HomeCastle Hills
Three quarters masonry by code, so the paint is somewhere else
A painter who bids this like a stucco neighborhood is bidding the wrong house.
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Third, fourth or fifth repaint
Castle Hills was built out between the late 1940s and about 1970 and has not grown since. The population peaked at 5,311 in 1970 and stood at 3,978 in 2020. That leaves roughly 1,900 mature homes and very little new construction, so most houses here are on their third, fourth or fifth repaint.
On a house that age we expect several old coats, some of them oil based, caulk that has given up at the trim joints, and glazing gone brittle. Surface preparation is most of the job here, and skipping it is why a repaint fails in four years instead of lasting ten.
What we look at
On a city that is three quarters masonry by code, the paint is somewhere other than the walls.
Castle Hills Code Chapter 50 requires a dwelling be not less than 75 percent masonry on its overall exterior walls. The code defines masonry as stone, brick, concrete masonry units or rock laid up unit upon unit set and bonded to one another in mortar. That 75 percent is measured across the whole wall area, not the first floor only. It is why so much of this city reads as brick and stone from the curb.
Stucco is applied to a surface. It is not units bonded in mortar, and the Castle Hills definition never names it. Neighboring Hollywood Park writes its masonry rule as brick, natural stone, or stucco, and the Hidden Forest covenant says masonry includes stucco. The same phrase describes two different buildings a few minutes apart. A 75 percent masonry house in Castle Hills is far more likely to be real unpainted brick or stone, and a painter who bids it like a stucco neighborhood is bidding the wrong house.
If three quarters of the wall is brick or stone, the paintable envelope sits somewhere else: fascia, soffits, eaves, window and door trim, garage doors, shutters, entry doors, porch ceilings, wrought iron and the non masonry balance of the walls. That is a trim and detail job rather than a whole wall repaint. It wants different products and a different day count, and it is the work that fails first, because it is the wood.
Code section 8-144 bans wooden roofs in Castle Hills, and no wood shingle or shake roof may be replaced in kind. If more than 30 percent of the roof surface needs new material, the whole roof goes to approved noncombustible material. That rule exists because the original stock had wood shake, and roofs swapped out since often left fascia and trim that never got properly refinished. We look hard at those boards, and our ladders work around the mature trees Chapter 48 protects.
Tell us what you are thinking about painting and Michael will come out, walk it with you and put a detailed bid in writing. No charge, no pressure. Every project carries a 2 year written warranty and $1,000,000 in liability coverage.
What the code says
Castle Hills does keep a standing architectural review committee, and its factors include harmony of design, colors, materials and finishes, along with a sample board showing all exterior elevations in color. That review is real, but it does not reach your house. Code section 8-48(b) says interior remodeling of any structure and single-family residences and two-family residences are completely exempt from the requirement for referral to and approval by the committee. Pick your color and we will paint it.
Code section 8-81 holds most trades to 8am until 5pm Monday through Friday and 9am until 4pm Saturday, with Sunday prohibited. Section 8-81(d) lists the exemptions and names ours: interior painting and exterior painting performed by a contractor. Section 8-81(e) keeps the separate noise nuisance rules in force, so this is not an invitation to start at dawn. What it buys you is room to finish a side before the weather turns.
Why Castle Hills homeowners call us
Michael Hernandez owns this company, and he is the one who comes out to walk your project with you. We are based in 78216, which puts Castle Hills a few minutes down the road. Once we agree on paints and colors, our crew leaders inspect the work as it goes.
Every project is backed by a 2 year written transferable warranty of quality and $1,000,000 in liability insurance. Painting Castle Hills homes and San Antonio businesses since 2003.
In their words
We just used Value House Painting, Michael and his crew, for a complete exterior paint job on our house. I plan to use them again. They did excellent work for a fair price and got it done quickly. This is by far the best contracting experience I have had in years. They treated the job with care and took initiative to do what needed to be done to make our house look great. They are a professional crew and know how to treat customers.
We just used Michael Hernandez with Value House Painting. His crew is great and pays attention to details!
I would like to take a few minutes to thank you for a job well done. The interior painting looks amazing. Your crews that did the work were very professional, courteous and most of all diligent.
What we do here
We also handle exterior painting and commercial painting in San Antonio, and we take on cabinet painting and refinishing or popcorn ceiling removal as standalone jobs. We work inside these houses too, and our interior painting page covers walls, ceilings, trim and cabinets. Everything we do is listed on the Value House Painting home page.
A few minutes away the masonry definitions change, and so does the house. Hidden Forest counts stucco as masonry and measures it on the first floor only, and Hollywood Park names stucco in its rule outright.
The surfaces that carry paint on a masonry house: fascia, soffits, eaves, window and door trim, garage doors, shutters and entry doors, prepped and recoated.
See the prep that makes it last
Rotted fascia and siding cut out and replaced, stucco patched where a house has it, and caulk joints rebuilt before any finish coat goes on.
See the prep that makes it last
Walls, ceilings, baseboards, doors and crown molding, with popcorn texture removal, wallpaper removal and drywall repair with the texture matched so the patches disappear.
See what happens before the colorStraight answers
Value House Painting, owned by Michael Hernandez, has painted San Antonio homes and businesses since 2003 and is based in 78216, minutes from Castle Hills. We are locally owned, carry $1,000,000 in liability insurance on every project, and back the work with a 2 year written transferable warranty of quality. Call (210) 445-1060 or email michael@valuehousepainting.com for a free estimate.
No. Castle Hills has an architectural review committee that weighs harmony of design, colors, materials and finishes, but Code section 8-48(b) states that single-family residences and two-family residences are completely exempt from the requirement for referral to and approval by that committee. Repainting your own house is your call. The review reaches commercial and multi family projects, not a homeowner choosing an exterior color.
Usually real brick or stone. Castle Hills Code Chapter 50 requires dwellings be not less than 75 percent masonry on overall exterior walls, and it defines masonry as units laid up unit upon unit set and bonded to one another in mortar. Stucco is surface applied and is not named in that definition, unlike Hollywood Park where the code reads brick, natural stone, or stucco. Michael will tell you what you actually have when he walks the house.
Castle Hills Code section 8-81 limits most construction to 8am until 5pm on weekdays and 9am until 4pm on Saturday, with Sunday prohibited. Section 8-81(d) specifically exempts interior painting and exterior painting performed by a contractor from those hour restrictions. Section 8-81(e) keeps the noise nuisance rules in force, so we still work like neighbors. In practice it means we can finish a side instead of stopping mid wall.
Exposure decides it more than the calendar does. South and west facing trim, fascia and doors take the worst of the Texas sun and give out first, while shaded elevations under the older trees hold up far longer. On a house built in the 1950s or 1960s the honest answer comes from the condition of the wood and the caulk joints, not from a number. Michael will walk each elevation and tell you which sides need work now and which can wait.
Both. Interior painting is a large part of what we do: walls, ceilings, baseboards, doors and crown molding, plus popcorn ceiling removal, wallpaper removal and drywall repair with the texture matched so patches disappear. We also refinish kitchen and bathroom cabinets as a standalone job. Same crew, same 2 year written transferable warranty of quality.
Value you can count on
Tell us what you are thinking about painting and Michael will come out, walk it with you and put a detailed bid in writing. No charge, no obligation.
Free written bid
