This corner has been here longer than any of us. We fixed it the slow way.

The Corner Store sits a block off City Market, on W. Bryan Street. Tourists go in for a Savannah tee, a mug, a magnet, something small to remember the trip by. The building they walk into has been standing on that corner a lot longer than anything on the shelves.

Old buildings downtown do not fall apart all at once. They do it slowly. A hairline crack in the stucco one summer. A patch that somebody smeared over it a few years later. Water finding its way in behind the patch. Another patch. By the time we walked this one with the owner, the walls were a record of every quick fix that had been done to them.

What we found

Cracks running down the stucco from the upper windows. Old patches at the base of the wall that had let go and were holding water instead of keeping it out. Stains below the downspouts. And the front door, solid old wood with real character, gone dry and dull from years of Savannah sun.

None of it was dramatic. All of it was the kind of thing that gets worse every year it is left alone. Downtown, a building like this is not just a storefront. It is part of the street. People photograph it without knowing they are doing it.

What we did

We did it in order. First the whole building got pressure washed, top to bottom. You cannot patch or paint over years of grime and loose material and expect it to hold. Once it was clean we could actually see what we were dealing with.

Then the patching. Every crack got cut out and filled, block by block, the old failed patches at the base taken back to sound material and redone. One of our guys spent most of a day on a ladder working his way across the upper wall, crack by crack. That is the part nobody sees once it is painted, and it is the part that decides whether the paint lasts.

Then the paint. Careful coats, clean lines at the windows and trim, on a building that had earned a little patience.

The front door

The front door was the one thing we wanted people to notice. Solid old wood, original character, just tired. We sanded it down, brought the grain back, and refinished it so it reads the way it should from the sidewalk. A front door is the first thing a customer touches. On a building like this it should feel like the building.

Working on a downtown building

Commercial work downtown is different from a house in Pooler. The store stays open. There is foot traffic on the sidewalk all day, parking is tight, and the building next door is a few inches away. We set up so the shop could keep selling, kept the sidewalk clear, and left the site clean every evening.

If you own or manage a building in downtown Savannah, the Historic District, or anywhere in the Lowcountry and it is starting to show its age, we will come look at it in person and tell you what it actually needs. Sometimes that is a wash and a coat of paint. Sometimes it is this. Either way you get the real scope in writing before anything starts.

Common questions

Do you paint commercial buildings in downtown Savannah?

Yes. Storefronts, offices, restaurants, and mixed use buildings in the Historic District and across Savannah. We plan around your hours and foot traffic so the business keeps running while we work.

How do you fix cracked stucco before painting?

Pressure wash first so we can see what is sound and what is not. Cut out the failed material and old patches, fill and patch each crack properly, let it cure, then prime and paint. Painting over a crack without repairing it just gives you the same crack back in a year.

Can you refinish an old wood front door instead of replacing it?

Usually, yes. If the wood is solid we sand it down, repair any separation, and refinish it so the grain comes back. Old heart pine and solid wood doors are worth keeping. Replacing them with something new rarely looks as good on an old building.

Do you work on historic buildings?

Yes. The key on an older building is not rushing the prep and not covering up problems with paint. We tell you what we find and what it needs, in writing, before anything starts.