A full case study of a modern contemporary repaint in Madison by General Painting Co. — prep through finish, with real photos.
| Town | Madison, CT (New Haven County) |
| Home style | Modern contemporary |
| Year built | 1980–2020 |
| Siding type | smooth fiber-cement, stained cedar accents |
| Color palette | BM Onyx (siding) · cedar shou-sugi-ban · steel-gray trim |
| Crew | 3–5 painters, owner on-site |
| Prep stage | Soft-wash · scrape & sand · wood repair · full caulk · spot prime |
| Paint | Benjamin Moore · Sherwin-Williams · Sikkens |
| Warranty | Written · transferable workmanship warranty |
Modern contemporary homes use color very differently from a colonial — the architectural lines need to read clean, which means crisp paint edges, no caulk-line shadows, and color choices that hold up against trees and sky as the seasons turn. This was that brief executed.
Madison's shoreline homes near Hammonasset face Long Island Sound salt spray — we typically recommend annual touch-up service contracts here that aren't worth selling further inland.
The Madison climate combines coastal moisture and inland freeze-thaw, which is why we specify different systems on different elevations of the same home. Every choice on this project — from the soft-wash protocol to the brand of caulk we used — was made with that climate in mind.
Like most Madison homes in this age range, we found prep work that wouldn't have been visible to the homeowner: fascia rot above the second-story dormers, caulk lines that had separated cleanly from the adjacent siding, and a small section of corner board that had to be replaced before paint. All of it was itemized in the estimate.
Hero photos, work-in-progress, and finish.
Exterior paint doesn't fail because of the paint — it fails because of the prep underneath it. Here's everything we do, in order, before paint touches your home.
Every exterior surface gets cleaned of dirt, pollen, mildew, moss, chalking, and oxidation before any prep tool touches the wood. The single biggest reason cheap paint jobs peel is that they're painted over contamination.
Every bit of loose or failing paint is hand-scraped off, with edges feathered smooth so the new paint lays down flat instead of in visible ridges.
Rotted trim, fascia, and siding sections replaced with like-for-like material. All bare wood and every spot-primed area gets a high-adhesion primer before topcoat.
Every siding-to-trim seam, window frame, door frame, corner board, and gap gets a tight bead of exterior-grade caulk. Keeps water out and makes the lines look crisp.
Premium paint applied with brush and roller for proper film thickness, with back-brushing to work the paint into the grain. Two full coats — never one heavy coat.
We walk the property with you before calling it done. Anything you flag gets touched up the same day.
For client-privacy reasons we keep specific addresses private but we work across all Madison neighborhoods including Madison Center, Hammonasset, East River.
About 5–10 working days, weather-permitting, with our standard 3-person crew.
BM Onyx (siding) · cedar shou-sugi-ban · steel-gray trim
Every project includes our written, transferable workmanship warranty. If any peel, crack, or flake is attributable to our prep or application, we come back and fix it at no charge.
Call (203) 456-1375 or fill out the estimate form below. Free on-site estimate within 48 hours, written and itemized.
Free on-site estimate within 48 hours. Owner-led crew, premium paint, written transferable workmanship warranty.
Free on-site estimate within 48 hours. No pressure, no pushy sales — just an honest written quote you can take to other contractors.