Exterior Painting in Highlands, Edmonton
Exterior painting in Highlands is a brick-and-wood mansion restoration trade on the north side of Edmonton, not a stucco repaint. Highlands sits north of the North Saskatchewan River across from downtown, bounded roughly by Ada Boulevard along the river bluff, 112 Avenue and 118 Avenue (Alberta Avenue) to the north, Wayne Gretzky Drive on the west, and 64 Street on the east, inside postal codes T5W and T5B. The streetscape is split between 1910-1925 elite-era mansions running the Ada Boulevard bluff and 1950s-1960s post-war ranches filling the side streets. iPaint Painting holds the EPA Lead-Safe RRP certification required to legally disturb paint on these pre-1978 homes, hand-cuts brick-to-wood transitions on every chimney and string course, and works inside the City of Edmonton heritage colour palette on designated mansions. Updated for 2026.
Why Highlands Exterior Work Is Mansion-Scale, Not Cottage-Scale
Highlands was platted in 1910 as Edmonton's first north-side elite-residential district, on the bluff above the North Saskatchewan River opposite the legislature. The signature stretch is Ada Boulevard, often called Edmonton's mansion row, where 3,000-to-8,000 square foot Edwardian, Craftsman, and Colonial Revival estates built between 1910 and 1925 hold the river-bluff view. Off the boulevard, the streets running north toward 112 Avenue and 118 Avenue, east toward 64 Street, and west toward 82 Street, fill with 1950s-1960s post-war ranches. T5W and T5B carry both 1910s mansions and 1955 bungalows on adjoining streets.
Highlands mansion exteriors are a hybrid substrate by design: wood lap siding or cedar shingle on field walls, clay brick at the foundation and string courses, full-height brick chimneys through wood-frame walls, turned wood porch columns, original leaded-glass window frames, and ornate Edwardian and Craftsman bargeboard and brackets. That brick-and-wood combination is the distinguishing feature against the rest of Edmonton heritage stock. Old Strathcona south of the river is smaller worker-cottage wood lap siding without the brick mass. Glenora west of downtown skews Tudor Revival half-timber stucco. Westbrook Estates and Riverbend are post-1990 stucco and Hardie. Highlands mansion work belongs to none of those recipes.
Repaint Triggers iPaint Painting Looks For on a Highlands Walkaround
Failed paint flaking off original wood lap siding on south-facing river-bluff elevations along Ada Boulevard. Cedar shingle silvering and moss colonies on north-facing gables under the elm canopy. Open mortar joints where the brick chimney passes through wood-frame walls. Soft wood at the bottom course against the brick foundation. Cracked Edwardian and Craftsman bracket detail under porch eaves. Caulk failure around leaded-glass window frames. Vinyl siding heat-warping on south-facing 1960s ranches near Borden Park. Aluminum siding chalking on Concordia University district homes.
How Highlands Mansion Exterior Prep Differs From a Modern Edmonton Repaint
A Highlands mansion exterior is prep-heavy and access-complex by definition. The estates are larger than most Edmonton homes, the field substrate switches from wood to brick three or four times per elevation, the original paint contains lead, the leaded-glass window frames cannot be replaced from a hardware-store SKU, and the colour palette is regulated for designated estates. iPaint Painting builds the Highlands scope around those five constraints.
EPA Lead Renovation, Repair and Painting certification on every pre-1978 Highlands address, scaled to a 3,000-to-8,000 sqft mansion footprint. Six-foot perimeter containment, HEPA vacuum cleanup, certified waste disposal, posted lead-safe work area signage at the Ada Boulevard street face.
Tuck-pointing on chimney mortar joints with colour-matched mortar. Low-tack heritage masking film on every brick face. Bonding primer at the wood-meets-brick edge. Hand-cut field paint clean to masonry. Repeated at every chimney, string course, and brick foundation course.
Hand-cut bargeboard, dentil detail, decorative brackets, and turned porch columns. Profile-matched filler where bracket pieces are missing. Two-part wood epoxy consolidation on column bases. Period-correct millwork rebuilds on irreplaceable pieces.
