topic Re: Painting Walls in Home

Painting Walls

Sweetbay magnolia — Tue, 14 Mar 2023 01:36:07 GMT

I am painting our hall bath. The old gloss color was a ghastly pepto pink.

Aaack. I find two hours is about the most I can devote, though I'd like to get it done more quickly. The old color is hard to cover and cutting in around all the fixtures is, well you know, a PAIN.

I think I'm finally getting to the point where I see a payoff. I have to use primer on some areas and that just delays the satisfaction.

Do you like to paint rooms? Do you have any tips?

Re: Painting Walls

haddon9 — Tue, 14 Mar 2023 01:43:21 GMT

Good for you!

I had thought about painting the small extra bedroom with the help of my son. However I'm having my contractor come this summer to paint our foyer, hallway and hall bath as well as adding some molding. I thought why not just have him do the bedroom as well.

I just don't have the patience, plus I can't really get on my kees and somehow I know that paint would end up on the floor no matter how careful I was.

Re: Painting Walls

Mom2Dogs — Tue, 14 Mar 2023 01:49:43 GMT

I 'sort of' enjoy painting, but agree that a bathroom is hard, but I have done it. I painted the walls as well as the ceiling in y bathroom.

Recently after having my kitchen cabinets painted...multi step process. I painted the bulkhead as well as the other walls in the kitchen. When done, it looks so clean and bright, so there is a payoff.

We usually don't have projects hired out that we can do but in April I hired a contractor to paint the ceiling in our family room/kitchen. I will not paint a ceiling again, it's just to hard. While I painted the kitchen I noticed just how dirty/dingy the ceiling was...always something to be done when you are a home owner.

Next large expensive project is a roof.....

Re: Painting Walls

CAcableGirl2 — Tue, 14 Mar 2023 01:56:58 GMT

@Sweetbay magnolia I love to paint walls, and would gladly come over and finish your hallway if I could! I've painted the entire interior of my house twice, and even did the ceiling (due to stains) with 3 coats (Kilz and then ceiling paint) a couple of years ago.

The transformation is so easy and cost effective to paint. I usually start with one room, and then just continue on. Once I see how great the one room looks, it makes the rest of the rooms look sad, so I just keep going. I used to do one room a weekend, or have a certain amount that I want to cover in a day, and then it doesn't get overwhelming or tiresome. It became my summer project, and now I continue with summer projects each year, either removing grass and replacing with rocks, patching bare areas of grass, replacing the patio cover, etc... I makes it easier to deal with large projects to plan to finish over the summer months, get some exercise, and have the satisfaction that I was able to do it, and save a lot of $.

My tips would be to not scrimp on brushes. A good quality brush makes all the difference. I also start with the trim, and get that all done, and then its quick to just use the roller to cover the rest.

Also, get quality paint - it will look better and last longer. And be sure to keep the sample cards of the paint so you can get a small amount to touch up if you ever need to. Paint doesn't like heat, so if you live in a hot climate, store it in a closet and not in the garage, otherwise if you need to use some for touch up later, it will still be good.

My problem is once I get the walls all painted, then I need to switch out light fixtures, and it becomes neverending. Hang in there, it will be worth it once you are done.

Re: Painting Walls

Sweetbay magnolia — Tue, 14 Mar 2023 02:00:59 GMT

@CAcableGirl2 You are so right!

Thank you. Gotta keep the "mo" and you've helped. Onward to the shower wall tomorrow! One coat of at least three!

After all the caulking. Aargh. I'm gettin to be an expert in fillers and caulk.

Re: Painting Walls

Sweetbay magnolia — Tue, 14 Mar 2023 02:05:53 GMT

@Mom2Dogs , you are so right, painting the ceiling is awful.

For me, it's the splatter. Hard to avoid with the ceiling.

I will finish this! All those trips up the ladder are exercise, which I need.

Re: Painting Walls

Nightowlz — Tue, 14 Mar 2023 02:41:44 GMT

So far DH has painted the living room, kitchen, entryway, hallway, bathrooms. Still more to paint. He paints with a paintbrush without putting tape all around the trim.

He does use a roller on the ceiling but he hates using it.

He uses a primer if we have a color we are trying to cover.

He recaulked all the windows before it cold.

Re: Painting Walls

Still Raining — Tue, 14 Mar 2023 02:40:52 GMT

I found to my sorrow that there are two kinds painters - those that take the tank off and those that don't. And they should not intermarry.

Re: Painting Walls

PatsShoes — Tue, 14 Mar 2023 03:18:26 GMT

I love interior painting, and have decades of experience painting across the 11 places where I have lived. It seems like you are making great progress, and so any advice I have would come too late, as you are well on your way!

I consider myself fortunate that I am still able to paint at age 69...although it is a much slower process than when I was young! I constantly have to remind myself to take it slow and watch where I put my feet and use care going up and down the step ladder.

My daughter got married last year in the garden area of our backyard, and we hosted 60 guests here. I felt that the half bath could use a refresh with so many folks coming in using it. Chose a color outside of my comfort zone - a deep, dark, rich plum shade. It took 2 coats of tinted primer and 4 coats of wall color to achieve the richness of the shade...I thought I would never get done! End result is spectacular; just passing by the room each day and glancing in makes me happy.

Hang in there and take your time! I am sure you will be pleased when it is done, and you will find that it was worth it...good luck!

