Ask the painting contractor chick.

In My Humble Opinion
61

I’m not a wallpaper expert, but you can certainly put a border up over light texture. Or stencil, as long as you aren’t anal about perfect straight lines.
Another stencil option - plaster stencils. Which work well on textured walls.

I think the best way is referrals…people you know or work with. Also paint stores will recommend someone good; since the staff get to know the painters (and their clients sometimes) pretty well, so they get feedback. I think it’s really nice of you to think of offering amenities! Cold water/pop is always appreciated. :slight_smile: I usually bring lunch - frozen dinner or salad or such - since mostly we’re in occupied homes. But I’m always touched by offers of coffee/cold drinks/cookies etc.

[QUOTE]
How much prep am I expected to do? I have the bed, one small desk, and one night stand in the bedroom, because I have refused to put more furniture in the room until after it’s painted. I have Elfa shelves covering one wall, but I don’t have books in them yet, because I don’t want to remove the books and then replace them. Should I just remove the shelves? I really don’t want to remove the racks that the shelves are on. I am thinking that I really should remove the shelves (it’s simple to do) so that the walls behind the shelves can be painted. Otherwise I’ll have to leave that whole wall white, and I hate white walls.

[QUOTE]

A completely empty room is dead easy, but I never expect that! Others’ MMV, but all I ask is for the homeowner to remove valuables and fragile objects. We do the rest, vacuum when done, and put everything back. Definitely remove the shelves (or ask whoever paints to remove them) - the standards on the walls are easy to paint around.
Sometimes I ask for homeowner help if they have really complicated window coverings with swags and such, because they can be a real pain in the ass to remove and put back up just so.

I’m always looking for an opportunity to paint lavender, so no laugh from me!
With pale lavender walls…a light creamy white ceiling? Just to make it warmer than pure white or gray (paint sold specifically for ceilings is often very pale gray and cooler.)

When I first started painting, I used Glidden, but that was before it sold out to Home Despot…I am not a fan now. Lowes Valspar brand is pretty good, I think.
Mind you, most paints come in varying grades, from “builder” quality to high-end low-VOC spendy paint. You can’t go wrong with Benjamin Moore or some of the better S-W products. Come to that, Ace hardware paint is pretty darn good!

62

I don’t aspire to being a professional painter, but I do have an interest in the field. Are there any good trade magazines or websites that you’d recommend.

63

Interesting thread, OP, thanks!

My husband and I are in the process of (very, very slowly) painting our upstairs rooms. We’re just doing the easy bits, like the walls in the spare bedrooms which have almost no furniture in them. We’re planning on having a professional come in to finish the job - mainly the stairwell, which we dont’ have the equipment to do, the more furnished rooms, and the trim.

The trim, incidentally, looks awful. Our flooring contractor guy said it looks like oil paint had been applied over latex without the right prep coat. It’s peeling and bubbling all over the place, not to mention the painted-over hinges, paint on the window frames, etc.

My question is: do you folks hate this kind of job, where the amateurs have done a piss-poor job of the easy bits, and leave the hard bits to you? How can we find a good painter who won’t roll their eyes at my abominable cutting-in? Is the terrible trim job going to make it a long, difficult process for the poor painter?

64

Stepping in aw someone who does some painting work, as well as other contractor-type stuff…

The two “amenities” I value most are 1) access to a bathroom and 2) water. You’d be surprised that some people offer neither. Seriously, someone is working in/around your home for 10-12 hours and you don’t allow them to use the bathroom? Well, don’t be surprised if we take more than a half an hour for lunch (most of the places we eat at only have 1 toilet, so if everyone on the crew needs to take turns 'cause it’s there only opportunity to pee all day…it’s gonna take a bit of time) and some people will even make use of your shrubbery. Hopefully, they will do so discreetly. Or else various workers will “mysteriously” disappear while they find a gas station to pee at - please don’t complain they’re not working when do so. The down time would be considerably less if you allowed us to use a toilet on site. It doesn’t have to be your best bathroom, just a usable one. Basic water is best for hydration, especially on hot days. Pop/lemonade/etc is also nice, but please offer water along with it.

I’ve had jobs where the clients offered to make breakfast, fed us a fantastic homemade lunch, kept a pitcher of ice water full of ice and water at all times available, set out a cooler full of pop, and set us home with a six pack of beer apiece (giving me a six pack of pop when I mentioned I didn’t drink beer) and any leftovers from lunch. WAAAAY above and beyond the call of duty. And, of course, access to the basement bathroom, and a mat to put our dirty boots on (we were building a deck, so there was lots of mud) so we wouldn’t track through the house and I “caught” the lady of the house making sure the bathroom/clean up areas were well stocked with soap, toilet paper, and paper towels. AND they paid us on time! Wish all clients were that thoughtful.