Original leaded-glass windows on Ada Boulevard mansions kept in place during repaint. Frame caulk renewed with paintable silicone. Glazing compound checked and replaced where dried. Glass masked individually so the leaded pattern is never overspray-damaged.
City of Edmonton heritage planner colour review on designated Ada Boulevard mansions. Approved Highlands palette runs deeper than the Old Strathcona book: hunter and forest greens, oxblood, mustard ochres, slate blue accents, warm cream fields, and charcoal trim. Submitted before paint is ordered.
Side-street 1950s-1960s ranches in Highlands often carry vinyl-over-wood installed in the 1990s. iPaint Painting evaluates Sherwin-Williams VinylSafe compatibility, whether the underlying wood requires lead-safe uncovering, and whether 1960s aluminum siding needs a bonding primer before topcoat.
Mature Elm Canopy and Ada Boulevard North-Wall Moss
Ada Boulevard and the blocks running north toward 112 Avenue and 118 Avenue carry the densest mature elm canopy on the north side of the river. The City of Edmonton has preserved that canopy for decades, but the same elm shade traps moisture against north and east walls all summer. iPaint Painting plans an extra moss and algae treatment on shaded mansion elevations before primer goes down, otherwise the new coating fails inside three years. The treatment is bleach-free, plant-safe under the elm root zone, and dries within 24 hours. South-facing river-bluff walls take the opposite punishment: full UV reflected off the river valley, which drives an upgraded acrylic spec on that elevation only.
City of Edmonton Heritage Colour Palette on Ada Boulevard
For Highlands mansions designated as Municipal Historic Resources, the exterior colour scheme is reviewed by the City heritage planner before iPaint Painting opens a paint can. The Highlands palette runs richer and darker than the Old Strathcona Edwardian colour book because the Ada Boulevard estates were built in the 1910-1925 elite-residential era: forest green field bodies with charcoal trim, oxblood porches, mustard ochre accents, and slate blue front doors. Non-designated Highlands mansions are not legally bound by the palette, but most Ada Boulevard owners stay inside it voluntarily because the river-bluff streetscape loses its coherence the moment one home jumps to a beige-on-beige modern scheme.
Highlands Streets and Their Exterior Recipes
Highlands does not run an HOA, but the City of Edmonton Historic Resources Management Plan and the Highlands Community League track designated buildings street by street. The recipe iPaint Painting works from changes block by block depending on the era and substrate that survives on a given address.
| Block / Street | Typical Substrate | Recipe Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Ada Boulevard (river-bluff mansion row) | Wood lap siding plus brick chimneys, leaded-glass windows | Lead-safe RRP, brick-to-wood transition tuck-point, heritage planner colour review |
| 112 Avenue (Highlands commercial corridor) | Mixed-use brick and wood-frame storefronts | Storefront and signage panel repaint, scheduled around foot traffic |
| 118 Avenue (Alberta Avenue) | 1920s wood-frame plus 1950s post-war infill | Substrate-by-elevation walkaround, dual product spec on the same block |
| Wayne Gretzky Drive (west boundary) | 1960s aluminum siding, brick foundations | Aluminum-siding bonding primer, brick foundation course prep |
| 82 Street and 64 Street (Concordia district) | 1950s post-war ranches, vinyl over original wood | VinylSafe evaluation, lead-safe scope if vinyl is removed for repaint |
| Highlands Golf Club blocks (south end) | Larger 1920s estate-scale mansions, cedar gable shingle | Cedar re-coat plus mansion field repaint, north-wall moss prep |
| Borden Park edge | 1950s-1960s ranches, mature elm canopy shade | North-wall moss treatment, stain-blocking primer, breathable acrylic |
| Concordia University district | Mix of student rentals, 1960s ranches, and infill | Mid-cycle ranch repaint, scheduled around academic calendar |
iPaint Painting confirms substrate, designation status, and lead-safe scope at the wall before quoting any Highlands address. Mansions facing Ada Boulevard, homes near Highlands Golf Club, and properties inside the Borden Park sightline sit inside the densest cluster of designated Municipal Historic Resources on the north side of the river, and the heritage planner review can add a week to the quote-to-start timeline on those addresses.
