Commercial painting in Atlanta
Apartment and multifamily painting in Atlanta, one building at a time
A multifamily repaint touches hundreds of residents, dozens of parking spaces and every stair a tenant walks up. The paint is the easy part. The hard part is keeping the property livable while the work moves from building to building.
We repaint garden-style communities, mid-rise apartments and townhome rentals, including siding, breezeways, stairwells, corridors and unit interiors. Exteriors are phased building by building, usually 4 to 9 working days per three-story building. Typical Atlanta costs run $1.65 to $3.25 per square foot of exterior surface, or $1,285 to $2,640 per occupied unit interior. Call (470) 458-0461 to schedule a property walk.
Most metro Atlanta apartment communities are garden-style buildings: two to four stories, open breezeways, wood or metal stairs, and siding that faces every direction. A repaint means washing, repairing and coating every one of those surfaces while people come and go with groceries, kids and dogs. We plan the order of buildings with the property manager so the leasing office and model units look finished early and each building is closed out before the next one opens.
Resident communication carries a lot of weight. Notices go out before we arrive at each building, explaining which days balconies need to be cleared, when stairwells will be wet and where to park. Windows and doors are masked only as long as needed, and we never block the only exit from a unit. Leasing staff get a daily note on what comes next.
Inside, we handle corridors, amenity spaces and whole occupied units at renovation time. Vacant unit turns between leases are covered on our make-ready and turnover painting page. That work is scheduled around renovation crews and flooring installers, and each unit is finished and cleaned before the next one opens, so residents never live in a half-painted space for longer than a day.
When to call
Signs a multifamily property needs repainting
Peeling trim and fascia
Paint lifting on fascia boards, window trim and breezeway beams usually means moisture is reaching the wood, and rot repairs get more expensive every season they wait.
Rust on stair stringers
Steel stair stringers, landings and railings show rust first at welds and where water sits. Left alone, rust scales the metal and weakens connections.
Mildew on shaded buildings
Buildings tucked under trees or facing north grow green and black film on siding, and prospective residents notice it on the first tour.
Dated color scheme
Older beige and tan schemes make a property look its age next to newer communities nearby, and a new scheme is one of the cheaper ways to reposition.
Scuffed corridors and stairwells
Interior corridors and stairwells take moving dollies, bikes and strollers every day, and gouged walls give a poor first impression to people touring.
Lender or insurer inspection notes
Property condition reports often flag peeling paint, exposed wood and rusted metal, with a deadline for repairs before renewal or refinance.
Scope of work
What our multifamily painting scope covers
- A property walk with the manager to set building order, staging areas and resident notice dates
- Pressure washing siding, breezeways and stairs, with mildew treatment on shaded elevations
- Replacing rotted fascia, trim and breezeway boards before any paint goes on
- Caulking windows, trim joints and siding gaps to keep water out of wall cavities
- Rust treatment and direct-to-metal coatings on stairs, railings and balcony frames
- Two finish coats on siding and trim, with doors and shutters in contrasting colors if specified
- Interior corridors, stairwells, amenity rooms and occupied unit interiors during renovation programs
- Building-by-building punch walks so each phase is signed off before we move on
How the job runs
How we phase an apartment community repaint
| Step | What happens |
|---|---|
| A1 | Property walk and scopeWe walk every building with maintenance staff, note rot, rust and caulk failure, count doors, stairs and balconies, and turn that into a priced scope per building. |
| A2 | Phase calendar and noticesWe build a calendar by building and give the leasing office notice templates with dates for washing, balcony clearing, door painting and stairwell work. Notices go out at least a week ahead. |
| A3 | Wash and repairEach building is washed two or three days before painting so it dries fully. Rotten wood is replaced and metal stairs are scraped and spot primed. |
| A4 | Prime, caulk and paintBare wood and metal are primed, joints caulked, and siding and trim get two coats. Breezeways are painted in halves so one stair path is always open. |
| A5 | Doors and detailsUnit doors are painted early in the day so they can close by evening. Mailboxes, light poles and dumpster enclosures are done as each building finishes. |
| A6 | Building sign-offWe walk each building with the manager, fix marked items, and only then move the crew and equipment to the next building on the calendar. |
Atlanta conditions
What Atlanta weather and building types mean for apartment paint
Garden-style communities across Cobb County and Gwinnett were mostly built from the 1970s through the 2000s with wood or hardboard siding, and many have since been partly re-sided with fiber cement. That mix needs different prep on the same wall: hardboard swells at nail heads and cut edges, while fiber cement only needs a clean, sealed surface. Thick tree cover on many properties keeps the back sides damp, so mildew treatment on those elevations is standard, not an extra.
