Service
Exterior House Painting in Ottawa & Gatineau
Siding, brick, stucco, and wood, painted with the prep and the timing an Ottawa exterior actually needs. One painting contractor for both sides of the river, and a free written estimate.
Who does exterior house painting in Ottawa? Ottawa Luxe Painting does, across Ottawa and Gatineau: siding, brick, stucco, wood trim, decks and fences. Exterior work is booked into the late spring to early fall weather window, and every job starts with a free written estimate that lists the surfaces and the prep. Call (613) 799-5057 or request an estimate.
Exterior house painting in Ottawa and Gatineau protects the most exposed surfaces of your home and lifts its whole look, and here timing matters as much as the paint itself. The reliable window runs from late spring through early fall, when temperatures hold above about 10C and surfaces are dry, so the coating cures before the cold sets in.
We paint siding, brick, stucco, wood trim, soffits, fascia, doors, decks, and fences, with the preparation that lets a finish survive the Ottawa freeze-and-thaw cycle.
What Ottawa Homeowners Say
They repainted our home exterior and the difference is incredible. The crew was friendly and cleaned up thoroughly each day.
Surfaces we paint outside
An exterior job is rarely just one surface. Siding, masonry, stucco, and wood each need a different product and a different prep, and getting that match right is most of what makes a coat last. We handle vinyl and aluminum siding, brick painting and limewashing, stucco, and wood surfaces such as trim, soffits, fascia, doors, and porches, plus decks and fences in paint or stain.
A power wash is often the first step before any coat goes on. Explore the pages below for the details on each.
Photos from our jobs
Two homes from our own job photos.
The Ottawa exterior season window
Exterior paint needs mild, dry conditions to cure, so the reliable window in Ottawa runs from late spring through early fall, with temperatures comfortably above about 10C and dry surfaces. The shoulder seasons are the trap: a coat applied just before a cold snap, or onto a damp surface, is where a finish fails early, because the freeze-and-thaw swing is hard on anything that has not fully cured.
The window is short and it books up, so if an exterior repaint is on your list this year, it is worth getting the estimate in early.
When to book in Ottawa
- Exterior work runs from late spring through early fall.
- Temperatures need to stay comfortably above about 10C.
- Surfaces need to be dry, so a rainy day comes off the schedule.
- The window is short and it books up, so request your estimate early.
- If you ask in the off-season, we book you into the next suitable window.
Prep is most of what makes it last
The colour is the part you see, but the prep is the part that decides how long you see it. We power wash to strip dirt, chalking, and mildew so the coat can bond, scrape and sand back any failing paint, caulk the gaps where water gets in, and prime bare or weathered surfaces before the topcoat.
On a freeze-and-thaw climate like Ottawa, that groundwork is the difference between an exterior that holds for years and one that peels in a season.
What does exterior painting cost in Ottawa?
Exterior cost is driven by the size and height of the home, how much access the work needs (ladders, multiple storeys, tight lots), the surface material, and how much weathered surface has to be prepped before a coat goes on. Because those vary so much house to house, we do not publish a flat exterior rate.
We give you a clear written estimate after we see the home, itemized so you can see what drives the number. For how painting costs break down in general, see our guide to house painting costs in Ottawa.
HomeStars’ 2026 Canadian cost guide puts an exterior repaint on a 1,500 to 2,000 sq ft house at $3,000 to $8,000, with Toronto and Vancouver at the top of that band. Scaffolding or a lift can add $500 to $2,000, depending on the height of the house and the site.
HomeStars’ Ottawa guide, drawn from 603 homeowner reviews and dated October 2020, averages exterior jobs at $2,728, but it counts work as small as a front porch, the eavestroughs or a set of doors as an exterior job, and the Ottawa jobs ran from $200 to $20,000. The 2026 guide also says exterior rates can run 20 to 40 per cent higher in the June to August peak.
Treat all of these as a benchmark for the written estimate rather than as our rates.
Sources: HomeStars, “Cost to Paint a House in Canada: A 2026 Pricing Guide” and “Painting Services Cost Guide For Ottawa”, both read 2026-10-05.
