Ask first. Learn freely. Decide on your terms.
Painting By Lee is professional painting & surface finishes for northeast Tennessee. The website is here to help you understand the work — with real answers, real references, and a clean path to a real estimate when the time is right.
Interior · Exterior · Drywall & ceiling repair · Restoration · Color consultation · Surface prep
Understand the work before you hire anyone.
This platform exists so customers can learn before they decide. Read about the process. Reference the products. See real projects with real notes. Send specific questions when they come up.
Most projects can be estimated digitally — submit photos and scope through Project Assessment™, and we return a real number against a real scope. Larger or more complex work gets a walk-through. Either way: no “starting at” pricing. No pressure.
We work on rooms, whole homes, and full exteriors across the Tri-Cities region.
“Most contractor websites exist to sell. I built this one to teach. The customers who hire me, hire me because they understand what they’re paying for — not because they got pitched.”— Lee
Pick where you are.
Five ways into Painting By Lee. The first four are tools. The fifth is an estimate, when you’re ready for it.
Ask Lee™
Send a real painting question. Get a real answer. No estimate required.
Project Assessment™
Describe a project in detail. Photos, scope, timeline. We review and return a scope and number.
Knowledge Hub
Plainspoken articles on products, prep, repair, color, and surface types.
Projects
Real Tennessee projects. Before-and-after. Notes on materials and approach.
Request Estimate
When you’re ready. The estimate is one step away.
A real question deserves a real answer.
You shouldn’t have to commit to an estimate to find out whether a ceiling stain is fixable, what sheen belongs in a kitchen, or whether the siding can be repainted.
Ask. We answer.
“Sometimes the right answer is ‘don’t paint it yet’. Sometimes the right product is one you wouldn’t have found on your own. Ask either way.”— Lee
The products we use, and why.
We use Sherwin-Williams across nearly every job. Every product is chosen for the surface, the conditions, and how the finish has to hold up over time. Here’s the working reference customers will see on a real quote.
Cashmere
Sherwin-Williams
Interior walls. Low-VOC, washable, soft low-luster finish.
SuperPaint
Sherwin-Williams
Mid-tier interior. Strong scrubbability and hide.
ProMar 200
Sherwin-Williams
A durable, scrubbable interior finish that holds up to repeated cleaning.
Duration
Sherwin-Williams
Exterior siding and trim. Built for Tennessee weather.
Emerald
Sherwin-Williams
Premium exterior. Maximum hide, deep saturation, long life.
Shellac Primer
Zinsser (B-I-N)
Seals water stains, smoke damage, knot bleed permanently.
Painting, written down. For anyone who wants to understand it.
The Knowledge Hub is the library. Plainspoken articles on the questions that come up every day — products, prep, repair, color, and the difference between a small fix and a full restoration. Read them before you hire anyone. Including us.
The work nobody sees
Why surface prep is roughly 60% of a real paint job — and what gets skipped when a quote comes in cheap.
Choosing the right interior paint
Cashmere, SuperPaint, ProMar 200. When each one is the right product for the room.
Water-stained ceilings, sealed properly
A shellac primer turns a stained ceiling into a finished ceiling. Done right, the stain never returns.
How to pick a paint color you’ll live with
Lighting, undertones, and the difference between a swatch on a wall and a swatch in a brochure.
Painting different substrates
Drywall, plaster, fiber-cement, brick, wood. Each has its own prep, primer, and finish call.
What to expect during a job
From the first walk-through to the final inspection. Timelines, daily flow, and how we leave a space at the end of each day.
The work. Photographed and explained.
Real Tennessee projects. Real before-and-after. Each entry notes what was done, the products used, and the conditions found on the wall before paint. No stock photography. No exaggeration.
Living-room repaint with trim refresh
Whole living-room repaint with crown and base re-finished. Wall stains sealed and repaired before paint.
Full exterior repaint
Fiber-cement siding pressure-washed and repainted in Sherwin-Williams Duration. Shutters and trim re-finished.
Water-stain ceiling repair
Roof leak resolved by the homeowner. Stain sealed with shellac primer, drywall patched, popcorn texture matched, repainted.
Historic-home trim restoration
Original wood trim with peeling paint stripped, primed with oil, and finished with a hard enamel.
Prep like restorers. Apply like specialists. Finish like the work has to last.
Painting By Lee runs every job to the same standard. The prep is what determines how the paint looks in two years — so the prep is what we quote, and what we charge for.
Surface comes first
Every job starts with prep. Sand, fill, caulk, mask, protect. Roughly 60% of total job time. Never skipped to save cost.
Sherwin-Williams across the board
Every product is chosen for the surface and the conditions — not the price tag. Two coats. Always.
Walk-through closes the job
The project ends when the customer signs off, not before. Touch-ups happen on the spot. The file stays on record.
“They explained everything before they did it, and the work is exactly what they said it would be.”
Verified Google review
Northeast Tennessee. Tri-Cities region.
Across the Tri-Cities — Johnson City, Kingsport, Bristol, and the surrounding county. Tennessee homes, Tennessee weather. If you’re nearby and not listed, ask.
Johnson City·Kingsport·Bristol TN·Blountville·Gray·Piney Flats·Jonesborough
Ready to send the project? It’s one form away.
Project Assessment™ is the digital intake. Submit photos, scope, timeline, and the parts you’re unsure about. Our team reviews every submission personally and returns a real estimate.
Most projects can be quoted directly from your submission. Larger work may need a quick walk-through to finalize. Either way: no subscription, no sales call, no obligation.
When you’re ready, we are.
A real estimate. A real prep plan. An honest timeline. Reviewed by our team and sent back with everything you need to make a decision.
Precision. Professionalism. Powered by Innovation.