The Baltimore Paint Job

At the Preservation Maryland Phoenix Rising event, my guest Rick Brown asked me if I had considered writing an Appendix to the Dictionary of Building Preservation for additional words I had learned. With that inspiration, I realized it could be fun to informally share some words or phrases I have come across. Here is the first entry:

"Baltimore Paint Job"
An old timer explained that a Baltimore Paint Job includes painting over the power outlets and light switches without removing the cover plates.

Apparently, this also includes painting hardware like hooks, escutcheon plates and even doorknobs. Just yesterday my painter told me “That’s so they match the color of the wall.”

Eventually the outlets become too clogged with paint to work, and the knobs and switches collect dirt. So, I now remove the cover plates before the painter gets to the room and install new ones when the paint is dry.