Heritage Building Painting

Heritage building painting in Burnaby and New Westminster is a preservation discipline, not a standard repaint. Heritage-designated buildings require historically appropriate colour selection, prep methods that don't damage irreplaceable original materials, and coating formulations compatible with older substrates. Burnaby Commercial Painting Co approaches heritage painting with the technical care these buildings deserve.

Heritage Colour Consultations in Burnaby and New Westminster

Many heritage-designated buildings in New Westminster's historic downtown core, Burnaby's Deer Lake and Burnaby Village Museum precinct, and the City of Vancouver's heritage registry have documented or recommended colour palettes from the period of construction. Benjamin Moore's Historical Colours collection, Farrow & Ball's traditional formulations, and the Munsell colour system used in heritage documentation are all reference points we work from. We can assist with heritage paint surveys — removing small paint chips from multiple locations on the building to identify the original colour through cross-section analysis — or coordinate with a heritage consultant the strata or property owner has engaged.

Substrate Compatibility for Older Buildings

Heritage buildings in Burnaby and New Westminster include Victorian and Edwardian wood-frame commercial blocks, Craftsman bungalows converted to commercial use, and mid-20th century masonry institutional buildings. Each presents substrate challenges: wood buildings from before 1920 may have multiple layers of oil-based paint that must be carefully stripped or intercoated with a compatible system. Lime-based plaster and mortar in older masonry buildings require breathable, lime-compatible coatings — a standard acrylic over old lime mortar can trap moisture and cause spalling and joint failure. We assess the substrate and the existing paint system before specifying a coating, and we take a conservative approach: if there's any uncertainty about compatibility, we test a small area first.

Documentation and Municipal Requirements

Heritage-designated buildings in BC may require approval from a municipal heritage commission, the BC Heritage Branch, or both before exterior alterations — including painting — are made. The definition of "alteration" varies by designation level: some designations allow colour changes within an approved palette without approval, others require a formal alteration permit with a heritage professional's sign-off. We help property owners understand what approval is required, provide the painting specification and colour documentation needed for the approval submission, and coordinate with the heritage consultant if one is involved. Doing this correctly at the start saves the cost and frustration of being told to restore an unapproved colour change.

Low-VOC and Oil-Based Formulations for Heritage Work

Heritage purists often specify oil-based paint for historic wood buildings on the grounds that oil provides better penetration, flexibility, and a more historically authentic surface. There is merit to this argument on older, unpainted, or bare wood surfaces. On surfaces with multiple existing acrylic or latex paint layers, however, a new oil-based coat is not typically compatible without a full strip to bare wood — and in practice, the VOC content of traditional oil-based paints is incompatible with occupied building restrictions in BC. We specify premium water-based alkyd formulations (Regal Select, Aura by Benjamin Moore, or Emerald Urethane Trim by Sherwin-Williams) that provide the hard enamel finish, smooth level, and durability of traditional oil-based paint with the lower VOC profile required for occupied heritage properties.