House painters in Auburn, Indiana
Half of Auburn's houses were built before 1980 and half after, so painters working in Auburn, Indiana, price two different jobs: scraping and priming old wood near downtown, and washing and coating newer siding on the edges of town.
The older half
About 23% of Auburn's homes were built before 1940. That was the era when the town built Auburn, Cord and Duesenberg cars. The automobile company's old headquarters went on the National Register in 1978 and is now a museum. Downtown Auburn is a National Register district too, listed in 1986 for its Classical Revival and late Victorian buildings.
Houses from those decades are mostly wood: clapboard, shingle and a lot of trim. Painting one well comes down to three things.
- Loose layers are scraped back to the first layer of paint that holds, and the edges are sanded smooth.
- On a pre-1978 house, scraping more than 20 square feet outside requires an EPA Lead-Safe Certified firm.
- The USDA Forest Products Laboratory found that wood left bare to weather loses its grip on paint, so scraped spots should be primed promptly.
Neither National Register listing limits what a homeowner paints, and we found no local board that reviews paint colors in Auburn. Colors are up to you and any covenants on your lot.
The newer half
Auburn's median house was built in 1980, and the subdivisions that have gone up since are mostly vinyl, with some fiber cement and brick fronts. These jobs are faster and cheaper because there is little to scrape.
- Vinyl is washed with soapy water and painted in a color no darker than the original, unless the paint maker lists the color as safe for vinyl. Darker colors soak up heat and can warp the panels.
- Fiber cement is cleaned with a hose and a soft brush, then painted with acrylic.
- Brick fronts are usually left alone. If you want a color change, read about limewash and stain on the brick house painting page first.
Weather in DeKalb County
The building-code summary Auburn publishes rates DeKalb County's weathering as "severe," the code's top category for freeze-thaw exposure. For paint, that puts the stress on caulk and on any joint where water can get behind the film. On an older Auburn house, ask where the painter plans to caulk and which joints they leave alone.
The painting season matches Fort Wayne's, 22 miles south: about mid-May to late September for standard paint. See the exterior painting calendar and the exterior house painting page.
Auburn painting questions
Do Fort Wayne painters come up to Auburn?
Yes. Auburn is about 22 miles up Interstate 69 from downtown Fort Wayne.
How do I know if my Auburn house has lead paint?
Start with the year it was built, which is on your DeKalb County property record. Before 1978, assume it does. A painter with EPA lead-safe certification can test, or can treat the paint as lead and work accordingly.
Does Auburn require a permit to paint a house?
We found no permit requirement for house painting in Auburn. Auburn's Building, Planning and Development office issues permits for building work. If the job includes replacing siding or structural repairs, call 260-925-6449 and ask.
Auburn on the map
Auburn is the DeKalb County seat, straight north of Fort Wayne on Interstate 69, with about 13,600 residents.
Get a written painting quote
Three questions and no email address. Then:
- A local painter calls youMonday to Saturday, to ask about the house and the job.
- Photos or a walk-aroundSmall interior jobs can often be priced from pictures. Exteriors get walked.
- The price in writingWith the prep, the paint and the dates. You decide from there.
Get an Auburn painting quote
Outdoor painting weather in Fort Wayne runs from about mid-May to late September. Ask for a price over the winter and you can pick your dates.