This wood siding repaint on a marsh-side St. Simons Island home covered the siding, a lower-level door, and the deck handrails and pickets. Before painting, our crew replaced a rotted guard rail and several pieces of tongue-and-groove siding with pressure-treated pine.
Project at a glance
- Location: St. Simons Island, GA
- Project type: Residential exterior repaint with wood repair
- Surfaces: Wood siding, one lower-level door, deck handrails and pickets
- Repairs: Top 2×6 rail on the marsh-side guard rail, two 8-foot tongue-and-groove siding boards, four smaller siding pieces below a window, one handrail section re-attached
- New wood: Pressure-treated #1 pine
- Colors: Matched to the existing colors on site at the start of the job
- Products: 100% acrylic latex finish; rust-inhibiting primer on rusted nail heads
- Completed: September 2026
Why the homeowner called
The wood siding and deck rails on this home had loose and flaking paint, and some of the nail heads had started to rust. The homeowner asked us to inspect the house and price the work. She asked for a few changes to the estimate, and we updated it before the project started.
What we did
The prep and painting followed the same order on every surface:
- Re-attached one loose section of handrail on the back deck
- Scraped all loose and flaking paint and sanded the edges smooth
- Primed rusted nail heads with a rust-inhibiting primer
- Spot primed any bare wood
- Caulked cracks and filled nail holes
- Finished the siding, the lower-level door, and the handrails and pickets in 100% acrylic latex matched to the existing colors
Rusted nail heads are easy to paint over and hard to hide later. Priming each one before the finish coat keeps the rust from bleeding back through the new paint.
Rotted wood we replaced before painting
Some of the wood on the marsh side of the house was past the point where paint could help. With the homeowner’s approval, we added the repairs to the project as a written change order:
- Replaced the badly worn top 2×6 rail on the marsh-side guard rail
- Replaced two 8-foot 1×6 tongue-and-groove siding boards and four smaller pieces below a window
- Used pressure-treated #1 pine for all of the new wood
Paint does not hold on rotted wood, so replacing it first means the new finish goes onto solid boards. See how we handle exterior wood repair, or read our guide to how far wood rot usually goes.
Colors and products for this wood siding repaint
The homeowner kept her existing colors. We matched them on site at the start of the job, so the new rail and siding boards blend in with the rest of the house. Every finish coat is 100% acrylic latex, and the rusted nail heads got a rust-inhibiting primer before any paint went on.
The result
The siding, the lower-level door and the deck rails and pickets are repainted in their original colors. The new guard rail and siding boards match the rest of the house, and the rusted nail heads are sealed under primer.
Questions about a project like this
Can you match my existing paint color?
Yes. On this house we matched the existing colors on site at the start of the job, so the repaired boards and the repainted siding are the same color.
What happens if you find rotted wood during an exterior repaint?
We price the repair as a written change order before replacing anything. On this job, the rotted guard rail and siding pieces were added that way and replaced with pressure-treated pine before painting.
Planning a similar project on St. Simons Island?
If your siding or deck rails are peeling, or you suspect soft wood, we can look at it and give you a written estimate at no charge. Learn more about exterior painting on St. Simons Island and our exterior house painting process, or see more of our work across St. Simons Island.
Every project is backed by our 3-Year Coastal Warranty. Creating delighted customers since 1986.
