Randy’s Painting & Drywall

Coopersburg, Lehigh County

Wood staining in Coopersburg, PA.

The borough's historic district is a street of porches, and the township wrapped around it is a generation of decks. On both, the flat wood takes the weather first.

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A pale green three-story Victorian with a steep slate roof, photographed from below through the trees.
A three-story Victorian. Elizabeth Hoyt’s photograph, from her Google review.

Wood staining for Coopersburg homes

The historic district along Main Street counts 175 buildings in Federal, Queen Anne and Colonial Revival styles, and the later two carry much of their character in the porch. Porch floors, steps and rails on houses of that age have usually been patched along the way, and the outer edge of a porch floor, where windblown rain reaches, tends to be the first place a finish lets go.

Upper Saucon Township, which wraps around the borough, has built close to half its homes since 1990 and grew by about 42 percent between 2000 and 2020. A deck built with one of those houses has now seen two or three decades of summers, and the way its last coat has worn shows where the next job begins.

Coopersburg

Main Street porches, and decks from valley to mountain

The district has been on the National Register since 1982, and that listing alone does not restrict what a private owner does; any local requirements are the borough's to explain, so ask there before rebuilding a porch. A refinish is a practical question instead: which parts were painted and which stained, whether the floorboards are sound enough to hold a finish, and whether the posts have begun to soften where they meet the floor.

Around the borough, the township runs from about 340 feet in Spring Valley to more than 1,000 on South Mountain, and decks across that range do not age alike. One on an open lot fades first on its sunniest boards; one under trees on the slope keeps its color but holds damp and leaves. Which kind you have decides the cleaning, the drying time and how soon the boards will want attention again.

A wide Victorian porch with white rails, painted posts and dark wooden steps leading up to the front door.
Porch, rails and steps.

Worth knowing

  1. Old boards beside new

    Main Street porches patched over the generations mix replacement boards with original ones, and the two take stain differently. A test on both, before the whole floor is done, avoids a patchwork.

  2. Under the porch roof

    A porch floor under a roof is spared most of the sun, so a penetrating stain there fades slowly. The outer boards, which take the rain, are cleaned and recoated before the ones by the wall.

  3. Brick on State and Fairview

    On the plain brick houses of State and Fairview Streets, from about 1900 to 1910, the brick is best left as it is. The finishing work is the wood around it, from porch floors to doors.

The work

How the work goes

The same care on every job, in every town. The full guide to wood staining.

A worker in yellow rain gear pressure-washing a deck beside a covered grill and white railings.
Washing a deck.

  1. The walkthrough

    Randy looks at the wood with you: what finish is on it now, how it has weathered, which boards take the full sun. The walkthrough is complimentary, and so is the written estimate.

  2. Cleaning

    Dirt, mildew and loose gray fibers come off with a cleaner and gentle washing; too much pressure furs and gouges the soft grain. On cedar, redwood and oak, no steel wool or steel brushes, which leave dark iron stains in the wood.

  3. Old film removed

    Where solid stain or paint has peeled on a deck, the loose film is stripped or sanded away. A penetrating stain cannot soak through an old film, and a new film over a failing one peels with it.

  4. Drying

    The wood dries fully before any stain goes on, usually a couple of dry days after washing, longer in shade. Stain on damp wood soaks in unevenly and fails sooner.

  5. Brushed in by hand

    Penetrating stain goes on by brush, a few boards at a time with a wet edge to avoid lap marks, out of hot sun where possible. The wood gets only what it will absorb, and any excess left on the surface is wiped off.

  6. Recoating

    A penetrating finish is renewed with a cleaning and a fresh coat, no stripping. Shaded parts of a deck can go longer between coats than the boards in full sun.

Questions

Wood staining, Coopersburg.

Does the historic district limit how we refinish our porch on Main Street?

Not through the National Register listing, which the National Park Service says places no restrictions on a private owner using private funds. Local rules are separate, so talk to the borough before a porch is rebuilt or its materials change.

Should the porch on our Queen Anne house be stained or painted?

Mostly painted. Porches of that era were generally painted, and paint protects turned posts, spindles and rails well; stain is more often reserved for the floor, the steps or an entry door. A floor coating made to resist foot traffic is the other common choice for the boards.

Our Upper Saucon deck has been stained several times. How do we know what is on it?

Its wear tells you. A penetrating stain fades evenly and lets water darken the wood once it is worn; a film beads water until it cracks, then peels in flakes, first where sun and foot traffic are heaviest. A close look at a worn spot settles it at the walkthrough.

More in Coopersburg

Other services here.

  1. Level 5 drywall finishA skim coat over the entire surface, for walls that hold up under raking light and dark paint.
  2. Skim coatingRough, patched or uneven walls resurfaced smooth, often after wallpaper comes down.
  3. Plaster repairCracked, loose and failing plaster in older homes, repaired and made sound.
  4. Interior paintingWalls, ceilings, trim, doors and millwork, prepared properly and finished clean.
  5. Exterior paintingSiding, trim, porches, stucco and brick, prepared to stand up to Pennsylvania weather.
  6. Drywall installation & repairNew drywall hung, taped and finished; cracks, holes and water damage repaired invisibly.
  7. Drywall texture matching & removalTexture matched so repairs disappear, applied where you want it, or taken off for a smooth wall.
  8. Popcorn ceiling removalOld acoustic texture taken down and the ceiling finished smooth.
  9. Wallpaper removalOld wallpaper and wall linings stripped without tearing up the wall beneath.

Consultation

Request a private consultation.

Private walkthrough & written estimate, complimentary. Tell us a little about the house and the rooms, and Randy will be in touch to arrange a time.

Hours
Monday – Friday8:30 AM – 5:30 PMSaturday10 AM – 3 PMSundayClosed
Service area
Easton, Bethlehem, Allentown and the greater Lehigh Valley; Bucks County, Pennsylvania.

Fully insured — proof on request. Residential and commercial.

Randy’sPainting & DrywallReply card
The project
Preferred contact

Walkthrough & written estimate, complimentary.