What an Exterior Repaint Costs on a Highlands Home or Mansion
2026 ranges for typical Highlands exteriors. Pricing splits sharply between mansion-scale Ada Boulevard work and side-street post-war ranches because the prep hours, lead-safe containment footprint, and bracket and brick scope differ by an order of magnitude.
Call 780-938-9555 for a written Highlands exterior inspection and quote, or book online. Free Ada Boulevard mansion inspections include lead-paint identification, brick chimney mortar joint probing, leaded-glass frame condition assessment, and a heritage palette colour recommendation.
Scheduling, Access, and City of Edmonton Heritage Compliance in Highlands
The iPaint shop sits at 9821 33 Ave NW. Crews run Wayne Gretzky Drive north across the river or 112 Avenue east from downtown into Highlands, and a mansion driveway on Ada Boulevard or a ranch driveway near 118 Avenue is twenty to twenty-five minutes door to door. The Highlands exterior season runs late April through mid-October. Mansion-scale jobs typically run nine to fourteen working days from RRP setup through final walkaround, longer than the six-day Old Strathcona cottage cycle because Ada Boulevard elevations are physically larger and the brick-to-wood transition prep is repeated at every chimney.
Crew arrival windows on Highlands mansions are coordinated around Concordia University class schedules on the east end, Borden Park event days, weekend traffic on 118 Avenue, and any active Highlands Community League streetscape work. Any mansion flagged as a Municipal Historic Resource needs a colour scheme reviewed by the City heritage planner before iPaint Painting opens a paint can, and the warranty paperwork notes the designation status of every Highlands address.
Highlands vs. Other Edmonton Heritage and Estate Districts
If you are deciding which crew actually understands what your Highlands mansion or post-war ranch needs, here is how the exterior reality on the north-side bluff compares to the other Edmonton heritage and estate districts iPaint Painting also services.
| Highlands vs. Community | Build Era | Dominant Substrate + Constraint |
|---|---|---|
| Highlands | 1910-1925 mansions plus 1950s-1960s ranches | Ada Boulevard brick-and-wood mansion mix. Lead-safe RRP. Brick-to-wood chimney transitions. Heritage palette on designated estates. |
| Old Strathcona | 1900-1920s worker cottages | Smaller wood lap siding cottages, no brick mansion mass, same lead-safe and palette rules at a different scale. |
| Windermere | 2005-2018 | Acrylic stucco, first-cycle recolour. No lead, no heritage palette, no brick chimney scope. |
| Magrath Heights | 1996-2010 | Estate stucco with cedar accents, elastomeric prep, no leaded-glass window work. |
| The Hamptons | 2000-2010 | Tudor stucco with half-timber, covenant colour rules, modern substrate. |
| Heritage Valley | 2008-current | First-cycle Hardie ColorPlus, modern farmhouse trim, no mansion-scale prep. |
| Sherwood Park | 1970s-current | Five-decade substrate spread, Strathcona County regs, no Edmonton heritage palette. |
- Exterior painting overview (parent service page across Edmonton)
- Highlands interior painting (companion mansion-scale interior service in the same district)
- Highlands cabinet refinishing (sister mansion-kitchen service in the same district)
- Old Strathcona exterior painting (south-side heritage district with smaller worker-cottage wood stock)
- Glenora exterior painting (west-side heritage Tudor district)
- Highlands service area hub
- Reference: Highlands on Wikipedia and City of Edmonton Heritage Resources
Highlands Exterior Painting FAQ
What does an Ada Boulevard mansion exterior repaint cost in Highlands?
