Met House Painters of Salt Lake City
- 650 S Main St, Salt Lake City, UT 84101
- Locally owned & operated — not a franchise
House Painters in Central City, Salt Lake City
House painters in Central City work in a neighborhood with rules most of Salt Lake City doesn’t have. The core of Central City has been a local historic district since 1991 and a National Register district since 1996, and its Victorian cross-wings, bungalows and early apartment buildings sit on the densest blocks in the city.
Met House Painters is based a few minutes west at 650 S Main St, and we know the neighborhood’s requirements, housing types and parking. We paint for owner-occupants, duplex and fourplex landlords, condo owners and the owners of the historic walk-ups that make up about a tenth of the housing here.
What the historic district means for your paint job
The good news first: Salt Lake City does not review paint color. Within the local historic district, a Certificate of Appropriateness is required for most exterior changes, but paint color and ordinary maintenance are specifically exempt. You can repaint trim, porch and siding any color you like, no city visit required.
The one firm line is masonry. Historic brick or stone that has never been painted cannot be painted in a local district, and we wouldn’t recommend it anywhere, because paint traps moisture and damages the brick.
Anything beyond paint, like replacing siding, changing a porch railing or swapping windows, does need a certificate. We’ll flag it if a repair we recommend crosses that line. Our guide to painting historic homes covers the same rules in more depth.
Victorian cross-wings, bungalows and everything between
Central City grew up along the streetcar lines from the 1890s on, and the blocks between South Temple and Liberty Park hold a remarkable range of houses: 1870s hall-and-parlor homes, some of them stuccoed adobe, Italianate and Queen Anne houses from the 1880s and 1890s, Victorian Eclectic cottages and foursquares, and roughly a hundred brick bungalows, the most common type here.
Tall, narrow Victorian houses carry the most paint: shingled gables, turned porch posts, spindlework, bay windows and layers of ornamental trim. Prep on these homes is slow and careful, with lead-safe practices throughout.
The flat valley floor and the heat radiating off the 400 South commercial strip push summer wall temperatures up, so we chase the shade. The dense street-tree canopy keeps north sides damp, so those get washed and treated for mildew first.
House painters in Central City for duplexes, fourplexes and walk-ups
Central City is the most densely populated neighborhood in the city, with about 10,900 residents in one square mile and a large share of renters. Many of the big Victorian houses were converted to apartments decades ago, and the walk-ups, courtyard buildings and post-war apartment blocks are a steady part of our work.
For landlords we offer unit turnovers on a fixed spec, common-area repaints phased so tenants aren’t disrupted, and full exterior repaints. Our building painting and commercial painting crews can work evenings and weekends when a building is occupied.
Condo owners near Trolley Square or along 400 South typically control their own interiors, and we handle elevator reservations, floor protection and quiet hours as a matter of course.
Thinking about a project in Central City? Get a clear, written proposal from a local crew.
Why Central City property owners choose Met House Painters
We’re a locally owned and operated painting company, not a franchise, and we treat the historic district’s rules as a baseline, not a burden. Owners here value:
- Historic-district fluency. We know what’s exempt, what needs a certificate and how to keep your project moving.
- Lead-safe prep on every pre-1978 surface, which in Central City is nearly all of them.
- Detail work. Multi-color Victorian trim schemes, hand-brushed spindles and properly primed bare wood.
- Tenant-friendly scheduling. Phased common-area work, after-hours options and clear notices for residents.
- Tight-site logistics. We stage carefully on narrow lots and busy streets so neighbors and parking aren’t disrupted.
From consultation to final coat
Every project begins with a free consultation. On a Victorian we’ll spend real time on the ladder looking at trim condition, failed glazing and wood that needs repair, because that’s where the cost lives. You’ll receive a written scope with every surface, product and coat count.
Exterior work starts with a low-pressure wash and a dry day. We set up lead-safe containment, hand-scrape and sand to a sound edge, replace rotten wood, spot-prime bare wood and re-caulk every open joint. Two finish coats of premium acrylic follow, brushed on ornate trim where spray would lose the detail.
Interiors get floor protection, plaster repair and crisp lines at tall ceilings. Projects end with a walk-through, touch-ups and a written warranty. Nearby Liberty Wells and downtown get the same crews.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need a permit or city approval to repaint my Central City home?
Not for paint. Paint color and routine maintenance are exempt from the Certificate of Appropriateness in Salt Lake City’s local historic districts. Replacing siding, trim profiles or windows does need a certificate, and we’ll tell you before we start.
My house is brick. Can you paint it?
If it has never been painted, no, and in the local historic district the city prohibits it. Paint traps moisture and damages old brick. If a previous owner already painted it, we can recoat it with a breathable product.
Can you paint an occupied apartment building?
Yes. We phase hallways and stairwells, work evenings or weekends when needed, post notices for tenants and use low-odor products in occupied spaces. Vacant units get turned on a fixed spec between leases.
How do you handle Victorian trim with several colors?
We map out the scheme with you first, usually a body color plus two or three accents for trim, sash and detail. Spindles, brackets and shingles are brushed by hand so edges stay crisp, and each color gets two coats.
Where exactly do you work in Central City?
The whole neighborhood from South Temple to 900 South and from 200 East to 700 East, including the 400 South corridor around Trolley Square, plus the blocks south toward Liberty Park.
Also serving nearby neighborhoods
Painting in the historic district?
Call (385) 469-5010 or request a free consultation and we’ll meet you at the house or the building.