Interior painting is one of those house projects that always ends up requiring more than the homeowner originally thought it would– whether that means more time, more paint, or more money. And this is especially true if you’re going to go the DIY route and paint your interior yourself. DIY can be tricky because obviously there’s a lot more going in to it than just hiring someone and handing over the reins. But the point of this isn’t to scare you away from DIY.
Although it’s strongly recommended that you hire professionals (because painting is their legitimate day job), at the end of the day all that matters is that the job is done right.
If you’re the average homeowner chances are you don’t spend a lot of your daily time painting your home’s inner surfaces and there’s nothing wrong with that. It just means that when it does come time for you to paint your interior or have it done for you, you might have some questions. Today you can hop on the computer and read a million articles, but you’re going to get a lot of differing opinions and bits of advice. If you have questions about interior painting, definitely speak to your local, professional interior painting company. We’ll be happy to help and that’s where you’ll find the best, proven knowledge.
But to hold you over until you can get us on the phone, we’ve put together a list of some of the more frequently asked questions about interior painting. The answers are simple and hopefully easy to understand so that no matter which route you go, DIY or hiring the professionals, you can get the process started right away. And don’t forget that if we don’t answer your question here that doesn’t mean that we don’t have an answer for you.
We’ve bolded the questions in case you want to skip right to the one that you have. But it could also be beneficial for you to read the whole piece, if only to have a firmer grasp on the interior painting process. We hope it helps.
People paint their interior for any number of reasons. In fact, you don’t even really need a reason. If you want to paint your home just for the sake of painting your home – go for it. When it comes to renovating and rejuvenating your home, painting is one of the easiest and most cost friendly ways. And as long as it’s done right, painting can make your home look brand new.
So if you’ve always hated the color of your walls or think they’re outdated, that’s a reason to paint them. Or you can paint your interior to match your decoration scheme, to modernize the room or to give it new feeling. Fresh paint promotes feelings of cleanliness, and different colors can make rooms feel bigger and airy or cozy and quaint. Fresh paint can protect you walls and when people are selling their homes, painting it can give the property values a rise. There’s more but basically, why not paint your walls?
Often when people decide to start a DIY project, they’re doing it because want to save money. But if the job isn’t done right then the savings might not have been worth it. In fact, you could still end up having to come out of pocket. And experience, which most people don’t have, is important when it comes to interior painting; a job done improperly isn’t going to last long before it’s peeling, chipping, and uneven.
Another thing to think about when it comes to DIY is your time. Do you have enough time for the project? If not a project that could be done quickly could end up taking months. Lastly, taking on an interior painting project can mean stress. DIY means you’re taking on everything – by yourself. If you’re cool with that then by all means.
Hiring professionals means that you don’t have to worry about much. The stress is removed and you have experienced painters who know what they’re doing. You know you’re going to get a quality job and timely results. Forget buying tools and messy cleanup, all you have to do is pick out a color.
When hiring someone to do your interior painting job, you want to be sure that it’s someone you can feel safe with. You want to be sure you’re getting the best available job and that they aren’t going to leave you with an incomplete job and an empty wallet. The best thing to do to get started is to ask friends and family for recommendations or to read reviews online on trustworthy sites. Ask them how long they’ve been around and if they can show you examples of their work. If they’re older, you’ll know that they’ve been around long enough to do good work and to have a reputation to maintain.
Get estimates and ask any questions that come to mind. Ask what their work entails, what products they use, how many people they’ll have working, and so on. Also make sure they’re licensed with insurance and get it in writing.
When it comes to DIY, the most important thing to know is that the preparation step is vital. That’s what’s going to make the difference between a job that lasts and one that needs to be immediately redone. And easily enough, the paint prep process is almost the same no matter where you’re doing it. If you are doing a DIY interior painting project, become familiar with the process so that you’ll have no major problems later and you’ll know how to do it next time. If you hire professionals, don’t be afraid to ask them what their process looks like.
As a basic overview, start by removing everything from the walls (and labeling it so it can go back). Cover all of the furniture in the room. Wash all the areas to be painted to remove dirt, loose paint, etc. Look for and fix any damages. Smooth your surface, via scraping or sanding. Apply a primer and then you’re good to start painting. It sounds lengthy, but it’s worth it.
Selecting your paint color is the fun part and the step you get to do whether you hire someone or not. First think about how you want the room to feel. Light colors darken a poorly-lit room making it feel more open while dark colors give rooms a more intimate feel. Reds and yellows are warm, while greens and blues are cool. Tans, creams and greys are modern, easy colors.
Buy a quart of paint and test it to see how it looks in different lighting around the room. Also think about what rooms you are painting to help you decide what kind of paint to get. It never hurts to ask a professional for their opinion, and if you hired someone definitely ask them what kind of paint they use. In fact, professionals can tell you anything you need to know about anything paint related, it’s their job!
If you have any questions or would like to get a free estimate, contact us here or call us directly at 239.600.1418.
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