Dormer Painting: Safe at Height and Well Finished

First we stand there, on the scaffolding or in the access platform. Only then do you see how the wood is really doing: the underside of the frames, the fascia boards along the top and the sides. We degrease, sand, remove what is loose, repair rotten spots and seal the joints. Then come the primer and two top coats.

Because you rarely see a dormer from close up, the damage at the first check is often bigger than you thought. That is why we plan that moment as early as possible. If there is more going on, you hear it from us before we continue.

A dormer sticks out of the roof surface and has no neighbours or trees for shelter. Wind and rain come from three sides, and the sun hits it full on during the day. In the Frisian south-west wind, a dormer on that side is often due years sooner than the frames on the ground floor. As a rule of thumb, opaque exterior paintwork lasts 6 to 8 years, and in a spot like that you count on the short end.

On top of that, water sometimes stands still: on the lower sill, in the corner of the cheek or behind a fascia board that does not drain properly. Water in a small gap soon causes paint damage with a bit of cold. That is why you should not leave a dormer until the next round. Especially on white, green growth shows up quickly there.

Painting covers all the woodwork: fascia boards, barge boards, frames, windows and the cladding of the cheeks. We also do the replacing of fascia boards and small carpentry work ourselves. If the fascia boards are too far gone, we replace them, in wood or as new plastic fascia boards, and that work is covered at fascia and barge boards. Ventilation grilles and roof windows we leave free.

The roof itself is not work for a painter. If we see that the roofing or the leadwork on a dormer is no longer good, we report that, so you can bring in a roofer. Better to fix the leak first and paint afterwards, because the other way round you throw your money away.

Painting a dormer from a ladder is not safe and the result suffers. On scaffolding you stand steady and can reach the underside of the frames properly, even with windows you cannot open from inside. On a terraced house, or if the garden is narrow, scaffolding at the front can be awkward, and then we use an access platform where needed. You can read more about that choice at painting at height.

MJA has its own scaffolding: a fixed price for erection and dismantling, no hire and no surprises. Anyone hiring scaffolding or a lift elsewhere is looking at an amount from €50 per day nationally, and such a day keeps running if it rains.

The lower sill of the frame and the underside of the fascia boards are the first places where things go wrong on a dormer. We probe them with a screwdriver to find soft wood. If the damage is limited, we remove the rotten piece back to sound wood and repair it with Repair Care, or insert a piece. If it is soaked through, replacing is the honest solution. Also watch the corner where the cheek and frame meet, because rain easily gets in there if the sealant has cracked.

How to recognise rot from the outside is covered at recognising wood rot. If we see something you did not expect, you get a photo of it. That is the quickest way for you to see why we recommend something.

• Photos of the dormer, from the street and, if possible, from the garden.
• Photos from the window looking out, where you can see the lower sill well.
• The width of the dormer and the number of windows.
• Whether it is at the front or back and what the access is like.
• Signs of leaks inside, such as stains on the ceiling.
• The year your home and the dormer were built, if you know.

If you have no close-up photo, that is no problem: we take those ourselves during the site visit. Then we also check whether scaffolding can stand there and what exactly needs to be done.

Accessibility, the number of windows and the amount of repair make the most difference. A dormer with plastic frames and only wooden fascia boards is less work than an all-wood version. At MJA it is fixed on the quote after the site visit, scaffolding included. For a home two years old or more, Dutch VAT of 9 percent applies to painting work. You can find more about replacement at the cost of replacing fascia boards.

If the scaffolding is up anyway, it is a waste to do only the dormer. Often the gable, barge boards or the upper windows are due as well. One round of scaffolding saves money, and your whole home then gets the same colour at the same time. At exterior painting in Friesland you can see how we approach something like that. If you want to arrange further ahead, there is a long-term maintenance plan for 5 or 10 years. High on the roof, dust blows in more easily, so for the lacquer coats we choose calm days.

Take a photo from the street and send it via the quote request or WhatsApp to 06 3006 0558. We are members of OnderhoudNL and Trustoo Top Pro 2025. From Mirns we come across Friesland.