But really, access to toilet, place to wash dirty hands, and water are fantastic. With paint, of course, we need somewhere to wash brushes and tools.

If you have ANY concern about carpets or flooring please let us know. We will happily roll up area rugs, lay down dropcloths, or otherwise protect any flooring you are concerned about. We will replace anything we move, and remove any drops we place, at the end of the day if you request. The last thing we want to do is cause any damage - we’re all about home improvements. :slight_smile: We much prefer you move and fragile/valuable items yourself, it lowers the stress for everyone. Once had a job where the client wanted up to spread a drop in front of the basement sink where we were doing clean up, as well as over the washer next to it. Happy to oblige, ma’am, no problem at all.

While we’re great animal lovers, while working we prefer an animal-free space. This is partly a safety issue for your pet - many things we work with are not healthy to eat, drink, or chew. Some pets, such as birds, can be extraordinary sensitive to fumes that humans don’t notice at all. They may freak and flee the house, to become lost outside. It’s also a safety issue for us - no matter how docile a pet, if sufficiently frightened or freaked out it may bite. Not to mention the damage a cat or dog knocking over a bucket of paint can do.

65

The rooms I want painted are connected…and one of the rooms is a bathroom. I figured on offering a pitcher of lemonade and another of water, both with ice, and disposable Solo cups, which are big enough for a good swig. I might get a couple of more pitchers, just for this, because if it’s in the summertime, even with AC it gets HOT here. I can serve lunch or dinner, no problem. There are plenty of fast food outlets around, but I could make up some spaghetti with meat sauce. I don’t want any smoking inside the house at all. Especially not in my bedroom. I don’t think this is unreasonable.

I had planned on moving just about everything out of that room, except for the king sized bed. THAT is getting covered with newspapers and old sheets. I had also planned on shutting the cats out of the room. I love lavender, and I love cats, but I have no wish to have lavender cats. At least one of the cats, the Siamese girl, WILL try to supervise and make suggestions, and possibly try to do some painting herself. I have to shut her away every time we have someone over at the house who is trying to do some work, because she is a busybody. The other three cats will want attention, and are quite likely to investigate every single item. So yeah, the painters will be working in the master suite, with the door shut, except for meal breaks. They can use the bathroom in there. This will minimize the interference from the cats. Mostly I’m concerned with their safety.

Should I get the blades of the ceiling fan painted, too? I’m tempted to get them painted deep purple.

Should I offer to do some of the easier painting? I can’t stoop, or get on ladders, but I do rather enjoy rolling paint on walls. However, I’m just as glad to be in the next room, playing a videogame.

How long does it take for the paint smell to go away? That is, how long am I going to have to sleep in the spare room? I can handle that smell when I’m awake, but not when I’m sleeping.

66

Well, someplace to put the discarded cups would be good… but I’m sure you already thought of that.

I want to emphasize you do not HAVE to do that. Some tradesmen actually prefer to bring their own lunch - you’d be surprised how many of those folks are on particular diets (I’ve worked with vegans, diabetics, people with religious restrictions, food allergies, medical issues…). If you want to offer a place for lunch, or offer lunch itself, it is entirely your call, it is certainly not *expected *in my experience.

Absolutely reasonable. Fewer people smoke these days, those that do, can do it outside.

That is entirely up to you. However, depending on what they’re made of, they may require a different paint than the walls. Not everything can be painted successfully (I did a house last summer where the newly installed shutters had the color incorporated into the plastic they were made of and, to the best of my knowledge, there is NO paint that will adhere properly to their surface. As an example. We cautioned the owners on that repeatedly - this is the color they are, this is the color they stay. Changing your mind will mean having to purchase new shutters. Fortunately, they seem very happy with the shutters as they are.)

Mmmm… MY preference would be for you to let me do the job and you go play a videogame.

I want to say at least a day after the painting is done, because it has to dry, but I’ve had some people claim it takes a little longer than that.

67

Oh, any work area is going to have to have a garbage can or two. Preferably larger than a tall kitchen trash bin. I want to make it easy for people to throw trash away in a bin. I have small wastebaskets, one next to my bed, and one in the bathroom, but I don’t consider them big enough to be useful for more than a few used tissues or cotton balls. So I’d put in a larger waste bin.

The area is wall to wall carpeting, except the bathroom, so I was figuring on saving up newspapers to go under drop cloths. The carpeting is almost new, so I’d prefer not to replace it for a few years. The bed is going to have to be moved from one side of the room to the other, as needed, I think. There’s a dogleg into the hall which makes it hard to maneuver the bed in and out of the room.

