Paint when the material underneath is sound. Replace when it is not. Paint protects and changes how a surface looks. It does not make soft wood hard or hold a failing surface together.
Price ranges on this page are national figures published by HomeGuide for 2026. They are not our quotes. New York City labor, building rules, access and the state of your own walls move the number up or down. Last checked October 2026.
Should I paint or replace my kitchen cabinets?
Paint them if the boxes are solid, the doors hang straight and you are happy with the layout. Replace them if the boxes are swollen from water, the shelves sag or you want the kitchen arranged differently.
The national figures are $2,000 to $6,500 to paint an average kitchen and $4,500 to $15,000 to replace. In a small apartment kitchen both numbers tend to be toward the low end, but the gap stays.
Is it cheaper to paint or replace old siding?
It is cheaper to paint. For vinyl siding the national figures are $1,500 to $5,000 to paint and $4,800 to $11,100 to replace. For aluminum they are $1,500 to $7,000 to paint and $6,300 to $20,100 to replace.
No comparison is published for wood, stucco or brick. The price is only half the question. Paint is worth it only if the siding is still doing its job of keeping water out.
My wood siding is faded, cracked or 30 years old. Paint or replace?
Paint it if the boards are still firm. Faded wood siding with fine surface cracks is normal after decades and takes paint well once it is scraped, sanded and primed.
Push a screwdriver into the worst boards, low on the wall and under windows. If it sinks in, those boards need replacing. Usually it is a handful of boards, not the whole wall. This is typical on City Island and in the older frame houses of Woodlawn and Kingsbridge.
Wood siding with some rot: paint it or replace it first?
Replace the rotted boards first, then paint. Paint over rot traps the moisture and the rot keeps spreading under the new coat.
Find out why it rotted too. A leaking gutter, a missing piece of flashing or soil against the siding will rot the new board the same way.
Rotting or soft trim: fill and paint, or new trim?
Small soft spots in trim can be dug out, hardened and filled. Trim that is soft along much of its length should be replaced.
Window sills, the bottoms of door frames and porch posts are the usual places. On an old row house the trim profile may be hard to match, which is a reason to repair a piece that is mostly sound.
Can a painter patch dry rot with epoxy or do I need a carpenter?
A painter can patch small areas with a two part epoxy wood filler after removing the soft wood. You need a carpenter when the piece is structural or mostly gone.
A porch post that holds up a roof, a stair stringer or a sill under a door is carpentry. A fist sized soft spot in a window sill or a cornice board is an epoxy repair. We tell you which is which at the estimate.
Grey, splintering deck boards: stain or replace?
Stain them if they are grey but solid. Replace boards that splinter badly, cup or feel spongy underfoot.
Grey is only weathered surface fiber. It washes and sands off, and the wood under it takes stain. Deep cracks and long splinters mean the board has dried out and split, and stain will not close them.
Chalky aluminum siding: paint it or cover it?
Paint it. Chalk on aluminum siding is the old factory finish breaking down, and it is the normal reason to repaint.
The chalk has to be washed off completely, or new paint sticks to the powder and not to the metal. Aluminum siding that is dented all over or pulling loose is a different matter and may be better replaced. A lot of Bronx houses in Morris Park, Pelham Bay and Throgs Neck have aluminum siding from the 1960s and 1970s that is a good candidate for paint.
Is a 20-year-old deck worth painting or staining?
An old deck is worth staining if the frame is sound. Check the posts, the beam and the joists from below, and the ledger where the deck meets the house.
If the frame is solid, replace the worst boards and stain the rest. If the frame is soft, do not spend money on a finish. No finish makes an unsafe deck safe.
Should I paint or replace old windows and doors with thick, peeling paint?
If the wood is sound, they can be prepped and repainted. Thick, cracked paint on old windows and doors is very common in pre-war Bronx buildings.
In a building from before 1978, treat that paint as containing lead unless a test says otherwise. In rental apartments, New York City's Local Law 1 has its own rules about window and door surfaces. See our page on lead paint rules.
A free estimate with a written quote is the only way to get a real price for your job. Call or text (718) 866-3263.