KEY TAKEAWAYS
- Most paint failures start with skipped preparation, not bad paint.
- Ask for each prep step to be listed separately in the quote.
- Rotten wood should be replaced before painting, never painted over.
- Good prep is slower and costs more, and it is why a repaint lasts.
Two quotes for the same complex can be far apart, and the difference is almost always preparation. It is also what decides whether the paint still looks right in seven years or starts peeling in two.
The steps, and what each one is for
- Washing: pressure or soft washing removes dirt, chalk, mildew and moss so the new coat can bond.
- Scraping and sanding: loose and peeling paint comes off, and edges are feathered so they do not show through.
- Caulking: failed caulking at windows, trim and corners is cut out and renewed, so water stays out.
- Wood repair: soft or rotten fascia, trim and boards are probed, photographed and replaced.
- Priming: bare wood is spot primed, and rusted metal gets a metal primer before the finish coats.
- Protection: windows, roofs, plants and walkways are covered before spraying or rolling.
How to compare prep between quotes
Ask each contractor to list these steps separately. If one quote is much lower, the gap is usually in washing, caulking or wood repair, and those are the steps that make paint last.
Wood rot: replace it, then paint it
Paint over rot fails within a season or two. A good contractor probes the wood during the walk-through, marks what has to come out, and prices it as an allowance or a unit rate so nobody is surprised.
What it looks like done properly
After a repaint at Nahanee Woods in North Vancouver, an owner wrote that every tiny crack and nail hole was filled and caulked before painting. That is what preparation looks like, and it is why he called it the best of the three repaints the complex had had.
This guide is general information for strata councils and property managers in British Columbia, not legal advice. Check your registered bylaws and the current Strata Property Act, or ask your property manager or a lawyer, before relying on it for a decision.
