Handyman Service Exterior Painting of a Pergola in Maitland

Have you ever seen those structures outside of a house made of posts and large 2x10's and wondered what they were called? They're called a 'pergola' and is Italian in origin. This is a feature that will provide partial shade for a sitting area or walkway. There will be a structure of posts and frame which typically attach to a building. On top of this post and frames will be a series of large beams and held in place by another series of smaller boards running perpendicular to the beams, and this creates an open lattice.

Since these are exposed to the elements, and in Florida the sun, they must be taken care of regularly, i.e. painted on an annual or bi-annual basis. Here's one that we did for a customer in Maitland, Florida.

When we first saw it, the previous paint was very faded and was not present in many locations. Also, the top was not painted, allowing water to enter from the top and then seep out the sides. Very bad for the wood and would have allowed the pergola to eventually rot away. Painting a pergola takes a deceptively long time because there is a lot of surface area. This one took us a total of 7 man-hours to paint from top to bottom.

Here's the finished, painted Pergola:

When we were done painting, the pergola looked like new.  In case you were wondering, we used Kilz exterior white paint. It has a very strong odor and is a little more expensive, but it will absolutely do the trick. This paint will retain its color and will form a protective barrier to the elements. Better a few extra bucks spent on the paint to do the job right, than to have to come back out in six months and do it all again.

If you need interior painting, exterior painting, trim work, stucco re-painted, glazing or patching, please give us a call or email us at winterparkhandyman@gmail.com. We service Orange County, Seminole County and the surrounding area. This includes Winter Park, Orlando, Maitland, Longwood, Winter Springs, Oviedo, Winter Garden, Altamonte Springs, and anywhere else in the neighborhood.