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 Liberty Wells
Most people who call us looking for house painters in Liberty Wells own a brick bungalow built between 1900 and 1929, when the streetcar lines pushed south from downtown and the blocks between State Street and 700 East filled in. These are some of the most livable houses in Salt Lake City, and they reward careful paint work.
Met House Painters is based at 650 S Main St, a few minutes north of Liberty Wells. We paint bungalow exteriors, interiors and the neighborhood’s many duplexes, from the 9 Line Trail down to 2100 South.
A National Register district without the paperwork
Liberty Wells was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in two parts, the Wells district in 2010 and the Liberty addition in 2011. About 3,900 buildings were documented, and roughly 70 percent are considered contributing.
Here’s what that means for you as a homeowner: nothing, in terms of red tape. National Register listing is honorary. Liberty Wells is not a local historic district, so there is no Certificate of Appropriateness, no design review and no color approval. You can paint your trim sage green or your porch floor charcoal without asking anyone.
What the listing does offer is a reason to take care. A bungalow with its original wood details intact looks better than one wrapped in vinyl, and good paint is the cheapest way to keep those details alive.
The Liberty Wells bungalow, up close
The classic house here is a one or one-and-a-half story brick bungalow with a broad front porch, tapered columns on brick piers, wide eaves with exposed rafter tails and a low or clipped gable roof. Striated brick is common, as are period cottages, Victorian cross-wings on the oldest blocks, foursquares, 1920s Tudor Revivals and post-war cottages from the 1946 to 1961 infill.
Paint touches every wood element: porch ceilings, columns, soffits, fascia, rafter tails, window casings and sash, doors and gable trim. Many homes picked up aluminum siding from the late 1930s on, or stucco and vinyl over the original wood, and those surfaces need their own prep.
Liberty Wells sits on flat ground with full sun on south and west walls and big trees over small lots, so fade and mildew often show up on the same house.
House painters in Liberty Wells who respect a bungalow's details
A bungalow’s charm lives in a handful of details, and we paint them like it matters. Rafter tails get scraped and primed individually. Window sash is painted so it still opens. Porch columns are checked for rot at the base before paint goes on, because a soft column is a structural problem, not a cosmetic one.
Colors are up to you, but we’ll bring suggestions. Bungalows look right with earthy body tones and a contrasting trim color, and many owners pick a deep porch-ceiling color to set off the brick.
Thinking about the inside too? Original fir trim, built-in buffets and plaster walls are common here, and our interior painting team handles plaster repair and enamel trim work every week. Worn painted kitchen cabinets are good candidates for cabinet refinishing.
Thinking about a project in Liberty Wells? Get a clear, written proposal from a local crew.
Why Liberty Wells homeowners choose Met House Painters
We’re locally owned and operated, not a franchise, and Liberty Wells is some of our favorite territory because the houses are worth doing right. Homeowners here chose us for:
- Bungalow experience. We’ve painted every version of the Liberty Wells porch and know where the rot hides.
- Lead-safe work on every pre-1978 surface, with containment and HEPA cleanup.
- Unpainted brick stays unpainted. We’ll explain why and recoat only masonry that’s already been painted.
- Repairs in the scope. Carpentry, glazing and caulking are listed separately so you can see the cost.
- Duplex know-how. We paint around tenants on one side while the owner lives on the other.
From first walk-through to final coat
Your project starts with a free consultation. We walk the exterior and give you a written scope with surfaces, products, coat counts and repairs. If you’re preparing to sell in a market where bungalows trade around the mid-$500,000s, we’ll tell you where paint moves the needle.
Exterior days go in order: wash, dry, scrape and sand under lead-safe containment, repair, prime, caulk, two finish coats of premium acrylic, with trim brushed by hand. We keep the yard clean and the walk to your door clear every evening.
Interiors get floor protection, plaster patching, two coats on walls and a hard enamel on trim. We finish with a walk-through, touch-ups and a written warranty. Sugar House and 9th and 9th get the same bungalow-minded crews.
Frequently asked questions
Does National Register listing restrict what colors I can use?
No. National Register listing carries no city design review or color approval, and Liberty Wells is not a local historic district. The colors are entirely yours, and we’re glad to help you pick a scheme that suits a bungalow.
My bungalow has aluminum siding over the original wood. Can you paint it?
Yes. We wash off the chalk, apply a bonding primer and finish in a satin acrylic that stays flexible. If you’re thinking about removing the siding to expose the original wood, we can talk through what that involves.
Should I paint or strip the original fir trim inside?
Trim that’s already been painted several times is usually best cleaned, sanded and repainted in a durable enamel. Stripping is a bigger project that makes the most sense on trim with a single thin coat.
Can you paint my duplex while tenants are living there?
Yes. We schedule around them, keep access clear, use low-odor products inside and clean up daily. Exterior work never requires anyone to move out.
How often does a Liberty Wells bungalow need repainting?
Wood trim in full sun on the south and west sides typically goes five to seven years in Utah’s high-altitude UV, while shaded elevations last longer. Quality acrylics and thorough prep stretch that.
Also serving nearby neighborhoods
Love your bungalow? So do we.
Call (385) 469-5010 or request a free consultation and we’ll come take a look at the porch.