Glen Ridge broke away from Bloomfield in 1895 and is only about a square and a quarter miles, but it has kept the look of an early railroad suburb to a remarkable degree. The borough still lights its streets with gas lamps, more than six hundred of them, and the Glen Ridge Historic District, listed on the National Register in 1982 and enlarged twice since, takes in most of the town. The houses span the styles of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries: Carpenter Gothic, Queen Anne, Shingle Style, Georgian and Colonial Revival, Tudor and a few Prairie-style homes, many within walking distance of the Glen Ridge and Benson Street stations on the Montclair-Boonton line. Painting in a town like this is mostly about protecting what is already there.
Interior painters in Glen Ridge spend much of their time on plaster. Century-old plaster walls have hairline cracks, old patches and the occasional section pulling away from its lath, and paint will not hide any of it. We secure loose areas, fill and skim the cracks, and spot-prime every repair so the patches do not flash through the finish coat. Original woodwork such as staircases, built-ins, window casings and paneled doors usually carries old oil-based paint or varnish. It needs cleaning, a light scuff and a bonding primer before a waterborne finish will stick, and we take the time to keep crisp profiles rather than burying them under heavy coats.
Nearly every Glen Ridge house was built long before 1978, so we treat all painted surfaces as containing lead until shown otherwise. That means sealed-off work areas, wet sanding and scraping, HEPA vacuuming, and floors and furniture protected and cleaned each day, which matters most in occupied homes with children. Outside, the same rules apply to clapboard, shingles and porch trim, and on houses with stucco and half-timbering we use breathable masonry coatings on the stucco so moisture in the wall can escape.
Most of the borough sits inside its historic district and Glen Ridge has its own Historic Preservation Commission, so if a project goes beyond paint, such as replacing trim, windows or porch parts, it is worth checking with the borough first. For straightforward painting, our free in-home color consultation can help you choose a scheme that suits the age and style of the house. We also refinish hardwood floors and kitchen cabinets. NJ Painting Co. is a family-owned company based in Morganville, Monmouth County, and we travel up to Essex County for this work. We are licensed and fully insured, use premium Benjamin Moore and Sherwin-Williams paints, and give every job a two-year workmanship warranty.
