Corcoran's two kinds of houses
The older Corcoran is spread along the county roads west and north of the Hwy 55 corridor. Those are big lots with big trees, and the houses on them are cedar, rough-sawn plywood and hardboard from the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s, plus a few pole barns and detached shops that get painted at the same time. Shade, moisture and age are the problems there, and the work is prep-heavy. The newer Corcoran sits on former farmland with young trees and no shade at all. Those homes are LP SmartSide with a factory finish, vinyl in the mid-range plats, and fiber cement on the higher-end lots, with white or black trim and dark siding colors that were fashionable when they went up. Open lots mean sun and wind, so the dark south and west walls fade and chalk sooner than the same color would under a tree canopy, and wind-driven rain finds any caulk joint the builder left short. The first repaint on those is mostly wash, caulk and color, with very little scraping.
What the Hwy 55 corridor does to paint
Corcoran's growth runs along Hwy 55 and the county roads that come off it, and the highway side of a house takes road dust and salt spray in winter that the back does not. We wash every house before paint, but on homes close to Hwy 55 we wash the road-facing wall twice and check the bottom courses for grit under the old finish. On the acreage side of town the issue flips to standing moisture: wetlands and low ground hold water into June, the north walls under the trees stay damp, and mildew shows up on cedar and hardboard alike. We stage exteriors here from roughly May to mid-October and plan the open-lot jobs around wind days, because spraying LP in a 20-mile-an-hour crosswind is a bad idea.
How we work in Corcoran
Corcoran is about 15 minutes east of the shop on Hwy 55, one of the easiest trips we make. That closeness matters on the new subdivisions, where HOA color rules are common and a color has to be sampled on the actual siding and approved before anything is ordered. We brush samples on the house, come back to look at them in afternoon light, and handle the paperwork with you. On the acreage homes, closeness means we can split a big job into stages and come back for the deck or the pole barn when the weather cooperates. Every exterior gets a wash, scrape and sand where needed, repairs under our contractor license, caulk, primer on bare wood, and two coats: sprayed and back-brushed on siding, brushed on trim. Daily cleanup and a final walkthrough close every job.
Exterior painting in Corcoran
Corcoran's new subdivisions are coming due for their first repaint, and the older acreage homes are overdue for theirs. Exterior painting is the service that covers both, and the difference between them is almost entirely prep. Our exterior painting page explains what we do on a seven-year-old LP house versus a forty-year-old cedar one and how that changes the estimate. How an exterior repaint goes, and what moves the cost. Rotten trim and siding get replaced first by our own crew under our contractor license, see rot and trim repair.
Interior painting and cabinets in Corcoran
Inside a newer Corcoran two-story, the work is the first real repaint: the builder's flat paint has scuffed, the family wants a washable finish and a real color, and the trim wants a harder enamel than it got. We also spray the kitchen and built-ins when the oak or the builder white has run its course. That work runs all winter, and Corcoran is close enough to do it a room at a time around your schedule. See interior painting and cabinet and trim enamel.
Where in Corcoran we work
- Hwy 55 corridor
Services in Corcoran
Painting
- Exterior painting
- Interior painting
- Cabinet painting
- Staining and sealing
- Deck staining
- Commercial painting
Exteriors and build
Google reviewsWhat customers say
★★★★★We used Cedar Tone Painting to paint the entire interior of our home - they did an exceptional job. Service and quality of work was excellent! Highly recommend the company. We will definitely use them in the future for other interior and exterior projects.
★★★★★Cedar Tone did a great job replacing my roof, and managed to fit me into their schedule quickly. Great price and communication throughout the whole process!
Straight answersPainting questions from Corcoran
Our HOA in Corcoran has an approved color list. Do you work within it?
Yes. Most of the newer Corcoran plats have an association palette for siding, trim and doors, and the process is to send us the list, let us brush two or three of the approved colors onto your actual siding, and look at them in your light before you submit the form. We will match the approved color exactly and note it on the estimate so there is a record for the association.
Is it too early to repaint a Corcoran house that is seven years old?
Not if the finish is chalking or the caulk has split. LP SmartSide comes with a factory finish that holds well, but dark colors on open lots with full sun fade faster than the brochure says, and the builder's caulk is usually the first thing to fail. A wash, new caulk at every window and corner, and two coats will carry that house a long way. If the siding itself is fine and the color is fine, we will tell you to wait.
Can you paint the pole barn or detached garage on our Corcoran acreage with the house?
Yes, and we recommend doing it at the same time so the buildings age together. Pole barns and older garages are usually steel or rough-sawn wood, and each takes its own prep and product: a bonding primer on chalky steel, a solid stain on rough wood. We scope every building separately on the estimate so you can decide which ones to do this year.
Do you handle rot on the older Corcoran homes, or only the painting?
Both, with the same crew. Cedar Tone holds a Minnesota residential building contractor license, so rotten fascia, soffit, sills and corner boards on a 1980s cedar house get replaced before paint, as line items on the estimate. Acreage homes in Corcoran with big trees over them almost always have some rot on the shaded side, and painting over it is money wasted.