Asbury Park was laid out in 1871 by James A. Bradley, a New York brush manufacturer, and named after Francis Asbury, the first American bishop of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Bradley planned the town as a grid of streets around lakes and open space. Deal Lake forms the northern edge of the city and Wesley Lake the southern edge, separating it from Ocean Grove, with Sunset Lake in between. The whole city covers only about a square and a half miles, so very little of it is more than a short walk from the boardwalk. Convention Hall and the Paramount Theatre, designed by Warren and Wetmore (the firm behind Grand Central Terminal) and opened in 1930, still anchor the beachfront. Away from the boardwalk, the streets hold Victorian houses from the town's early resort years, early-twentieth-century foursquares and multi-family houses, and a growing number of new condominium buildings.
That mix means one estimate rarely looks like the next. A restored Victorian has deep cornices, porch columns, brackets and wood windows, and the prep on those details takes most of the time on an exterior. A multi-family house needs crews who keep common areas clean and plan around tenants. Newer buildings often have fiber-cement or vinyl siding, which wants a different primer and, on vinyl, a color that won't overheat the panels. We walk the property, separate what is failing from what only looks tired, and write it down so you can see where the labor goes.
Being this close to the Atlantic is hard on paint. Onshore wind leaves salt on every surface, and paint applied over it fails at the bond, so washing and drying the walls is the first step on every Asbury Park exterior we do. The east-facing walls also get reflected glare off the water and the sand and chalk faster than the rest of the house. We treat them as their own scope, put the toughest trim finish where water sits on sills and rails, and use coastal-rated premium Benjamin Moore and Sherwin-Williams exterior systems. Most of the older housing here predates 1978, so lead-safe practices are standard on our sites: containment, wet scraping, HEPA cleanup and a site cleaned down daily.
Kitchens are a big part of what Asbury Park homeowners ask us about. In older houses and condos alike, the cabinet boxes are often solid while the finish has given out, and painting or refinishing them gives a factory-smooth result for a fraction of what replacement costs, without tearing out the kitchen. Our guide to refinishing versus painting versus refacing explains the differences. We also repaint interiors, refinish hardwood, coat garage floors in epoxy, and paint storefronts and restaurants outside business hours. NJ Painting Co. is family-owned and based in Morganville, licensed and fully insured, with more than twenty years in the trade. Every Asbury Park estimate is free, includes a color consultation, and the work carries a two-year workmanship warranty.
