House painting and plaster repair across suburban Cook County
Cook County is home base. Our headquarters at 7420 Northwest Highway in Park Ridge sits inside it, and most of our week is spent in the suburbs around it, from brick ranches in Niles to Victorians in Evanston and bungalows in Berwyn.
Short answer
We paint homes, condos and small commercial spaces in the Cook County suburbs: the northwest suburbs, the North Shore and the near west. Housing runs from postwar ranches and Georgians to 1920s bungalows and older Victorians. Most single rooms run $465 to $890 for walls, and a full exterior on a two-story frame or sided house runs $7,850 to $16,400, depending on prep, height and lead-safe needs.
Which parts of Cook County do we paint?
Chicago is the county seat, but the work we take in Cook County is suburban. It starts at our door in Park Ridge and spreads out in three directions: northwest through Des Plaines, Mount Prospect, Arlington Heights, Palatine and Schaumburg; north and east along the North Shore through Skokie, Evanston, Wilmette, Glenview, Northbrook, Winnetka and Glencoe; and west and south of O'Hare through Schiller Park, Franklin Park, Melrose Park, River Forest, Oak Park and Berwyn.
The closest jobs are a few minutes away. Niles and Des Plaines both touch Park Ridge, and Morton Grove is just past Niles. The far northwest towns like Streamwood, Hanover Park and Bartlett take longer, so we group those visits and plan full days out there rather than splitting a crew across the county.
Because the phone is answered 24/7, a call at night or on a Sunday still gets a person who can put a walk-through on the calendar.
One county, very different houses to paint
Suburban Cook County holds almost every kind of house we work on. The northwest suburbs are mostly postwar: brick ranches, Georgians, Cape Cods, bi-levels and split-levels, many on their third or fourth repaint. Interiors there are drywall with simple trim, and the exterior work centers on wood trim, soffits, fascia and garage doors next to brick or aluminum siding.
Closer in and to the west, the stock gets older. Berwyn and Melrose Park are full of 1920s brick bungalows and two-flats with plaster walls and oak trim. Oak Park, River Forest and Evanston add Victorian, Queen Anne and Prairie School homes, some of them a century old or more, and local historic districts where exterior changes can need review. Along the North Shore, Wilmette, Winnetka and Glencoe have large Tudors, Georgians and Colonials with original plaster and wood windows.
Nearly all of it was built before 1978. That means lead-safe work practices on most jobs, not just the old ones, because postwar ranches can carry lead paint on trim and windows too.
The work Cook County homeowners call us for
These are the services that come up most across the county's mix of postwar and prewar homes.
Interior House Painting
Room repaints are the bulk of the work everywhere from Mount Prospect split-levels to Skokie brick bungalows.
Plaster Wall Repair
Bungalows in Berwyn and older homes in Evanston, Oak Park and Wilmette have plaster walls that crack and need skimming before paint.
Lead-Safe Painting
Most suburban Cook County homes went up before 1978, so containment and wet scraping are standard on our jobs here.
Exterior House Painting
Frame and sided homes on the North Shore and in Oak Park need full scrape, prime and two-coat repaints in the warm months.
Soffit & Fascia Painting
Brick ranches and raised ranches in the northwest suburbs mostly need eaves, fascia and trim painted rather than whole walls.
Condo & HOA Painting
Townhome and condo communities from Wheeling to Palatine book hallway and exterior trim work by building.
Commercial Painting
Office and retail areas in Schaumburg, Elk Grove Village and Rolling Meadows need painting done after hours.
Planning a paint job in Cook County
Historic districts need checking
Oak Park and Evanston both have local historic districts. If you plan to paint brick that has never been painted, check with the village or city first.
Exterior season is short
Average highs at O'Hare reach 59F in April and fall back to about 48F by November. We book most outside work from May through early October and check the can for each product's minimum temperature.
Road salt hits low surfaces
Garage doors, porch steps and iron railings near the street take salt spray every winter, so we scrape and spot-prime those first.
Associations set the colors
Many townhome and condo communities in the northwest suburbs approve exterior colors. Check your association's approved colors before we order paint.
Travel shapes the schedule
Towns near Park Ridge can get a quick look the same week. Farther towns get grouped into full workdays so the crew is not driving across the county twice.
Questions from Cook County
Do you paint in every Cook County suburb or only near Park Ridge?
We cover the northwest suburbs, the North Shore and the near west suburbs, from Niles and Des Plaines out to Schaumburg, Bartlett, Glencoe and Berwyn. We do not take work in Chicago city neighborhoods. Towns farther from Park Ridge are scheduled in grouped workdays.
Is lead-safe prep needed on a postwar ranch in suburban Cook County?
Usually yes. Homes built before 1978 may contain lead-based paint, and that covers most ranches and Georgians from the 1950s and 1960s. We follow EPA lead-safe work practices, and setup adds about $145 to $385 per room inside.
What does painting the trim on a Cook County brick ranch cost?
Trim, soffits and the garage door on a brick ranch usually run $2,940 to $6,480. The amount of rotted wood, how much old paint is failing and how many windows the house has set the final price.
Can you repair plaster in an older Cook County bungalow before painting?
Yes. Cracks and small areas usually run $265 to $780, and a full room skim coat runs $1,380 to $3,460. We reattach loose plaster where we can instead of tearing it out, then prime and paint.
Painting in Cook County? Call us
Call any hour. Someone picks up, takes the details and books a time to walk the job with you.