How much should you expect a painter to scrape off exterior of historic house

paint

Hundred year old house with wrap around porch and the porch ceiling was painted.
The porch ceiling was scraped, but only in certain areas. I am assuming these were the areas with loose or peeling paint. The problem is some parts of the ceiling look smooth and nicely painted and others look rough and uneven where the paint was not scraped because it wasnt peeling or loose. Some of the wood on the ceiling is much older and more blemished than other areas. I wasnt expecting perfection but the ceiling really only looks good in the areas where the wood is newer and where they scraped. Am I expecting too much of the painting contractor for them to have scraped and prepared the surface better?

Best Answer

At 100 years old, if you want all the paint removed it may become expensive due to the older paint probably contains lead...

It also depends on what you and the contractor agreed - they will usually say something like "remove loose and flaking paint" and paint...