Randy’s Painting & Drywall

Macungie, Lehigh County

Wood staining in Macungie, PA.

On the borough's pre-1940 houses, the zoning ordinance protects front porch roofs and columns, so keeping them sound matters. Decks belong mostly to the 1980s houses and the township around them.

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

Wood staining for Macungie homes

Zoning in the borough treats an older porch as part of Main Street's character. For buildings from 1940 or earlier, removing a front porch roof or porch columns where the street can see them counts as partial demolition and goes to the Zoning Hearing Board, and owners are expected to keep roofs, cornices, columns and posts maintained rather than let them decay.

That makes upkeep the easy path. Staining or painting a porch is not demolition under the ordinance, and a floor, steps and posts kept finished and sound are far less likely to reach the point of replacement. Decks belong to the newer houses: the 1980s added more homes here than any other decade, and Lower Macungie Township built about a third of its homes in the 2000s.

Macungie

Porch columns under the zoning rule, decks from the 1980s

Columns and posts are what the ordinance names, and they are also where porch wood tends to fail first. The base of a column sits on the floor and drinks water through its end grain, and a column that rots at the bottom is one step from removal, which the ordinance's clause on demolition by neglect is written to prevent. Sealing those bases, keeping the floor finish sound around them and repairing soft wood early is the maintenance it asks for.

A deck built in the 1980s, if it is still standing, has had forty years to check and split, and checking, more than rot, is the usual reason decks are replaced. The work is to keep water out of those cracks: a thorough cleaning, full drying and a penetrating stain that soaks in rather than bridging them with a film that will crack along the same lines.

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. Where the rule stops

    The ordinance covers buildings from 1940 or earlier and what the street can see. A porch added after 1940, or one visible only from an alley, falls outside it.

  2. Yards near the creeks

    Swabia Creek runs through the borough and takes in Mountain Creek. Where a yard is low and close to either, wood dries slowly after rain, and stain waits for a longer dry spell.

  3. Repair before refinish

    Soft wood at a column base or along a floor's outer boards is repaired before any finish goes on. Stain over rot only hides it.

The work

How the work goes

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

A Victorian front porch with white rails, painted posts, a green front door with an oval glass panel, and hanging baskets.
A Victorian porch: painted rails and posts.

  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, Macungie.

Do we need approval to replace the columns on our 1920s porch in Macungie?

If the house dates from 1940 or earlier and the porch faces a public street, removing columns or the porch roof counts as partial demolition under the zoning ordinance and needs a special exception from the Zoning Hearing Board. Repairing a column without removing it is a different matter, but confirm with the borough before anything comes off.

Our Lower Macungie deck is from the 2000s. Is it worth staining, or should it be replaced?

Many decks of that age are worth staining if the boards are still flat and sound. Splits running through a board, soft spots near posts and fasteners working loose are what to look at; a few bad boards can be swapped before the deck is cleaned and stained.

Our 1980s house still has its original stained oak trim and doors. Can they be freshened without stripping?

Often, yes. Trim that is only dull or scuffed can be cleaned, lightly sanded and given a fresh clear coat, which keeps the color as it is. Changing the color is the bigger job: stain cannot soak through the old finish, so it comes off first, or the trim is painted instead.

More in Macungie

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.