Siding Repairs
Soffit & Fascia Repair
Filling Animal or Weather-Related Holes
Light Stucco Repair
Carpentry is billed separately with estimates provided before work begins.
The average exterior project Paris Painting completed in 2026 was about $7,000 for a home without lead paint and about $9,400 for a pre-1978 home with lead-safe prep; most full repaints fall between $4,500 and $11,000. Historic homes with detailed trim commonly run $12,000 to $25,000, and finished projects typically come in about 15 percent above the base bid once options and carpentry are added.
Painters don't really price by floor square footage, because a tall, narrow two-story has far more wall area than a rambler with the same footprint. As a rough guide, full repaints in the Twin Cities land around $2.50 to $4.50 per square foot of living space, and less for simple one-story homes.
Usually yes. Stucco is sprayed with a masonry coating such as SW Loxon XP and needs little scraping. Wood lap and cedar siding need more hand prep, so a similar-sized wood home usually costs more.
It depends on the siding, sun exposure and how well the last job was prepped. Wood siding on south- and west-facing walls wears fastest; stucco holds paint longest. Peeling, heavy chalking or graying wood means it is time, and waiting adds prep cost.
Yes. Our handyman carpentry crew replaces rotted trim, sills, fascia and siding at $135 per hour plus materials, with a 4-hour minimum. It is quoted separately so you can see exactly what the repair portion costs.
Yes. Trim-only, one-elevation, garage-only, or repair-and-repaint of problem areas are all common, especially before winter. Small projects are still built from the same metrics, so the pricing is proportional.
Proposals are valid for 90 days or through the end of the calendar year, whichever comes first, because material costs change.
