Vintage Paw

Vintage Paw

Essential Preparation Before Painting Your Home

Like the saying, "a stitch in time saves nine", when you prepare before painting, you truly wind up with better results. To have a successful painting job you need to prepare beforehand. Even though you are eager to get started, it is wise to take your time and think things through. Whether you are going to be painting yourself or hiring professional painters, this step is important and should not be overlooked.

Preparation can seem quite boring, but good preparation is worth its weight in gold, saving you both time and money. When you prepare to paint, you get everything sorted ahead of time rather than rushing in and slapping on a coat of paint. Many people are too focused on the end result and want their house painted NOW. What they don't understand is that taking the time now to carry out the necessary preparation steps will have a hugely positive effect on the end result and in the long run save them much time.

The obvious first step you should take is moving any furniture away from the walls. You certainly can't paint while your bedroom dresser is up against the wall. Move your furniture to the center of the room and cover with thick plastic or even old sheets. This will help ensure that your furniture isn't ruined by paint splatters, especially when you are painting the ceiling.

Move any fragile or valuable items to another room that isn't being painted. Can you imagine how hard it would be to get paint off a vintage velvet couch? Virtually impossible! While plastic covers or sheets offer good protection they are not fail safe, moving your important items is definitely the best choice. Better safe than sorry, my mother would always say. Professional painters are very skilled and generally neater than you would expect. One slip or one little splatter however could damage something that you have had in your family for generations.

Remove wall sconces and lighting fixtures from your walls. You most definitely don't want to cover any of your wall fixtures with paint! These can be taped up but the best choice is generally to remove them from the walls completely. Now you may want your light switch covers to be the same color as the wall - let the professionals do these for you, they will match the painting perfectly to the rest of the room.

Painter's tape can be used to mark where your belongings go. Painter's tape has improved greatly in recent years, making it so much easier to peel off without leaving marks. This blue masking tape can be found easily at any hardware store. Using painter's tape can help your contractor to understand exactly what you need done and where your belongings should go after the job is finished. Using painter's tape can help to keep everything that much more organized.

Plan to take the kids out for a day of play. There can be nothing more frustrating than waiting for paint to dry and than to see it smudged by someone in your family! The most likely paint smudgers are your little ones or your pets that could get tails or paws on the walls or even in open paint tins. The day of painting is an ideal time to take Junior and Fido out for a day of family fun. Ensure that the painting room is kept off limits until it is fully dry. Ask your painters how long the paint will need in order to totally dry and put up chairs in the doorways to prevent little ones (and little paws) from running through the room accidentally.

About the Author

PaintingQutes.net is a free service designed to help you obtain house painting estimates for any commercial or domestic painting jobs. Please visit http://www.paintingquotes.net/ for more information.