Painter Parrega: house, barn and yard

Parrega is a small village on the clay land between Workum and Bolsward, in the municipality of Súdwest-Fryslân. There are no large neighbourhoods, but there are family homes, small farms and yards that simply need maintenance. We treat those requests exactly like those from the city.

You tell us what you have in mind, we come to look and you get a fixed quote. Because there is usually more on the yard than just the house, we look beyond the front door right away.

On the clay land around Parrega many houses stand free, with the wind coming at them from all sides. That makes a walk around the house more important than in a street: you check four facades, and they are far from equally worn. We tell you side by side how each one stands.

If you are having the house painted and the barn stands next to it, it is a waste to come back for that separately in a few years. When the scaffolding is on the yard anyway, roof edges and outbuildings can often be included. That saves putting it up and taking it down again.

You don't have to do it all at once. If you want to go in stages, you can set that out in a long-term maintenance plan for 5 or 10 years. With such a plan, a 10-year guarantee applies.

A barn often gets the least attention and the most knocks. Doors face the wind, the bottom edge sits just above wet grass or clay, and the wood moves with the weather. With stable doors and timber sections, we first check whether the wood is still firm and whether there is rot in the uprights.

In Langweer we repaired one like that, a stable door with wood rot, back to sound wood. More about outbuildings can be found under painting a barn or garden shed.

On the clay land a roof edge takes everything: rain, wind and strong sun, with no trees in between. Fascia boards and barge boards show it first. The paint flakes off, seams open up and water runs behind the wood.

Sometimes painting is still enough, sometimes part of it has to come out. We replace a fascia board when it is too far gone, otherwise you keep painting something that rots away from the inside. You can read more under fascia boards and barge boards. Have a look yourself along the roof edge from the ground: if you see blisters or a dark streak under the seam, it is time to have it checked.

Walk around the yard with your phone. Take a photo of every facade, the barn included, and of anything you don't trust. Note the rough measurements if you have them, the year the house was built and when it was last painted.

If the driveway is narrow or there is a gate, mention it. During the site visit we discuss the rest: the surface, the colours, and which parts need doing straight away and which can wait.

It depends on how much is painted, the condition of the wood and how easy everything is to reach. Nationally, the market indication is from €35 per m2 for exterior painting and from €55 per running metre for new fascia boards. Painting work on a home that is two years old or older carries 9 percent Dutch VAT.

At MJA these are not fixed rates. You only get a price after the site visit, and that price then stays fixed.

If you combine house and barn, the scaffolding only has to come once. On the quote we list the items separately, so you can see what the barn costs on its own. Then you can still choose whether it goes ahead now or later.

MJA Allround Bouw is based in Mirns and works throughout Friesland, mainly in De Fryske Marren and Súdwest-Fryslân. Customers rate us 4.8 on Google from 25 reviews, and often mention that we respond quickly and give honest advice.

Call or message Mohamed on 06 3006 0558, or send your photos via the quote request. Mention that it is a house with a barn, and we will take the time for that.