Painting Tips for Older Homes in Des Moines

Des Moines is one of the most architecturally rich cities in the Midwest. The Sherman Hill Historic District preserves one of Iowa's finest collections of Victorian architecture. Beaverdale's brick tudor and Craftsman bungalow streetscapes are genuinely distinctive. Neighborhoods like Oak Park, University Park, Drake, and North Des Moines have generations of well-built houses from the early twentieth century that continue to be the most desirable housing stock in the city.

But caring for these older homes — maintaining and painting them in ways that preserve their character and protect their structure — requires knowledge that generic painting contractors often lack.

Lead paint is the first and most important consideration for any home built before 1978. Lead-based paint was standard in residential construction through 1977 and is present in virtually every Des Moines home built before the ban. In intact condition, lead paint poses minimal risk. It becomes hazardous when disturbed — sanded, scraped, or pressure washed in ways that create lead dust or chips — because lead dust is a serious health hazard, particularly for children whose developing nervous systems are acutely sensitive to lead exposure.

Under the EPA's Renovation, Repair, and Painting (RRP) Rule, contractors working in pre-1978 homes must follow certified lead-safe work practices, including specific containment protocols, cleaning requirements, and documentation. TrueEdge Paint is certified under the RRP Rule and follows all required procedures on every pre-1978 project.

Older homes commonly carry multiple layers of accumulated paint built up over decades or more than a century of maintenance. This isn't automatically a problem — if the existing paint layers are all well-adhered and stable, repainting over them is perfectly appropriate. The problem arises when older paint layers have lost adhesion, because new paint applied over failing old paint peels along with the failing layer. Paint failure is often invisible or subtle before painting begins — surfaces that look merely faded can be harboring significant adhesion problems that reveal themselves when new paint is applied.

TrueEdge Paint performs adhesion testing on older surfaces before recommending a preparation strategy.

Wood siding and trim on older homes typically shows the effects of decades of weather exposure: checking (fine cracks in the wood surface that run parallel to the grain), grain raising (the surface texture becoming rougher as soft grain wears away), and significant wear at end grain locations where wood has absorbed the most moisture over time. These surfaces need more thorough preparation than the relatively consistent surfaces of newer construction — more sanding, more spot priming, more careful attention to caulking — but they respond beautifully to proper preparation and premium coating products when the work is done correctly.

Plaster walls, standard in homes built before approximately 1950, require different handling than modern drywall. Plaster is denser, harder, and more alkaline than drywall, and it responds differently to paint application. Alkali-resistant primer is required over plaster to prevent chemical reactions between the alkalinity and paint binders that cause discoloration and adhesion problems. Plaster also develops characteristic hairline cracking as it ages — vertical shrinkage cracks at corners and openings, map cracking from surface drying, and stress cracks at structural movements.

These need to be addressed with flexible patching compound before painting, with care taken to apply and sand patches to blend as seamlessly as possible with the surrounding plaster texture.

Color selection for older Des Moines homes has historic dimension that doesn't apply to contemporary construction. Victorian homes, Craftsman bungalows, and colonial revival homes all have historically appropriate color traditions that paint manufacturers have researched extensively. Sherwin-Williams maintains a Preservation Palette of historically researched colors, and Benjamin Moore's Historical Collection traces specific colors to their periods of origin. While homeowners are never obligated to follow historic precedent, TrueEdge Paint's color consultants can help you navigate these resources to find colors that honor your home's architectural heritage while expressing your personal style.

TrueEdge Paint has deep experience with Des Moines's older housing stock — the lead-safe practices, the preparation demands, the architectural details, and the color traditions that make historic homes special. Contact us for a free estimate and consultation for your older Des Moines home.