Pittsburgh’s topography, built across three river valleys and dozens of steep hillsides, creates painting logistics that flat-terrain cities never encounter. Hillside homes with exposed foundations, steep-pitched rooflines, and multi-story rear elevations overlooking ravines require scaffolding and rigging setups that demand experience beyond what standard ladder work allows. The city’s climate brings cold, wet winters with significant freeze-thaw cycling alongside humid summers, conditions that test paint adhesion on wood, masonry, and aluminum siding alike.
The city’s housing stock skews old: Pittsburgh has a higher percentage of pre-1940 housing than the vast majority of American cities its size. This creates a consistent demand for painters who can work on plaster interiors, window glazing, and exterior surfaces carrying multiple generations of paint, and who are certified for lead-safe renovation work in the significant share of homes where lead paint is present.
Higgins Painting
Founded: 2002
Address: 2844 Broadway Ave, Pittsburgh, PA 15216
Phone: (412) 344-0480
Website: https://higginsprofessional.com
Services: Interior painting, exterior painting, wallpaper installation and removal, wood staining and refinishing, exterior wood repair, drywall and plaster repair, ceiling and texture repair, pressure cleaning, deck and fence staining, garage and basement coatings, decorative faux finishing
Products Used: Not specified
Higgins Painting was founded in 2002 by Don Higgins, who brings over three decades of personal industry experience to a team of more than 20 field technicians. The company works across all residential and commercial project types in Southwestern Pennsylvania and will travel to Ohio and West Virginia for select projects. Their wallpaper installation and removal capability, combined with genuine plaster repair expertise, makes them one of the few Pittsburgh contractors equipped for the full range of work that older homes in Squirrel Hill, Shadyside, and Point Breeze regularly require.
Fagan Painting LLC
Founded: 2010
Address: Not publicly listed
Phone: (412) 680-0102
Website: https://faganpainting.com
Services: Interior painting, exterior painting, HOA painting, commercial painting, warehouse painting, office painting, commercial exterior painting, drywall repair
Products Used: Not specified
Fagan Painting was founded in 2010 by Jim Fagan and has completed over 1,000 projects across Pittsburgh’s residential and commercial sectors in the years since. The company is BBB A+ accredited, fully licensed and insured, and backs all work with a two-year warranty. Their 10% winter discount on interior house painting and commercial painting work reflects the practice of many Pittsburgh contractors who use the slower exterior season to maintain consistent crew schedules year-round.
MasterBrush Painting
Founded: 1981
Address: 109 Robinhood Lane, McMurray, PA 15317
Phone: (412) 481-2155
Website: https://masterbrushpainting.com
Services: Exterior residential painting, interior commercial painting, exterior commercial painting, power washing, patio and deck work, house painting
Products Used: Sherwin-Williams
MasterBrush Painting was founded in 1981 by Henry Webber, who trained under experienced old-world painters at one of Pittsburgh’s established contracting firms before starting his own company. His son Kevin Webber now leads the business, bringing over 25 years of his own experience to the operation. The crew is made up of painters with 20 to 30-plus years of individual experience who have worked together as a team for many years, an unusual degree of continuity that shows in consistent quality across the McMurray to Monroeville and Moon Township to Fox Chapel service corridor.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: How much does interior painting cost in Pittsburgh?
A: Interior painting in Pittsburgh typically runs between $2.50 and $4.50 per square foot for standard residential rooms. A full interior repaint of a 1,800-square-foot home generally falls in the $3,500 to $7,000 range. Pittsburgh’s high volume of older homes with plaster walls, elaborate woodwork, and tall ceilings pushes many projects toward the higher end of that range.
Q: How do Pittsburgh painters handle the city’s steep hillside properties?
A: Hillside properties with multiple exposed stories require contractors experienced in exterior rigging, scaffolding, and sometimes rope access techniques for sections that ladders cannot safely reach. The cost of exterior work on Pittsburgh’s hillside homes is typically higher than equivalent work on flat lots due to the additional equipment, time, and safety considerations involved. Experienced local contractors will include scaffolding costs explicitly in their written estimates.
Q: Do Pittsburgh contractors have the certifications needed to work on the city’s many pre-1940 homes?
A: Many do, but homeowners should ask specifically. EPA Lead Renovation, Repair and Painting (RRP) certification is required for work disturbing surfaces in pre-1978 homes. Pittsburgh’s housing stock, which is older on average than most American cities, means a high proportion of projects require this certification. Some contractors also hold additional credentials in historic preservation work relevant to properties in neighborhoods like Allegheny West, Manchester, and Mexican War Streets.
Pittsburgh’s painters work in one of America’s more technically demanding residential environments, where steep terrain, aging substrates, and architectural complexity regularly test skills that flat-city contractors are never required to develop. The companies that have thrived in this market for decades do so because they have built crews capable of handling what the city’s geography and housing stock actually demand.