Are you getting your house ready for a serious paint job?
Perhaps you’ve grown tired of the beige walls in your living room. Or, maybe you’re gearing up to sell your home and heard that fresh paint can add 1%-3% to a home’s final sale price.
Either way, providing your house with a fresh coat of paint can allow it to feel brand new! It’s also a simple and affordable means of changing the overall style and tone of your home.
So, what sort of painting preparations should you be ready for? We’re outlining seven simple and effective ways to get your house ready for when the painters arrive. In doing so, you can rest assured that your painting contractors can perform the best job possible.
1. Remove Wall Hangings
First things first, it’s time to remove anything and everything from your wall.
This means removing artwork and light fixtures to window coverings and mounted objects such as televisions. Not only will this allow the overall paint job to be more efficient, but it’s also going to protect your belongings.
While it may be tempting to simply paint around these objects, the risk of damage is far too great. Instead, take your time to carefully remove these objects and store them in a safe place. Trust us, you’ll be happy that you did!
2. Temporarily Eliminate Furniture
Of course, all furniture should be removed from the room entirely.
This is going to allow the workers to paint more efficiently and avoid having to stress about damaging your items. This is often why people choose to have their new house painted before moving any of their furniture into the home.
If removing all furniture isn’t an option, do your best to move all of the furniture into the center of the room. From here, cover these items with a tarp or protective cover. While this isn’t exactly the preferred method, it will still allow the painters to get the job done.
3. Cover the Floor
Let’s face it, removing paint or primer isn’t exactly a walk in the park.
Whether your floor is hardwood or carpeting, you’re going to want to take your time adequately protecting the floor. This will help to prevent anything from paint and primer to wall dust and scuff marks from happening in the first place.
To do so, you can simply lay a tarp or even an old bedsheet on the floor. Ensure that the tarp reaches the very edge of the walls. To protect yourself even further, you may want to use tape to secure the tarp in place.
4. Purchase Your Paint and Tape
When you hire a painting contractor, be sure to inquire as to their opinion on paint brands. After all, every painter is going to have a preference for a certain type or brand of paint. This may vary based on what exactly is being painted as well as where the paint job is located.
Some painting companies will provide the paint while others might not. With the latter, you’re going to want to ensure that you have enough paint to get the entire job done. As a general rule, one gallon of paint will cover approximately 350 square feet.
Once you’ve selected your paint, it’s time to bring your attention to the painter’s tape. This tape is going to protect the nearby areas of your home that aren’t going to be painted.
Painter’s tape is best applied around all windows, moldings, and door frames. Once you’ve applied this tape, you can rest assured that your paint job will be as clean and efficient as possible for the painters.
5. Remove Plugs and Outlets
If there are plugs and outlets present in the room, it’s best to remove these outlets. Sure, you can use painter’s tape to provide coverage and then paint around these objects. However, this isn’t likely to result in as great a job as you had envisioned.
When you take the time to remove these plugs and outlets, you can rest assured that your painters will be able to perform the best job possible.
6. Examine the Walls
Before you bring in the painters, you’re going to want to have a close look at the walls.
Are there any holes or cracks? Even the smallest holes and cracks can throw a wrench in the quality of a paint job. While some paint brands are better than others, no paint is going to be capable of properly filling in these imperfections. While some painters will do this for you, this isn’t always the case.
To take matters into your own hands, you’ll want to equip yourself with a spackling compound and a putty knife. From here, simply spread the compound over the imperfections and scrape off the excess. Once dry, you can move on to sanding the compound down so that it matches the remainder of the wall.
7. Wash the Walls
Lastly, it’s time to wash the walls!
Sure, this might sound silly at first. But washing the walls prior to a serious paint job is absolutely an essential step. This is especially the case if your painting something more prone to grease such as kitchen or bathroom cabinets.
If you’re washing the walls in a kitchen or a bathroom, it’s also essential to remove any grease. Even when it’s not visible to the eye, it’s likely that grease and grime have built up over time. When this is removed, you can ensure that all of the paint is being applied to the walls equally and without a barrier.
If the walls happen to be very dirty, you’ll want to begin with a chemical cleaner. From here, you can rinse the walls with warm water and a sponge. Before painting or even priming, you’ll want to allow the walls to properly dry.
Painting Preparations 101
Are you hiring a painter to beautify your walls?
Even in the event that you hire a professional, there are still a number of painting preparations that you’ll want to familiarize yourself with. This will ensure that the painters can do the best job possible and that your possessions and flooring are adequately protected.
If you’re hiring a professional painter for your painting job, be sure to contact us today to see how we can help!