68

:slight_smile:

69

Yes - sorry, but yes! I just did this a few weeks ago actually…whoever had previously painted the condo painted windows shut, painted over hardware, left runs and drips on the walls.
I didn’t plan on doing this (nor did I charge for it) but I ended up removing hardware and cleaning it, doing a lot of extra wall repair, unsticking windows and removing paint from glass and hardwood floors. The owner wasn’t fussy as she was renting it out, but it made my teeth itch not to fix this stuff. She may not have been fussy, but I am!

I think you mean latex over oil, causing the paint to bubble or peel away easily?

70

What Broomstick said. :slight_smile:

I smoke, but wouldn’t dream of smoking in someone’s house! I go outside for smoke breaks and butts go in an old paint can or something in the truck.

Most people offer water or cold drinks, few offer lunch, and I don’t expect it. It is a happy surprise when they do, but totally not expected. As Broomstick says - people may have dietary needs or preferences and don’t want to be put in the position of seeming rude by refusing the offer…I’ll eat anything not nailed down pretty much but there have definitely been times when I’ve brought a yummy lunch and have looked forward to eating it, but have accepted the offer of lunch just to be gracious.

Oh - yeah: a usable towel in the bathroom! I tend to use the hall/guest/half bath, which often only have those cute little folded decorative towels, so I end up wiping my hands on my tee shirt.

Like most trades people I work around, I carry trash bags or one way or another take care of our own trash. Most jobs generate a lot…masking tape and paper, plastic, empty paint cans and tubes of caulk, water bottles, etc. I finished up an interior today and hauled two large black plastic bags full of debris home with me.

I dunno how useful newspaper would be under drops…does newspaper ink still rub off on things? Plus it would make the drops slide around a bit, I’d think. I doin’t think my drop cloths mess up carpet at all…I usually vacuum after doing an interior, so I’d know. Never had any complaints. If you’re concerned, ask whoever paints to tape some builder paper down…I don’t think it’s necessary and I have never been asked to do that, but I would if asked to.

71

Oh…on the paint smell thing…that’s really a YMMV issue. Some people say they enjoy the smell of paint. Others hate it so much they leave the house, even get a motel, while the painting is being done.

Look for low- or zero-VOC paint if you find the fumes irritating.

A window fan sucking the fumes out while the paint dries ought to help a great deal.

I don’t know about anyone else but I carry a bunch of those slippy-slidey mover thingies with me, which makes moving big cumbersome things like beds really easy. I absolutely wouldn’t expect anyone to take the trouble to move a bed out of a bedroom. I just slide it around as necessary, no big deal.

72

Just wanted to drop in and thank you for starting this very interesting and informative thread. Everyone I know is buying houses this summer, and I have been doing a LOT of painting. I really appreciate you sharing your professional wisdom.

75

I find painting ceilings to be very hard on my neck. I have to work in very short sessions with short breaks inbetween and even with that willoften suffer pinched nerve symptoms. How do you deal with overhead painting like ceilings? What is your set up for an 8ft ceiling?

76

I use an extendable 10’ pole and work in front of me, pole at an angle. Still a bit hard on shoulders and neck, but a million times better than trying a shorter pole right over my head.

77

I had forgotten about this thread and saw that it had popped back up this morning, just a couple of days after I got done painting the ceiling in my house. It took me (and my buddy) about 10 hours to tape plastic down over the entire floor (the house is about 1900 sq. ft.) as well as masking all the doors and moulding, including baseboards.

The actual painting only took about 3-4 hours. We used a sprayer of course. The paint was Speedwall 1456 (white semi-gloss); it’s cheap and works great, although it does take more than one coat. For the record, it took about 23 gallons to paint my ceilings, doors and moulding. My 30 year old house looks brand new now.

I’m about to paint the bedrooms and the rest of the living space, prolly this weekend. For walls, I prefer Behr Premium Plus Ultra; I find it’s usually one and done and I like that in a wall paint.

78

I think she probably hires zombies with extension poles.

79

This is what we do as well. Well, I should say, this is what Suburban Plankton and Ledzepkid do. I don’t paint the ceilings. I’m short, I get to do the baseboards. :wink:

80

I use those sure lock (shur-lok?) poles and roller cages. That way, the roller cage doesn’t do that annoying ‘get just a little bit loose and leave roller marks all over the ceiling’ thing. That’s bad, you see…

81 
    You must be an expert painter so a question like that would be beneath you

obviously. Uncalled for smart ass answer!

82

It was a valid bump to a not very old thread. You would be pretty sure to get the attention of several painters on this board.

I’ve seen some bumps of 12 and 13 yrs lately!