What to ask an exterior painting contractor in Ottawa
Four questions worth putting to any exterior painting contractor before you sign, including us. The answers are what separate two quotes that look the same on the last line. Put the same four to every set of exterior painters you get a quote from, and compare the answers rather than the totals.
Which surfaces are you pricing, and which product goes on each?
Vinyl and aluminum siding, brick, stucco and wood trim do not take the same coating, so a line that just says the exterior, without naming them, is one you cannot compare. Exposure belongs in the same answer.
An open lot on a new street in Barrhaven or Stittsville takes far more sun and wind than a street under a mature canopy, and the south and west faces of any house show wear first.
When exactly would you be on site?
Ottawa's reliable exterior window runs from late spring through early fall, with temperatures comfortably above about 10C and dry surfaces. The shoulder seasons are where finishes fail, so the date is part of the quote rather than an afterthought. If a painting contractor is happy to book you for late October, ask what happens if the weather turns.
What does the prep line actually list?
Power washing to strip dirt, chalking and mildew, scraping and sanding back failing paint, caulking the gaps water gets into, and priming bare or weathered surfaces. If those four are not itemized, the number in front of you is a paint price rather than an exterior price.
What changes if the house was built before 1990?
Health Canada's guidance is that a home built before 1960 probably contains lead-based paint, and that one built between 1960 and 1990 may carry it on exterior surfaces. That makes it an area question as much as an age one. Findlay Creek broke ground in 2002 and Riverside South's modern community started in 1996, so on most addresses there it closes without a test.
Nepean's Leslie Park and Briargreen and Gloucester's Beacon Hill and Blackburn Hamlet are 1960s and 1970s stock, so it does not. On original coatings that old we work without dry power sanding or heat guns, keep the area contained and clean up carefully. That is a method we follow, not a certification we hold.
How it works
On an Ottawa exterior the four steps run around the weather. The estimate names the surfaces and the prep, which is the power wash, the scraping and sanding, the caulking and the primer, and it fixes the date inside the late spring to early fall window, when temperatures hold above about 10C and surfaces are dry.
Gatineau, Hull and Aylmer follow the same steps, with Quebec’s rules applying on that side of the river.
Free estimate
Tell us about the space and we set up a no-obligation visit or quote. You get a clear scope and a real number, not a guess.
Prep and protection
We mask, cover, sand, patch, and prime. Prep is the step that decides whether a finish lasts, so we do not skip it.
Clean application
Cut lines stay sharp, coverage stays even, and the right product goes on the right surface for an Ottawa climate.
Walkthrough
We walk the job with you, fix anything you flag, and leave the space cleaner than we found it.
What you can count on
For an Ottawa or Gatineau exterior, the estimate is the thing to hold us to. It is free and in writing, it is itemized by surface and prep, and it names the weather window your job is booked into, so you can set it beside any other exterior painter’s quote. Questions before you book go to (613) 799-5057. We’ve been painting Ottawa and Gatineau homes since 2015.
A free written estimate
Every exterior project starts with a free, no-obligation written estimate, itemized so you can see the real scope and price before anything is booked.
The exterior window is short and books early. Request your estimate now and we will hold you a spot in the right weather window.
Exterior painting in Ottawa: common questions
The reliable window in Ottawa runs from late spring through early fall. Temperatures need to stay comfortably above about 10C, with dry surfaces, because paint needs mild, dry conditions to cure properly. In the shoulder seasons the freeze-and-thaw swing is the real risk, so exterior work is planned around the weather and finished before the cold sets in.
Interior painting runs year-round. Because the outdoor season is short and books up quickly, it is worth requesting an exterior estimate early so you get the window you want.
It depends on the surface, the exposure, and the prep. A properly prepared and painted exterior generally holds for several years before it needs attention. South and west faces that take the most sun and weather usually show wear first.
Ottawa's freeze-and-thaw cycle is hard on coatings, which is why surface prep, the right product for each material, and painting inside the proper weather window matter so much for how long a finish lasts. We talk through realistic expectations for your specific surfaces during the estimate.