Summer thunderstorms decide the daily schedule on big exterior jobs. We wash in the morning, paint shaded elevations first, and stop applying finish coats when storms are an hour out so fresh paint isn't washed down onto parked cars. Spring pollen means rinsing a face right before coating it. Breezeways stay damp longer than open walls in humid weather, so we check moisture on wood stairs and landings before coating them. Newer intown mid-rise buildings add stair towers and corridors that need interior-grade scheduling.
Where we do this work most
Built pages for neighborhoods and cities we cover, with ZIP codes.
Typical costs
Typical apartment and multifamily painting costs in Atlanta
Multifamily pricing is usually built per building and then checked against a per-unit figure owners use for budgeting. Wood repair and metal stairs swing the cost more than the siding itself. These are typical 2026 metro Atlanta ranges, and the property walk sets your actual price. Unit interiors are priced as a separate line.
| Work | Typical range |
|---|---|
| Exterior siding and trim, wash, caulk and two coats | $1.65 to $3.25 per sq ft of surface |
| Three-story garden building, full exterior | $18,450 to $41,730 per building |
| Steel stair set, scrape, prime and coat | $585 to $1,135 per stair run |
| Occupied unit interior, walls, trim and doors | $1,285 to $2,640 per unit |
Typical Atlanta ranges, not a quote. Your written estimate follows a free walkthrough. Compare other jobs on our painting price guide.
What moves the price
- Number of buildings and stories
- Wood rot and siding replacement
- Metal stairs and railings needing rust work
- Color scheme complexity and number of trim colors
- Resident access limits and phase count
Coatings we specify for multifamily properties
For siding and trim we usually use Sherwin-Williams SuperPaint or Benjamin Moore Regal Select exterior acrylic, or Duration on properties wanting a longer repaint cycle. Hardboard and bare wood get an exterior acrylic or oil-based primer, with cut edges sealed. Stairs, railings and balcony frames get a rust-inhibitive primer such as Sherwin-Williams Pro Industrial Pro-Cryl and a waterborne alkyd or urethane topcoat. Gaps are sealed with a high-performance elastomeric or polyurethane caulk. Large walls are sprayed with Graco airless rigs and backrolled, and every surface near cars or walkways is masked first.
Paints, primers and stains our painters work with every week, from Sherwin-Williams and Benjamin Moore to PPG and Romabio.
Questions
Apartment & multifamily painting questions from Atlanta homeowners
How do you keep residents' cars from getting overspray?
We spray only when the wind is low, mask windows and doors, and use shrouds and backrolling near parking. More importantly, the leasing office asks residents to move cars away from the building on spray days, and we cone off those spaces. Near parked cars we switch to rolling and brushing. If anything does land on a vehicle, we report it and clean it the same day.
Can residents stay in their units during an exterior repaint?
Yes. Exterior work rarely requires anyone to leave. Residents may need to clear balconies and patios, keep windows closed on spray days and use a specific stair while the other is wet. Unit doors are painted early in the day so they can close by evening, and we keep one route in and out of every unit open at all times.
How long does a whole apartment community take?
A typical three-story garden building takes 4 to 9 working days depending on rot and stair work, and crews can run two or three buildings at once on larger properties. A 12-building community often finishes in 7 to 11 weeks. Weather adds days in summer storm season. The phase calendar shows expected dates for each building, and we update it weekly.
Do you paint metal breezeway stairs and landings too?
Yes, and they often need the most work. We scrape loose paint and rust, wire brush welds, spot prime bare steel and apply a direct-to-metal finish. Stair treads with concrete pans can get an anti-slip additive in the topcoat. For railings and gates on the ground level, our railing painting work uses the same coating system.
Can you paint unit interiors during a renovation program?
We can work unit by unit as renovations move through a building, coordinating with flooring, cabinets and countertops so paint goes on at the right point. Occupied interiors are done in one or two days with furniture moved and covered. We usually set a standard color and sheen schedule for the whole program so touch-ups match years later.
Related work
Jobs that often go with this one
Rental Turnover Painting
Fast make-ready painting between tenants for rental homes and apartments, with standard landlord colors, patching and touch-up or full repaint.
HOA & Condo Painting
Townhome rows, condo buildings and HOA communities repainted to board-approved color schemes, with written specs and resident communication.
Pressure Washing
Soft wash for siding and pressure washing for concrete, clearing mildew, algae, pollen and red clay before paint or on its own.
Wood Rot Repair
Rotted trim, sills, fascia, door jambs and column bases repaired with epoxy or replaced with PVC or primed wood, then painted to match.
Talk through your apartment & multifamily painting job
Call any time. We will ask a few questions, set a walkthrough time and put the scope and price in writing.