How Much Does It Cost to Paint a House in Portland, OR and Vancouver, WA?

ADR Contracting Solutions
Jul 1
2 min read

If you're planning a paint job in the Portland/Vancouver metro, pricing depends on a few local factors: our wet winters, older housing stock with lead-paint considerations in pre-1978 homes, and seasonal contractor demand. Here's what homeowners in our area are actually paying, plus answers to the questions we hear most.

Exterior house painting Portland Oregon before and after

Before/after photo of a recently painted exterior in your service area.

How much does it cost to paint the exterior of a house?

For a typical single-family home in the Portland/Vancouver area, exterior painting runs $4000–$12,000, depending on square footage, siding type, and how much prep work (scraping, caulking, priming bare wood) is needed. Larger homes or those with extensive trim, multiple stories, or wood siding needing repair can run higher.

Three things move the price most in our region:

Siding material — wood and cedar shingle siding (common in older Portland neighborhoods) take longer to prep than vinyl or fiber cement (vinyl requires "vinyl safe" paint)
Moisture damage — our rainy climate means more homes need rot repair or mildew treatment before painting
Access — steep rooflines or homes close to property lines may need extra staging

How much does it cost to paint the interior of a house?

Interior painting typically costs $3–$7 per square foot, or roughly $2000–$6,000 for a few rooms and $4,000–$12,000+ for a full-home repaint, depending on ceiling height, trim detail, and whether you're changing colors dramatically (which often needs extra coats).

Interior house painting Vancouver WA bedroom

How often should you repaint your house exterior?

In the Pacific Northwest, most exteriors need repainting every 7–10 years — a bit sooner than drier climates because of our extended rainy season and higher humidity. Signs it's time sooner:

Peeling, cracking, or bubbling paint
Chalky residue when you run a hand across the surface
Visible bare wood or graying siding
Caulking gaps around trim and windows

What's the best time of year to paint a house exterior in Portland or Vancouver?

Late spring through early fall (May–September) is ideal here, since exterior paint needs consistent dry weather and temperatures generally above 50°F to cure properly. Given how quickly our rainy season fills up contractor schedules, most local painters recommend booking exterior work by early spring to get a summer slot.

Interior painting can be done any time of year, which makes winter a good season to tackle those projects while exterior work waits for drier weather.

How long does exterior paint last in the Pacific Northwest?

Quality paint, properly applied with good prep work, typically lasts 6–10 years on siding and 5–8 years on trim and high-exposure areas (south and west-facing walls take the most sun and rain damage). Cheaper paint or skipped prep work can cut that lifespan in half.

Close-up photo of paint texture/finish or a painter at work

ADR professional house painters Portland Oregon at work

Get a Painting Estimate for Your Portland or Vancouver Home

Every home is different, and the fastest way to get an accurate number is a walkthrough. If you're also considering siding repair or replacement alongside paint, it's often more cost-effective to bundle the work. And if your painting project is part of a bigger home exterior renovation, we can help you plan the whole scope at once.