About Us


Mark Lange

Jolene Robertson


Sarah  Mensink

Careful Painting is a full-service painting contractor, serving Minnesota communities south and east of the Twin Cities metro area. We do residential and light commercial painting, both interior and exterior. This includes:

      • staining and finishing of woodwork
      • plaster and drywall repair and texturing
      • water damage repair
      • custom stain matching
      • color matching
      • wallpaper removal
      • wallpaper installation
      • washing and pressure-washing
      • preparation and repainting of very old and weathered wooden buildings
      • waterproofing cement walls
      • repainting of prefinished siding
      • painting cement board, stucco, and concrete
      • restoration of interior wooden interior window sashes which have discolored due to moisture condensation
      • custom decorative effects such as interior clouds and painted stripes
      • wallpaper border installation
      • kitchen cabinet washing and refinishing
      • priming and painting of new Gypsum Board in new construction
      • deck cleaning, stripping, sealing, staining, and refinishing
      • window glazing and interior and exterior caulking
      • woodwork washing and enameling
      • brush, roller, and spray painting

We use mainly Benjamin Moore and Diamond Vogel paints.

We paint in Northfield, Waterford, Randolph, Cannon Falls, Vasa, Welch, Hampton, Hastings, Afton, Lakeland, Stillwater, Stanton, Dennison, Sogn, Wastedo, Kenyon, Skyberg, Bombay, Nerstrand, Faribault, Cannon City, Dundas, Shieldsville, Millersburg, Webster, Hazelwood, Castle Rock, Farmington, and in Hudson, North Hudson, and Prescott, Wisconsin.

While we have had many chances to work in the Cities, over the years we have preferred to work in smaller towns. Earlier in our history we did jobs in St. Croix Falls, Wolf Creek, Osceola, New Richmond, Star Prairie, Somerset, Houlton, Bayport, Marine-On-St.-Croix, Scandia, Withrow, Hugo, and Lake Elmo. Most of those jobs are still looking good after many years, and we do continue to travel to those area for special customers.

Small town life is very handy. From our central shop at 308 Water Street North in Northfield (two doors South of the Northfield Foundry) we can easily serve all of Northfield and the surrounding area. Carpenters find it easy to drop off woodwork to be finished prior to installation. We receive regular shipments of the various supplies that we need to do all the preparation and finishing, and we're close if more sandpaper or caulk is needed to complete a job. Plus we're here to consult with on new projects and to perform the regular maintenance and touch-up services that we offer.

We registered the name Careful Painting with the Minnesota Secretary of State in 1984 and incorporated the business in 2003. Two businesses are housed within the corporate structure: Careful Painting and Painter's Toolbox, an online retailer of painting tools and supplies.

Short History of Careful Painting
Part I

After graduating from Stillwater High School in 1979 I sought work in Minneapolis for the summer. My cousin Jim Grathwol and I found employment in the roofing trade until our employer walked off a roof. I returned to Stillwater and was hired by Marv Richert of Richert Decorating. Later I worked for the Cub Foods painting crew, for Chandler Exhibits, and for Bill Weed in Northfield.

The name comes from a section of Martin Heidegger's "Being and Time" in which care--or--Sorge--is identified as the most essential characteristic of human being.

For about two years I read Heidegger and painted in the summers while attending Carleton College in Northfield. In those days an interest in continental philosophy was required for summertime employment at Careful Painting. My partner Peter Henry enjoyed discussing the finer points while hanging from gutters, swatting bees, and painting windows in Northfield and the St. Croix Valley for several months over the course of two summers. Peter succumbed to an allergy to alkyd paints and moved on into a successful career in education. He is remembered today for his Plymouth Fury--a former police car--which we used to haul our forty-foot ladder.