House painting in Pleasanton is considered the easiest and most cost-effective way possible to refresh your space. While anyone can hold a brush, not everyone has the skill or patience for painting a home — because it doesn’t only involve the painting part itself. There is lots of other work to be done, too!
Want to know why? Here are the tasks that the typical interior paint job will include:
1. Remove the furniture — if you can’t move them out, you will want to cover them with drop cloths.
2. Remove any fixtures, light installations, wall hangings, drapes, outlet covers and switch plates.
3. Protect the flooring — either bare hardwood or carpet — by covering it with canvas drop cloths because they are sturdier and less likely to cause accidents.
4. Clean the surface. A damp cloth or sponge will do if you’re going to clean off the dirt, dust, and grime on the surface. You may need a brush, detergent, store-bought wall cleaning solution or TSP if you are going to clean more stubborn dirt. After washing, rinse the surface and let it dry completely.
5. Repair any flaws you find on the surface including cracks, indents, nail grooves, etc. Fill them with a filler, spackling compound, or a drywall compound. Let the filler dry before sanding. Don’t overfill, but in case you do, sand the surface to remove the excess filler and to smoothen the surface.
6. If you find any peeling or cracking paint, scrape them off using a metal scraper. Using a fine-grit sandpaper, sand the surface to smoothen it.
7. Tape the trim, door and window frames, baseboards, and anywhere else you don’t want to be painted. Be sure to use only painter’s tape as other tape may damage the surface.
8. Depending on the situation or the condition of the drywall, prime the surface. This will help with bonding of paint to the surface.
9. Begin by painting around trim and cutting in corners, using an angled brush.
10. The easy way to paint the surface is by using a roller. The roller is also the faster way to apply paint. The common rolling technique is to begin at the corner and make a 3×3-foot “W” pattern. Roll quickly and continuously to cover the lap marks, without lifting the roller. Paint one wall at a time.
It is easier and more practical to paint around trim and corners first before painting the entire surface, rather than the other way around. The paints around the trims and corners, while still wet, will blend in well with the rolled paint. It also helps in avoiding the annoying lap marks.
11. Gently peel off the painter’s tape while the paint is still wet to ensure a crisp, clean edge.
And that’s not all. After the paint has been dried, you have to clean the area, put back the furniture, and re-install the fixtures. There’s also washing and cleaning the tools, and disposing of whatever debris that’s been left from the painting job.
These steps may overwhelm the first time DIY painter. But like in many other activities, house painting requires practice, patience, and caution — even professional painters have undergone trial and error before getting things right.
House painting can be tackled by the homeowners themselves. After all, there is a wide variety of paints, primers, stains, brushes, rollers, and other tools available for the DIY home painter. It is recommended, though, they should buy ones that are of good quality, and good quality cannot be sacrificed for such a big home project.
Apart from the good quality tools, following the proper procedures (such as the steps illustrated above) will ensure you of a good painting job.
There are many experienced DIY-ers out there who know the ins and outs of painting, just like the pros do. Sometimes, they find painting the house easy, fun, and even therapeutical.
People have to start somewhere, right? If you want to begin house painting in the DIY way, it’s expected that you may not get it right the first time (counting possible major spills). But in the long run, you will find this DIY project more of a breeze after some practice.
Depending on your budget or experience, house painting in Pleasant Hill can be a DIY project. But if you want flawless results but you don’t want to bother holding a brush, the other option is to hire a professional painting contractor like Custom Painting, Inc., who will do the job for you.