HomeStars' 2026 Canadian cost guide puts most exterior repaints at 7 to 10 years, with wood-clad homes at the short end and fibre cement at the long end. That is a published market figure, not an Ottawa Luxe Painting guarantee.
Siding (vinyl and aluminum), brick and limewashing, stucco, and wood surfaces such as trim, soffits, fascia, doors, and porches. We also paint or stain decks and fences, and power washing is often the first step so the next coat actually bonds. Each surface gets the right product for the material and the Ottawa climate.
No. Exterior painting in Ottawa is seasonal because paint needs warm, dry conditions to cure. We schedule exterior work for the right weather window, usually late spring through early fall, so the coating bonds and lasts. If you reach out in the off-season, we book you into the next suitable window, and interior work can carry on year-round in the meantime.
Yes. We work as an exterior painting contractor on both sides of the river, across Ottawa and Gatineau, including Hull and Aylmer. Hull has been a sector of the City of Gatineau since 1 January 2002, so Quebec's rules apply there rather than Ontario's.
Vieux-Hull is also dense and short on frontage, which makes parking, staging and street occupancy worth raising at the estimate rather than on the morning we arrive. The season window itself is the same on both sides.
Because prep is most of what determines how long the finish lasts. Power washing removes dirt, chalking, and mildew so the coat can bond, scraping and sanding deal with failing paint, caulking seals the gaps water gets into, and priming gives the topcoat something to hold. Skipping any of it is the usual reason an exterior finish fails early in the Ottawa freeze-and-thaw climate.
Yes, once it is clean and sound. New paint does not bond to dirt, chalking or mildew, and it comes away with any old paint that is already failing. So we power wash first, scrape and sand anything loose, caulk the gaps and prime bare spots, then paint on a dry day above about 10C inside the late spring to early fall window.
HomeStars puts a full interior on a 1,500 to 2,000 sq ft house at 40 to 80 hours of crew time, and says exterior work typically runs 50 to 100 hours, because of the extra prep, the weather and the time spent setting up and moving ladders or scaffolding.
The number of days depends on the size of the crew. In Ottawa a rainy day, or one that stays below about 10C, comes off the schedule, because the paint needs a dry surface and mild air to cure. You get a realistic timeline in writing with your estimate.
There is no single rate, because exterior work is priced by the size and height of the house, the surface and the prep. HomeStars' 2026 Canadian cost guide puts an exterior repaint of a 1,500 to 2,000 sq ft house at $3,000 to $8,000, with scaffolding or a lift adding $500 to $2,000, and says exterior rates can run 20 to 40 per cent higher from June to August.
That is a market range, not an Ottawa Luxe Painting price. Yours comes from your own house, in a free written estimate.
HomeStars gives one exterior repaint range for a house of 1,500 to 2,000 sq ft, $3,000 to $8,000, so it does not separate a 1,500 sq ft house from a 2,000 sq ft one. Where a house lands in that band depends on its height, how much of the siding, brick or stucco needs prep, and whether it needs scaffolding.
We price the surfaces we can see after a visit, and the estimate is free and in writing.
Permits and rules for painting an Ottawa exterior
Check the rules for your street before the estimate, because they differ by district. The City of Ottawa’s Wilbrod/Laurier Heritage Conservation District plan in Sandy Hill (April 2015) lists painting and paint colour among the alterations that do not need a heritage permit.
The same plan says existing unpainted brick should not be painted. We have read that one plan, not every district’s, so if your house sits in a heritage conservation district, read its plan first.
In Hull the rules are Quebec’s, because Hull has been a sector of the City of Gatineau since 1 January 2002. Older houses carry one more rule of thumb: Health Canada’s guidance is that paint on a home built before 1960 probably contains lead.
We paint houses across Ottawa and Gatineau, including Kanata, Stittsville, Orleans, Nepean, Barrhaven, Gatineau, Hull and Aylmer.
Related services and areas
Exterior work is one half of the house. For the full picture, see our house painting in Ottawa overview. We paint homes throughout the region, on both sides of the river: Kanata and Stittsville in the west, Orleans and Gloucester in the east, Nepean, Barrhaven, Riverside South, Findlay Creek and Greely to the south, and Gatineau, Hull and Aylmer across the river.