Our shop is in Fernley, 28 miles up US-50 Alternate — about a 30-minute drive. Fallon is the oldest housing we work on and some of the newest, side by side: a town incorporated in 1908 around the Newlands irrigation project, with a downtown that was made a National Historic District in 2019, and newer streets that grew up around the Naval Air Station on the south side. The prep is different in each, and that's most of what an estimate is about.
What Fallon's sun, water and winters do to a paint job
Fallon sits at about 3,965 feet — lower than Reno, but still with noticeably more ultraviolet than sea level. UV breaks down the binder that holds pigment to the wall, and the loose pigment powders off as chalk on the south and west sides. What makes Fallon different from the rest of the valley is water. The Newlands Project put nearly 70 miles of canals through the Lahontan Valley, and a house next to an irrigated field or a lawn on a ditch turn spends the summer with wetter ground and higher humidity around its foundation than anywhere else we work. That shows up as peeling low on the walls, rotted trim at the bottom of siding, and efflorescence — white salts carried out of stucco and block by water moving through it. The winters do the rest: nights cross freezing most days from November into March, and any water in a hairline crack goes with it.
Downtown and the Maine Street district: Victorian and early 1900s wood
The historic core along Maine Street and the streets around it holds Victorian houses and bungalows from Fallon's first decades — wraparound porches, original woodwork, sash windows. Wood moves more than stucco and holds moisture, so paint there peels and lifts rather than chalks, and the job is scraping back to sound paint, spot-priming bare wood, caulking, and painting in thinner, properly cured coats rather than one heavy one. 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 around it.
Farmhouses, ranch houses and the mid-century town
Between the historic district and the newer subdivisions is the Fallon most people live in: farmhouses on acreage, 1950s to 1980s ranch houses, outbuildings and shops. A lot of it is a mix — wood siding on the house, block or stucco on an addition, a metal roof, a fence line that runs to the ditch. We price each surface for what it is. Block and stucco want an alkali-resistant masonry primer and a 100 percent acrylic finish; wood wants scraping and spot-priming; steel doors and railings want a rust-inhibiting primer before colour. Fences and decks out here take the same sun as the house and usually need cleaning and sealing more often than owners expect.
The newer streets near the base
The subdivisions on the south side, toward Naval Air Station Fallon, are the valley's newest stock: stucco, built from the 1990s on, many on their first repaint. That looks different from an old house — the thin original coat still fine on the north side and giving up on the south and west. 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 under the finish, and a 100 percent acrylic finish resists that alkali far better than oil. White chalky deposits coming through the wall are 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.
When exterior work can actually happen in Fallon
Overnight lows average below freezing from November into March, and coatings need enough warmth through the night to cure, so exterior repaints run spring through fall. Summer afternoons bring wind and, near the fields, dust; both land in wet film, so exterior spraying 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 Fallon, most often:
- Exterior repaints — stucco, 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 Fallon homeowners
You're in Fernley. Do you really come to Fallon?
Yes. It's 28 miles and about 30 minutes on US-50 Alternate, and Fallon has been part of our service area for years along with Sparks, Spanish Springs and Reno. The estimate is free in Fallon the same as it is in Fernley.
My house is one of the old Maine Street Victorians. 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 house is next to an irrigated field. Does that change anything?
It does. Wetter ground and higher humidity around the foundation show up as peeling low on the walls and salts coming through stucco or block. We look for the water path first — grade, sprinklers, a ditch bank — because paint over a wet wall doesn't last.
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 Fallon?
Spring through fall, and mornings in summer. Overnight lows average below freezing from around November into March. Interior work and cabinets we do year-round.