Ada Boulevard mansion exterior repaints in Highlands run $12,000 to $18,000 in 2026 on the 3,000-to-8,000 square foot brick-and-wood estates built between 1910 and 1925. iPaint Painting builds the quote around four cost drivers, in order: lead-safe RRP containment on the original wood components, brick-to-wood transition prep at every chimney and string course, hand-cut Edwardian and Craftsman bracket and bargeboard restoration, and the City of Edmonton heritage colour review on designated mansions. A 1910s mansion with intact wood trim and a single brick chimney lands near $12,000. A multi-storey 1920s estate with full bracket detail, multiple chimney transitions, original leaded-glass window frames, and a heritage planner colour approval climbs toward $18,000.
Does iPaint Painting handle lead-safe RRP work on pre-1978 Highlands mansions?
iPaint Painting holds the EPA Lead Renovation, Repair and Painting (RRP) certification that is legally required on any exterior work that disturbs paint on a Highlands home built before 1978, which covers every Ada Boulevard mansion and every original 1950s-1960s post-war ranch in the district. Highlands mansions framed between 1910 and 1925 carry decades of leaded paint coats under the visible topcoat, and the brick-and-wood transitions on those estates concentrate paint dust at chimney scrape zones. Highlands crews work behind six-foot ground containment, HEPA-vacuum cleanup, certified lead-waste disposal, and posted lead-safe work area signage on every pre-1978 address. Many Edmonton painting companies are not RRP certified and legally cannot quote an Ada Boulevard mansion.
Are there City of Edmonton heritage colour rules on Ada Boulevard?
iPaint Painting works inside the City of Edmonton heritage colour palette daily on designated Ada Boulevard mansions. The Highlands palette skews darker and richer than the Old Strathcona Edwardian colour book because the Ada Boulevard estates were built in the 1910-1925 elite-residential era. Approved palette colours include deep hunter and forest greens, oxblood and barn reds, mustard and ochre yellows, charcoal trim, slate blue accents, and warm cream field bodies. Designated mansions require the colour scheme to be reviewed by the City heritage planner before paint is ordered. Non-designated Highlands mansions are not legally bound by the palette but most owners stay inside it voluntarily to keep the Ada Boulevard streetscape coherent.
How does iPaint Painting handle brick chimney to wood siding transitions on Highlands mansions?
iPaint Painting treats brick-to-wood transitions as their own scope item on every Highlands mansion because they are the signature detail of the Ada Boulevard streetscape. Most mansions carry two or three brick chimneys that pass through wood-frame walls, plus a brick foundation course and often a brick string course at the porch level. Highlands crews tuck-point open mortar joints with colour-matched mortar, mask the brick with low-tack heritage masking film during siding spray work, and hand-cut the field paint cleanly to the masonry edge. A bonding primer goes on the wood face that meets the brick, then a flexible acrylic topcoat survives the differential expansion between the two substrates through Edmonton frost-thaw cycles.
Does iPaint Painting repaint 1950s-1960s post-war ranch exteriors in Highlands?
iPaint Painting repaints the 1950s-1960s post-war ranches that fill the Highlands side streets around 112 Avenue, 118 Avenue (Alberta Avenue), and the blocks feeding Borden Park and Concordia University. Most of those ranches carry vinyl siding installed in the 1990s over the original painted wood, and Highlands crews evaluate whether the vinyl can be repainted with Sherwin-Williams VinylSafe, whether the underlying wood needs to be uncovered and treated as a lead-safe substrate, and whether the aluminum siding on some 1960s ranches needs a bonding primer before topcoat. Post-war ranch exterior repaints in Highlands typically run $5,500 to $8,500, well below the Ada Boulevard mansion range but with their own substrate-evaluation requirements.
Last updated: 2026. Pricing and product availability reflect the current Highlands mansion and post-war ranch market.
Lead-Safe Highlands Mansion Inspection This Week
Whether your Ada Boulevard mansion is in year 100 of its original wood-and-brick exterior or your 1955 ranch near Borden Park needs its first proper lead-safe repaint in two decades, the same in-house iPaint Painting crew handles the RRP scope, the brick-to-wood transition prep, the heritage-palette colour spec, and the City of Edmonton designation paperwork. Free Highlands exterior inspection, written period-correct scope, five-year warranty.