Paint Myself? Do it or just say no?
About to move into a 3bdr new construction condo. The walls are all white- and not a very nice white at that. The entire place needs to be painted. I’m contemplating doing it myself- between friends and family I probably have most of the gear- but is it crazy to do? I’m afraid of the…
About to move into a 3bdr new construction condo. The walls are all white- and not a very nice white at that. The entire place needs to be painted. I’m contemplating doing it myself- between friends and family I probably have most of the gear- but is it crazy to do? I’m afraid of the costs of hiring a painter.
Anyway- and horror stories about DIY paint that would scare me straight? Or do people think its worth the cost savings?
I also want to hang wall paper on 2 walls- and I know I can’t do that myself. Since its such a small job- should I just get someone to do it all?
Any recommendations if I do hire someone? Weirdly, there are not too painters that come up in the forum- seems like everyone uses their own guy which of course they love.
Anyway, thanks for the help.
You can *definitely* do it yourself. Any can of Benjamin Moore will fill in the gaps for you in terms of advice on getting the most even coverage.
That said, we were in a hurry and hired some folks to paint for us and it kind of blew me away how fast they worked. If you look around for handy(wo)man / painter recs, rather than full service renovation firms, you ought to be able to pay a modest amount to get some guys who paint fast and even and clean up when they’re done.
Echoing much of the above…
It isn’t technically difficult, but will take much more time than you think to do a good job. Prep (filling and sanding, caulking, taping) takes a ton of time. If there are a bunch of coats of paint and chipping, it’s never going to look perfect even if you hire a pro unless you have them do a ton of prep and/or strip paint on the trim, which is an additional skill and category of work and also takes a lot of time.
The equipment isn’t that expensive, so why not try one room and see how that goes? You can always hire someone later, even if it’s just one room at a time.
Do consider if you have the time. I would estimate it would take one person at least six full eight-hour days to paint one coat plus trim on 1,600 square feet.
You sound scared of doing it so hire someone and save yourself the pain (literally) and trouble.
If you have a change of heart then it is fairly simple and easy if you know what you are doing.IF it is your first time then you will need to be patient and have a high degree of tolerance for a not so perfect result.I’ve seen a lot of
DIY jobs and it is not pretty.
I’m an painter (artist) and have done all of it in my home. It can be fun as long as you have the right frame of mind.If there are no ceilings than it is way easier….ceilings are a bit tougher.
painting is easy, it is also very time consuming. If you do a neat and careful job and paint the trim, ceiling and walls, I’d say one week for one person working alone about 6 hours a day.
The biggest part of painting is prep, patching holes in the wall, washing the walls and trim and scraping and sanding bumps. For new construction, maybe you don’t have much prep.
paint the ceiling first with flat paint. Use eggshell on walls unless kitchen or bath in which case use semigloss. You can’t clean flat paint and you won’t be able to wipe down eggshell much. After the ceiling, do the trim, then walls last. Use semigloss for trim.
Make sure you do the “cutting in” first: in other words, get a small brush and do all the insides of corners and edges first. Then roll the main walls. They sell 3/4 size rollers at most stores that have longer handles than the standard rollers, I think these are a lot easier to use since they are a lot lighter. The rollers are smaller too, so they take a bit more time, but you can paint for longer and strain is much less. If you’re a big strong guy, maybe it doesn’t matter. I call them “ladies’ rollers”…
Finally, check out the indispensible art/decorating book called “color” by donald kauffman. Will be the best $50 you spend on the whole project. Great advice about what colors work in what conditions and how to mix beautiful colors that don’t look garish or harsh.
Other posters are totally right, if you get good brushes and go slow, you don’t need tape which saves $$ and some time.
Use a two-inch angled brush costing about $8 to do the cutting in, and you will not need to tape baseboards, because you will be able to get a straight line with the brush.
Painting is very easy on new construction; considerably harder in a brownstone where there is woodwork to protect and (usually) cracks and other defects in the plaster. I guess new construction DOE’S have it’s advantages after all 🙂
Painting is very easy.
Use a high quality paint. Benjamin Moore is best, avoid Behr. Since the walls are already painted, there is no need to prime. You can just do one coat.
Put down drop cloths and/or pink rosen paper with blue painters tape everywhere. If you are painting only the walls, remove any switchplates with a screwdriver before you begin. If you are painting woodwork, carefully tape around hinges and doorknobs. Do not paint inside door frames or the sides of doors.
Start by cutting in along the corners. Then do ceilings, then walls, then woodwork, top to bottom.
Painting can definitely be a DIY job. It’s especially easy and cost effective if you do it before you move in, so you don’t have to move furniture out of the way. Everyone gave good advice, my only addition is to make sure you use good dropcloths. Even the best painters have drips, and why make more work for yourself?
As a personal preference, go for some color, at least somewhere in the apartment. Unrelieved white is incomprehensible to me, but I realize not everyone agrees with me.
Have fun with it. It’s a chance to really put your mark on the apartment, and I think makes the move really personal to you, because you can say “I did this.”