Paint, and the preparation that decides how long it lasts

Inside and out. Most of what you pay for on a paint job happens before the first coat, and most of what fails is preparation that was skipped.

Room with dark exposed ceiling beams and a window at the gable end

in short

AltHome's painting work across Kerry, Cork and Limerick covers room painting, feature walls and limewash, exterior house painting, roof painting, fences and decking, resin floor coatings, commercial premises, and tarmac with line marking. Most of what makes paint last is the preparation before the first coat, and exterior work is planned around the Irish weather.

the window

Weather decides the exterior programme

You cannot paint a wet wall in this country whenever you feel like it. Exterior work has a window, roughly from late spring to early autumn, and it moves every year. We book around the forecast rather than around the diary, and we tell you if we think the week is wrong.

Inside, the constraint is different. It is moisture, wear and what the surface has on it already. A kitchen and a bedroom are not the same job even with the same tin.

8 pages

The eight jobs

Wall painting

Preparation, paint types, and covering a surface that has a problem.

Room painting

Room by room. Kitchen, bathroom and bedroom, moisture and wear.

Floor painting

Concrete and timber coatings for garages, workshops and utility rooms.

House painting

Full exterior. Render, masonry paint and the weather window.

Roof painting

Colour and appearance as part of an exterior programme.

Fences and outdoor timber

Stains and preservatives, and why outdoor timber fails from the ground up.

Commercial and retail

Shops and units. Out of hours work and the shortest possible closure.

Tarmac and line marking

Driveways and car parks, bays and markings.

asked

Painting: common questions

Written by the AltHome crew. Last reviewed September 2026.

When can exterior painting be done in Ireland?

Roughly May to September, on dry days with no rain forecast for several hours after and temperatures above around 5 to 8 °C. We schedule to the forecast rather than a fixed date.

How long does exterior paint last on an Irish house?

A properly prepared wall in a breathable masonry paint typically holds for 8 to 12 years. Walls facing the Atlantic weather wear faster.

Does AltHome supply the paint?

Yes, and we specify it for the surface. If you have a colour or brand in mind, we match it or use yours.

quote

Booking exterior work

Ring early. The good weeks go first, and we would rather put you in the right week than the next free one.

Get a fixed quote