Larkspur packs a lot into a small town. Along Magnolia Avenue, the historic downtown has older wood buildings and homes from the early 1900s, many with original trim and siding. Up Baltimore Canyon, houses sit deep in the redwoods, where the sun barely reaches the walls for much of the year. Near Corte Madera Creek and around Larkspur Landing, homes and condos deal with damp air off the marsh and the bay. Greenbrae and Bon Air, to the north along Sir Francis Drake, are more open and sunnier, with mid-century homes and larger lots. That spread means there's no single Larkspur paint job: a canyon home needs mildew control and patience, while a sunny Greenbrae ranch needs paint that resists fading.
Free Estimate
We handle painting the outside of Larkspur homes as well as condo and HOA repaints around Larkspur Landing. Every job starts with a no-cost visit and a written price. Phone us or send the form to set one up.
Redwood Homes in Baltimore Canyon
Homes up Baltimore Canyon live with the same conditions as the redwood neighborhoods of Mill Valley: deep shade, needles on every roof and gutter, and walls that stay damp for weeks after a storm. Paint there fails from moisture, not sun. We start with a mildew treatment and a careful wash, then check the lower siding, sills and deck connections for soft wood before anything else. Because the siding takes so long to dry, we schedule canyon jobs for the driest part of the year and watch the forecast closely. Shingles and natural wood siding are common here, and many owners prefer a penetrating stain that lets the wood breathe over a film of paint. Where paint is the right call, we use a mildew-resistant product and suggest clearing branches that brush against the house. Decks built out over the slope get the same treatment, since they're usually the dampest part of the property. Narrow canyon roads also mean careful planning for parking and deliveries.
Downtown Larkspur and Older Wood Homes
The homes around downtown Larkspur and on the hillside streets above Magnolia carry decades of history in their paint. Many have original wood windows, detailed trim and siding with a dozen layers of paint, some of it oil-based. Before repainting, we test what's there and choose a primer that will bond to it. Areas that have been peeling for years get scraped back to a sound edge and sanded so the new paint doesn't show a ridge. Original wood windows need extra care: we work around the glazing, keep the sashes from being painted shut and protect the glass. Colors on these streets tend toward classic combinations that fit the town's character, and we're glad to help you pick a scheme. Older homes just over the line in Kentfield share many of the same details, and we paint them the same way.