Well, I've moved on to the second floor of our redecorating exercise. Last year we removed wall paper and repainted in the dining room, kitchen, exercise room and hallways on the first floor. We also replaced the hard wood floor in the living room. Now we are painting and recarpeting the bedrooms. I started with painting my son's bedroom which was in the worst shape. The grandkids bedroom needs only some trim painting and is coming up next. After the painting is done, I'll have them recarpeted and then move on to the guest room that needs to be repainted and recarpeted and the master bed, closet and bath. I'm not sure the master needs anything more than the carpet and a little bit of plaster work on a crack in the ceiling, but Barbara may have other ideas.

Anyway, I decided to do the painting myself. I painted with my father's contracting company back in my youth and I know how to do a good job. In fact, I usually get frustrated when I look at the jobs I pay others to do. I know what they did and didn't do and feel like I can do better. I can, but I'm way too detail oriented. I remove the doors and shelves in the closets, all the light and outlet plates, and the removable portions of the baseboard heat covers. Then everything gets washed down with TSP: ceilings, walls and trim. Next I sand walls and trim, fill cracks and divots and nail holes, then I sand down the fill material, then I fill again, then I sand again. This makes a lot of dust so I vacuum the walls and floor, then I do a final wash. Next I roll the ceiling. After it dries I cut in the walls and roll them out. After the walls dry I tape off the trim and then paint the trim. Then the tape gets removed and I clean any paint that creeped under the tape onto the windows. The only good part is that I don't need a drop cloth because the rug is being replaced. I cut the rug back about a foot from the walls so i can paint all of the baseboard trim right down to the bottom.

I just finished the painting and the room looks great. It took two weekends and several nights during the week to get it done. Now I have to move on to the grandkids' room. Maybe I should just hire "the guys" and then bitch about their work.

So what do you do? Break out the paint and brushes, or pick up the phone?

 

I love to hang wallpaper but when it comes to paint....the telephone is my best tool!

 

We totally suck at painting. I think Rick trashed his shoulder so that he could use the "I can't lift my right arm high enough to paint" excuse.

Actually, the last time we painted wood work, (about 18 years ago!!!) I had painter guy (who used to do our wallpapering) re-do what I had done.

To answer your question, we pick up the phone.

 

I'm very good at picking up the phone. I'm impressed that you are doing all that yourself.

 

I always do it myself...
In French,we say: "On est jamais si bien servi,que par soi-même"

 

I didn't know there was any other way to paint a room.

It bugs me to no end to see paint on door knobs/hinges etc. Paint a wall with a ding or nail hole in the dry wall? You should be shot!

 

Sadly I am good at the plaster patch although my big area skim coat skills are mediocre at best, but I can paint and paper with the best of 'em.
I just hate having to do it anymore.
Almost as much as I hate paying someone to do it.
Annoyingly I have a major crack in our living room that needs attention but proper repair is going to require the removal of wall board and re-installation.
The house settled over 25 years and this is by the chimney.....

 

I am impressed. While I remove all the things you mentioned I've never washed the room down with TSP. Naturally I do all the nail holes, cracks, etc. I used to love to paint a room and watch how the new paint freshened everything up. Just can't do it anymore; my shoulders prevent me from doing any painting above them - - just too painful to do. I'm like you, I expect a top notch job if I'm paying for it. Had such a person up until a couple years ago. So, I live with a bedroom color I hate even though it was just done about 3 years ago.

 

Thanks Dave. My Dad always started with a TSP wash to get off any dirt and contaminants. If there was no real color change happening, he wanted to apply only one coat of paint and the best way to make sure you only needed one coat was to get rid of all the dirt, marks, and contaminants that might spoil the appearance. I sure wish the contractor I hired for the kitchen and halls used that approach. His painter had to paint one of my walls three times because there was something on the surface that prevented good coverage of the wall in an area of about 3 by 3 feet. You never know what is on those walls, even if you can't see it.

 

I painted the entire interior of my home a year after we moved in. I paint the lower exterior but have a contractor do the high stuff. At 71nI am not as steady on a extension ladder. I do most of the prep that Bill does except the TSP wall wash as the house was only a year old. I have a detailing business so I am very meticulous. I don't skimp on good paint or tools. Benjamin Moore paint for the interior.