Our shop is in Fernley, 34 miles east — about 35 minutes straight down I-80. Reno is the most varied painting work we do, because it's really three cities of houses in one: the brick and wood of the Old Southwest, the 1980s and '90s tracts up the hillsides, and the stucco of South Reno and the master-planned communities built since 2000. Each one fails in its own way and gets prepped its own way.
What Reno's sun and winters do to a paint job
Reno sits at about 4,500 feet, which means roughly 10 to 15 percent more ultraviolet than the same house would take at sea level. UV breaks down the binder that holds pigment to the surface, and the loose pigment powders off — that's the chalk on your palm when you run a hand down the south side. Summer afternoons in July average the mid-80s to low 90s while the nights drop to the mid-50s, so everything on your wall expands and contracts every day. Then winter: January nights average around 24°F, and the surface crosses freezing and back most days from November into March. Any water sitting in a hairline crack does the same. It's why south and west elevations go first while the north side still looks almost new.
Old Southwest and Newlands: brick, wood, and houses that predate modern paint
The Old Southwest and the Newlands district were built largely between the 1920s and the 1950s — Craftsman bungalows, Tudor Revivals, Spanish Revival stucco, brick colonials — and the paintable surfaces there are mostly wood: siding, trim, eaves, sash windows, porch columns. Wood moves more than stucco and holds moisture, so failing paint there peels and lifts rather than chalks, and the fix is scraping back to sound paint, spot-priming bare wood, and caulking the joints before any colour goes on. One thing to know before you call: houses built before 1978 can carry lead-based paint under the newer coats, and that changes how the prep has to be done. Tell us the age of the house up front and we'll plan the job around it.
The hillside tracts: Caughlin Ranch, Northwest Reno and the 1980s and '90s stock
Caughlin Ranch has been building since 1984, and the tracts across Northwest and West Reno are largely 1970s through 1990s. Those houses are on their second or third repaint now, and what we see most is old caulk that has let go at the trim joints, chalked south walls, and the previous painter's coat peeling where it went over chalk without a bonding primer. Caughlin Ranch's architectural committee requires written approval before any exterior painting that can be seen from outside; repainting an already-approved colour is the exception, but it's on the owner to confirm the colour was approved. Get that letter first and bring it to the estimate.
South Reno and the master plans: stucco, and a palette you paint inside
Double Diamond, Damonte Ranch, Somersett and ArrowCreek were built out from the 1990s into the 2000s and beyond, and they're stucco almost without exception. Portland-cement stucco is alkaline — fresh, it runs pH 12.5 to 13 — so patches need about 28 days to cure and an alkali-resistant masonry primer before a finish coat, and a 100 percent acrylic finish holds up to it far better than oil. If you have white chalky deposits coming through the wall, that's efflorescence: salts carried out by water moving through the stucco. Find the sprinkler head or the bad flashing first, or it comes straight back through the new paint. These communities all run architectural review. Somersett's committee takes about three weeks on a complete submission, and the palettes there and at ArrowCreek lean to muted neutrals and greiges. Get your final colours signed off by your association before we start — that approval is theirs to give — and we'll price it from the approved sheet.
When exterior work can actually happen in Reno
Two things set the calendar. Overnight lows average below freezing from roughly November into March, and coatings need enough warmth through the night to cure, so exterior repaints run spring through fall. The other is the Washoe Zephyr: the west-southwest wind that comes up mid-afternoon on summer days and gusts 20 to 30 miles an hour into the evening. Dust lands in wet film, and a gust carries overspray onto your car or your neighbour's, so exterior work in Reno belongs in the morning. Interior work, cabinets, and drywall and plaster repair we do year-round — winter is the easy time to get those on the schedule.
What we get called out for in Reno, most often:
- Exterior repaints — stucco, wood siding and trim
- Interior painting — walls, ceilings, doors and trim
- Cabinet refinishing
- Commercial interiors and exteriors
- Decks, fences and patios — clean, paint and seal
- Plaster and drywall repair, skim coating
- Wallpaper removal
- Prep: scraping, caulking, priming, sanding
Why homeowners keep calling us back
Robert Goormastic started this business in 1988 as Wine Country Painting in Santa Rosa, California, and moved it to Fernley in 2002. Thirty-plus years, same trade, still family owned and operated. We're rated 5.0 on Google and 5.0 on HomeAdvisor. Estimates are free and good for 90 days. We stand behind our work with a firm satisfaction guarantee: we don't consider a project complete until you're satisfied.
Questions we get from Reno homeowners
You're in Fernley. Do you really come to Reno?
Yes. It's 34 miles and about 35 minutes on I-80, and Reno has been part of our service area for years along with Sparks, Spanish Springs and Fallon. The estimate is free in Reno the same as it is in Fernley.
My house is in the Old Southwest and was built in the 1930s. Is that a different job?
It is. Wood siding and trim peel rather than chalk, so the prep is scraping, spot-priming and caulking rather than washing and back-rolling. And houses built before 1978 can have lead-based paint under the top coats, which changes how the surface has to be prepared. Tell us the age of the house when you call and we'll plan for it.
My HOA has an approved colour list. Can you work from it?
That's normal in Reno and it's no trouble. Caughlin Ranch, Somersett, ArrowCreek and Damonte Ranch all run architectural review; Caughlin's rules require written approval before exterior painting unless you're repainting an already-approved colour. Get your final choice approved by your association before we start — that decision is theirs — and we'll paint whatever comes back approved.
How soon can new stucco or a fresh patch be painted?
Give portland-cement stucco about 28 days to cure. It comes out of the mixer around pH 12.5 to 13, and coating it while it's still that alkaline is how you end up with a finish that discolours or lets go within a season.
What time of year should I book exterior work in Reno?
Spring through fall, and mornings in summer. Overnight lows average below freezing from around November into March, and the Washoe Zephyr makes summer afternoons a bad time for spraying. Interior work and cabinets we do year-round.