Painting older homes in the Glebe and Old Ottawa South

It has the highest share of pre-1960 homes of any Ottawa area we've profiled. About 44% of homes in the Capital ward area were built before 1960, and only about 9% were built from 2011 to 2021. Capital is also the longest-standing of Ottawa's current wards, created in 1909. Painting here is renovation work: careful prep, respect for old trim, and honesty about lead paint.

What the homes are like

• Capital ward area (2021 census): about 44% of homes built before 1960; about 48% owner-occupied; about 15% condos.
• The Glebe (CMHC): about 32% single-detached, 10% semi-detached and 30% low-rise apartments.
• Old Ottawa South (CMHC): about 37% single-detached and 12% row houses.

The ward also takes in Old Ottawa East and Heron Park.

Lead paint comes first

Health Canada says a home built before 1960 probably contains lead-based paint, and that it shouldn't be sanded or heat-gunned. Homes built before 1960 get a lead paint check before any sanding. If it's positive, the crew doesn't dry-sand, and the job is reviewed before work goes on. Read Health Canada's guidance, and put your build year in your description.

Prep and limits, honestly

• Included in every room: washing, light scuff-sanding, filling up to about a dozen small holes and dents, protection and cleanup.
• Flat extra if needed: minor prep beyond that is $80 / $105 / $130 by room size, shown before you send.
• Not part of our standard service: holes bigger than a loonie, water damage, wallpaper removal, popcorn ceilings, open stairwells taller than one storey and ceilings 11 ft and up (a painter prices those). 9 ft and 10 ft ceilings add 10% and 20% of that room's walls price, shown as its own line.

Trim, doors and colour

Old casings and baseboards are often the best thing in the room. Trim and doors is $240 / $300 / $360 by room size. For an older home's palette, walls-only prices include four stock whites. Adding the ceiling opens our full curated palette, and the $85-per-room premium paint upgrade opens any colour, including a custom match.

Prices in K1S

The Glebe, Old Ottawa South and Old Ottawa East are on the standard-price list, so there's no travel charge. Walls, two coats, one colour, paint included, before HST:

Room size	Lived-in	Empty home
Small (office, laundry room, or a bedroom you choose as small)	$795	$715
Medium (bedroom, dining room, kitchen)	$1,035	$930
Large (living room, open main area)	$1,270	$1,145

Second and later lived-in rooms: $665 / $905 / $1,140. Every number is on the price list.

Three rooms in one order: three small lived-in rooms start at $2,125 before HST (the first at $795, then two at $665), and larger rooms follow the same first-room, next-room pattern.

Referred by a friend? Book through their referral link and you get $100 off your first job of $500 or more before HST. Your friend gets $125 as a credit or by e-transfer, paid 7 days after your job is completed and paid in full. It's one offer per job, so it can't be combined with FIRST10 or another code.

Once we've checked your photos, your price is locked. After you book, it never goes up unless you ask for more work or the crew finds hidden damage, and then you can say no and keep the original scope at the original price.

Get your price

Tell us the rooms and the year your house was built.

Get my Maple Coat price for the Glebe →

The neighbourhood runs along the Rideau Canal and Dow's Lake. Nearby: Westboro and Hintonburg, Alta Vista and Gloucester, older homes and lead paint.