Re: Painting Walls

VegasBusinessWoman — Tue, 14 Mar 2023 05:18:25 GMT

I am looking at painting the interior of my house over the summer, when it is too hot to do anything outside. The contractors I talked to were just too outrageously expensive. In the 25 years I've lived in this house I have painted the interior twice, so guess I'll do it again. I have a few friends who have offered to help. Gonna just go room by room since it doesn't matter how long it takes. Wish me luck, ladies!

Re: Painting Walls

Meowingkitty — Tue, 14 Mar 2023 12:30:21 GMT

We had both the inside and outside painted a few months ago. The only tip I have is to hire somebody. We don't have the patience for all the little things, tape never works, messy, hate ladders. I'm sure I could go on.

Re: Painting Walls

Sweetbay magnolia — Tue, 14 Mar 2023 12:32:56 GMT

@PatsShoes , you are absolutely right on time! I just stood on the tub edge and looked at my goal wall today for the first coat. Yes, that will be the limit of my capabilities for this day.

Rock on with the painting! Your guest baths sounds lovely.

Re: Painting Walls

Sweetbay magnolia — Tue, 14 Mar 2023 12:37:29 GMT

@VegasBusinessWoman , totally.

You will do a nicer job than anyone. I'm amazed at how badly painted my home's interior was/is. Though, I can fall back on that as an excuse if things are not quite up to snuff when I'm done.

Re: Painting Walls

jlkz — Tue, 14 Mar 2023 12:54:35 GMT

Even before the knees became a problem with kneeling, I would use tape to protect edges of floor, baseboards, door jambs, etc.

Perhaps taping the edges where cutting in is a pain could lessen the pain. It does take time but also saves it by protecting from mistakes.

The worst problem when painting is when your eyes get so used to the new color / shade that you don't see a missed spot until you're done !

Re: Painting Walls

ScrapHappy — Tue, 14 Mar 2023 13:31:25 GMT

When we were in lock down, my husband and I remodeled the powder room. He was in charge of removing and putting in new toilet and vanity. I was in charge of painting. I have A LOT of crown molding in my home, even in the powder room/bathrooms. It's pretty though. I started with the ceiling, then did the crown molding (starting from the top) and then did crown molding on floor. I painted the walls last using a roller but "cutting" into the corners with a paint brush first. I had to do 2 coats because the previous owners had it a dark burgundy walls with a gold ceiling. I recommend using frog tape so paint doesn't bleed. It's not a large powder room, it took me a long time. I wouldn't be able to paint a larger space.

Re: Painting Walls

Sweetbay magnolia — Tue, 14 Mar 2023 13:34:31 GMT

@jlkz , I generally tape where our baseboards meet the toe moulding. I would have designed this whole thing differently but we work with what we have (no toe mould, better underlying floor, etc).

One thing I try to do is keep the color from stem to stern - the same one on the trim as the ceiling as the walls. I like the look and it does account for some slop, except for sheen, which is generally a washable flat and a satin for the trim. I hate shiny walls (and they show all the imperfections).

I know what you mean about seeing/not seeing things. As soon as my mind strays my brush does, too. But the energy to stay on task is draining!

Re: Painting Walls

skatting44 — Tue, 14 Mar 2023 13:52:01 GMT

if you are painting over a dark color as you say Pepto pink , I would not skimp on using a good product to cover it over such as Kilz . You can ask an experienced paint store staff if a primer will do it but any dark color needs to be prepainted before painting over with your new color if it is lighter than the previous color

Re: Painting Walls

We rescue cats — Tue, 14 Mar 2023 18:16:21 GMT

I am not a painter, especially since my RA got nasty, but even before that I really did not enjoy it. Luckily a neighbor of ours is a painter by trade so when I need painting she gets the call and I pay her to do it. She's good, she cleans up and we finish it quickly. Painting our family room takes forever, it is wainscoting halfway but it's tough to paint, stucco, including the ceiling, and it is a very large room with a lot of trimming to do due to built in fieldstone bar, fireplace and trim. I am also a very boring painter...every painted wall in our house is white.

Re: Painting Walls

RedTop — Wed, 15 Mar 2023 00:37:20 GMT

I used to paint rooms in this house, clean everything and have the room back in order by the end of the day. Not now!

I have not painted anything in this house since retiring in 2013. My hands cramp up trying to use a paint brush or roller; I'm slow, and quite messy. Thankfully, our contractor painted the main bath after our big redo 6 months ago. He hates to paint too, but the addition of shiplap on 2 walls greatly reduced painted wall space, so he primed the walls before his lunch break and painted right before he quit for the day.

Teacher daughters room really needs to be painted, but it will be a major job to empty the room, prime the walls and paint. I will definitely hire someone to do that BIG job!

Re: Painting Walls

Sweetbay magnolia — Tue, 14 Mar 2023 22:22:56 GMT

Another few hours of painting under the belt!

I am making headway and I thank you all for commiserating.

I have good results with Sherwin Williams Superpaint. Some insist on Ben Moore but there's a SW store 5 mins away and I've gotten good advice there.

Superpaint isn't universally loved amongst the pro set but I find it quite durable and easy to apply. The big A is delivering some new supplies tomorrow (including Red Devil "One Time" spackle - good stuff). 2 good days of work and I think this will be done. Of course, at the rate I'm going that means an actual 4 days.