Decatur, DeKalb County
Painting Decatur bungalows, Victorians and infill
Craftsman bungalows and Victorian houses stand next to new infill here. The older ones bring wood siding, porches, plaster and historic district rules into a paint job.
Phones answered 24 hours a day, 7 days a week
- Phones answered 24/7
- Scheduled from Tucker
- Interior and exterior
Updated October 2026
Short answer
Decatur was incorporated on December 10, 1823, and 46.1% of homes in its city school district area were built before 1970. Painting here often means Craftsman bungalows and Victorians with wood siding, sometimes with plaster inside, and in five local historic districts, exterior projects can need city approval first.
Homes in Decatur
A county seat since 1823, and houses to match
Decatur was incorporated on December 10, 1823, and still hosts the DeKalb County government. The neighborhoods around downtown hold Craftsman bungalows, Victorian homes, townhouses and new homes side by side, and Agnes Scott College, founded in 1889, sits on a 100-acre campus inside a national historic district.
Age is the defining fact for a painter. In the city school district area, 46.1% of homes were built before 1970, only 17.9% between 1970 and 1999 and 36.0% in 2000 or later, and 80.8% of families own their home. The older houses carry wood siding and trim under many coats, and some still have plaster walls inside, which crack differently than drywall and need compatible patching.
The city also has five local historic districts: Clairemont Avenue Corridor, McDonough-Adams-King's Highway, Old Decatur, Parkwood and Ponce de Leon Court. Projects there need a Certificate of Appropriateness from the Historic Preservation Commission before a building permit, though staff can clear some work with a Certificate of Exemption. Brick is the touchy one: in 2019 the commission let one owner keep paint on water-damaged brick only as a special exception.
Work we do here
Work that older Decatur houses ask for
Plaster Wall Repair
Cracked and loose plaster in bungalows and Victorians patched with compatible material before paint.
Exterior House Painting
Wood siding, porch columns and trim on early houses scraped, primed and repainted.
Wood Rot Repair Before Painting
Soft porch skirts, window sills and column bases rebuilt before the finish coats.
Porch & Patio Painting
Porch floors, beadboard ceilings and front steps repainted on bungalow fronts.
Interior House Painting
Room-by-room repaints in older homes and newer infill alike.
Color Consultation
Body, trim and accent colors tested on the house before anything is committed in a historic district.
Scheduling
Planning Decatur work around the historic districts
If the house sits in one of the five local historic districts, call the city's preservation staff first about whether your project needs a certificate. We walk the house with you from our Tucker office in the meantime and set exterior dates once that answer is in hand. Interior rooms can be scheduled while the question is being settled.
Questions
Painting questions from Decatur
Ask the city first. The Historic Preservation Commission approves projects in the five local historic districts with a Certificate of Appropriateness, and staff can clear some work with a Certificate of Exemption. Painting brick that was never painted is a change to raise with them before anything else.
Usually. Cracks and loose areas are cut back, reattached where possible and patched with plaster-compatible material, then primed so the repair does not show through the paint.
Yes. Porch floors get a floor enamel, ceilings and beadboard get a brushed finish, and columns and railings are repaired where the wood is soft before they are painted.
Yes. Not every Decatur house is old; plenty are recent, and their interiors, cabinets and fiber cement exteriors are part of the work as well.
Ready when you are
Painting an older house in Decatur?
Tell us the street and roughly when the house was built. Someone answers 24/7, and we will set a time to look at it with you.