What Independence houses ask of paint
Independence never went through a big subdivision wave. The 2020 census counted every resident as rural, and the city is mostly farmland, woods and lakes with houses spread along county roads. That shows up in the housing stock. Many homes here were built one at a time, on acreage, from the 1970s through the 2000s, so we see a lot of cedar and hardboard lap siding from the earlier decades, LP SmartSide and vinyl from the 2000s, and fiber cement on the newer custom builds. Inside, acreage homes tend to have big open rooms, vaulted ceilings and a lot of wood trim, which changes how we plan a job: more ladder and plank work, more decisions about whether stained trim stays stained or gets painted, and more cabinets, since a lot of these kitchens are original.
Lakes, trees and the north wall
Lake Independence sits on the city's eastern boundary, Lake Sarah is on the northwest side, and Baker Park Reserve wraps the southeast shore of Lake Independence. Lake homes get lake weather: open water throws light and wind at the water side of the house, while the tree-covered side stays shaded and damp. In our experience the north and shaded walls are where paint fails first in this part of Hennepin County, because they never fully dry out between rains and they hold ice longer in March. Heavy tree cover across Independence adds mildew and sap to the list. When we scope an exterior here we look at those walls separately, price the extra prep honestly, and plan the order of work around which side is dry each morning.
Where we work around town
Our shop is on the Hwy 12 corridor, so everything in Independence is close: the lake roads around Lake Independence, the South Lake Sarah Drive side near Tamarack Park, the acreage along County Road 6 and County Road 92, and the Maple Plain addresses that sit inside or next to the city. Independence is split among four school districts (Orono, Delano, Rockford and Westonka), which tells you how spread out it is; neighbors on the same road can be in different districts. We paint interiors here year-round and exteriors from roughly May into October. Being local also means we can come back for a second look at a color in the actual light, which matters more on a wooded lot than it does on an open one.
Interior painting in Independence
Interior painting is our main line of work in Independence, partly because winter here is long and partly because acreage homes have so much interior surface: tall great rooms, stairwells, wood trim, kitchens. Most of what we paint from November through April is inside, and the process is the same on Lake Sarah as it is on a gravel road. Before you call, it helps to see How interior painting goes, and what moves the cost.
Exterior painting in Independence
Exterior season in Independence runs roughly May through mid-October, and lake and wooded lots use up more of that window than open ones because shaded walls take longer to dry after rain. We wash, scrape, sand, spot-prime and caulk before any color goes on cedar or hardboard, and on the lake side we plan around wind. Newer LP and fiber cement siding needs less prep but still wants a clean, dry surface. See exterior house painting and siding painting.
Where we work in Independence
- Lake Independence
- Lake Sarah
- Baker Park Reserve area
- Pioneer Creek Park area
- Maple Plain
- County Road 6 corridor
Painting services in Independence
Questions from IndependenceStraight answers.
Do you paint lake homes on Lake Independence and Lake Sarah?
Yes. Lake homes are a big part of our exterior work in Independence. The water side of a lake house takes sun and wind while the tree side stays damp, so we scope the two separately and prep them differently. We also do interiors on lake homes in winter, when the house is quiet and the boat is put away.
Is Brushtek actually in Independence, or is that a mailing address?
Our shop is in Independence on the Hwy 12 corridor, between Maple Plain and Delano. It is a working shop, not a mailbox. That is why we can stop by for a quick look at a sample, a peeling wall or a cabinet door without making it a scheduled trip.
Our house is on acreage with a lot of stained wood trim. Will you paint it?
We will, and we will also tell you if it is worth keeping stained. Painting stained trim means a good scuff sand, a bonding primer and two coats of enamel, and it takes longer than painting trim that is already white. On a lot of 1980s and 1990s acreage homes it is the biggest single change you can make inside.
Do you do new-construction finish painting for builders in Independence?
Yes. We do finish painting for west-metro custom builders, and acreage and lake lots in and around Independence are exactly that kind of job. That means primed drywall, trim, built-ins and sprayed cabinets on a builder's schedule. If you are building here and want to talk to the painter directly, call us.