A façade on the Costa del Sol takes more punishment than one in northern Europe. Roughly three hundred days of direct sun a year breaks down pigment and binder; salt carried inland on the wind works into hairline cracks; and the swing between a humid coastal night and a thirty-degree afternoon moves render constantly. A façade painted with ordinary interior-grade masonry paint can start chalking inside two summers.
We paint villas, apartment blocks and townhouses from Estepona to Málaga, and the preparation is where most of the work sits. Painting over a wall that has not been washed, stabilised and filled is the single most common reason a coastal façade fails early — the paint is usually fine, but it is bonded to a surface that is already letting go.
What a façade job includes
- A site visit where we measure up, check the render and note access and scaffolding needs
- High-pressure washing to strip salt deposits, algae and chalked-out old coating
- Scraping and removal of any coating that has lost its bond
- Crack repair — we open, fill and reinforce moving cracks rather than paint over them
- A stabilising primer matched to the substrate, whether that is monocapa, cement render or previously painted masonry
- Two full coats, applied at the manufacturer’s stated spread rate rather than stretched thin
- Masking and protection of windows, ironwork, terraces, pool surrounds and planting
- Daily clean-up, and a final walk-through with you before we invoice
The paint systems we use, and why
For most coastal façades we specify a breathable siloxane or pure-acrylic system. Breathability matters more than it sounds: Costa del Sol walls take up moisture from humid night air and from rain driven against them, and a sealed film traps that moisture behind the coating until it blisters the paint off in sheets. A breathable system sheds water on the outside while letting vapour escape from within.
Where a wall is exposed directly to sea wind, or where a previous coating has already failed, we will sometimes specify a pliolite-based primer instead, because it penetrates and binds a friable surface in a way that a water-based primer cannot. Which system we recommend depends on what we find at the site visit — the brand, the product and the number of coats are always written into the quote before you commit to anything.
Colour on a façade behaves differently from colour on a sample card. Andalusian light is strong and slightly warm, and it will lift a colour by a shade or more compared with how it looks indoors. We paint a test area on the actual wall and let you see it in morning and afternoon light before we commit the whole elevation.
How we work
Four steps, no surprises
- 01Site visitWe come out, measure up and listen to what you want.
- 02QuoteA written fixed price.
- 03The workMasking, preparation and painting — with daily clean-up.
- 04Walk-throughWe inspect every aspect of the together before signing off the project.
Recent work
Common questions
What does it cost to paint a façade?
We price per square metre after a site visit, because the condition of the render matters more than the area. A sound wall that needs washing and two coats sits at the bottom of the range; a wall with widespread cracking, failed old coating or difficult scaffolding access sits higher. The site visit and the written quote are free, and the price we put in writing is the price you pay.
How long will the work take?
A typical villa façade takes one to two weeks depending on size, access and how much repair the render needs. Weather is the main variable — we do not apply coatings in rain, in strong wind, or when the surface temperature is above what the manufacturer allows, which in July and August can mean starting early and stopping in the early afternoon.
Do you handle the scaffolding?
Yes. Scaffolding, lifts or rope access are arranged by us and included in the quoted price, along with the permits where the building or the community requires them.
Can you work with our community of owners?
Regularly. For apartment blocks and urbanisations we are used to presenting a written specification to the administrator or the president, working to an agreed schedule, and keeping access to entrances and parking open throughout.
How long should a façade last before it needs repainting?
On this coast, eight to twelve years is a realistic expectation for a properly prepared façade in a good system. South- and west-facing elevations and anything within a few hundred metres of the sea will always weather faster than sheltered walls.