Remove any pieces of art or small shelves that are on the walls you want painted. By removing them yourself you can be sure that they are stored properly throughout the painting process. If you have built-ins that would be difficult to remove it is fine to have the painters paint around them.
Before painting your home, you should make every effort to protect the furnishings and immovable furniture with the help of masking tape and plastic sheets. Cover the areas around skirting, windows, doors, and electricity boards with masking tape. Take off the curtains and lampshades and cover them in a plastic sheet. It’s best to move away as many things from the room you are currently painting. Cover the flooring with plastic sheets to avoid splatter.
Remove Any Dirt, Dust, Or Debris
Cover nearby floors and furniture with a tarp or plastic sheeting to protect them from your cleaning solution and debris. Remove dirt and dust from the wall using your vacuum and the brush attachment. Use a soft-bristled brush to get into nooks and crannies, but avoid using a wire brush, as that could damage the finish or the mortar.
As for your brushes, rinse them clean with warm, soapy water, especially if you’re using latex paint, which is water-based. Use paint thinner to clean off oil-based paint. Then rake the bristles out straight with a brush comb and slip the brushes back into their original covers or wrap them in newspaper.
Prepare Your Walls and Ceilings
Using drop cloths for protecting your floors, you’ll want to ensure they are right up against your wall or trim so that any excess water from the outlined process below is caught. In the third step, you’ll be wetting the walls, you may also want shop towels or old towels to soak up any excess water as you proceed. Make sure to move furniture away from walls to the center of the room and to cover outlets and light switches with tape. It’s best if you can run portable lights with a drop cord plugged into a different room so that you can turn off the electricity to the room you’re working in and still be able to see.
So, this was our take on how to prepare your walls and ceilings for painting. We have written this guide with the intent of helping you keep your valuable possessions in top shape and save you from unnecessary expenses. If you have applied these tricks already, share your experience with us at blog@zameen.com.
Contractors: What You Need to Know
The innerwebs are an amazing resource for getting a sense of what your contractor can do and what kind of experience they offer. Browse their reviews online, as a starting point, and be sure to take note of how your prospective pro responds. Something can be learned from how they handle the occasional (sometimes inevitable) poor review too.
Once you have your plan in place, it’s time to start researching contractors. A painting contractor should have, at a minimum, a license and current insurance coverage. You can start by researching companies online and reading reviews. The best contractor for the job should have extensive experience with painting projects and a long list of satisfied customers.
