Painting - Help!!

Hi,

I have a home that I had rented out for a couple years, and now I'm moving back into. We had an amateur guy who took horrible shortcuts paint the house inside two yrs. ago when we moved out. The house looks horrible!!! It looks like a run down property. He never taped off tims or baseboards, didn't cover cabinets. When we asked, he said taping is for amateurs, pros do it without. He did one coat. He didn't even strip the wallpaper properly in the bthrms. and painted right over it. It looks like someone painted over blobs of paper towel. The paint is faded, shredding, and falling apart throughout the house.

Before this, we lived in the house for 9 yrs., and the paint never chipped, faded, etc. After this, I am so frustrated that I want to do it myself. But, I have never done any kind of painting project in a house. I used to be an artist and am very meticulous and very BIG on QUALITY work.

What should I do first? Scrape or strip the paint? Primer? It's a 40 yr old house that has a slight texture on the walls and ceilings. If I sand or scrape, will it damage this? We also want to change the carpeting and baseboards. Should I paint first? I only have about three weeks before I move, and the carpets have to be done before the furniture comes in. Is it so bad to paint after new carpets? What kind of supplies should I buy and where. I tend to be skeptical of the big-box stores.

My family and I have bad allergies. I especially get headaches and sinus trouble with strong scents, fumes, etc. Should I go with SWP? I heard they make some that are good for allergy sufferers. How good is the quality of these kind of paints, though?

HELP!!

Welcome to the forums!

Your painter was correct that in us pros seldom use tape but it sure doesn't sound as if he was one :eek:

I've not used a lot of low or no VOC paint but I don't believe any quality was sacrificed - they seem to work and wear well.

You will need to scrape and sand where he painted over wallpaper. When you have fixed that, you will be able to determine if the texture needs to be redone although it will already be an improvement.

"The paint is faded, shredding, and falling apart throughout the house."

Could you explain further? Is the paint just chipping on the woodwork?

While it's often easier to paint before carpet, repaints get done everday over new carpet. Carefull use of drop cloths is key! and it is harder to paint the baseboard when the carpet is down. Even if you do paint prior to carpet installation you will need to do a little touch up painting afterwards.

Hi,

Thanks for the great advice! Yes, the guy was nice, but he wasn't a professional painter. He was a tow truck driver who decided on trying home improvement as a profession instead. I found out that others I know are trying to sue him. I guess the paint is chipping and mostly peeling in the bathrooms, probably b/c of the moisture. The rest of the house, it's just faded really bad. It was a light beige, but now it just looks it's white that's turned dirty, probably b/c of low quality paint and only one coat.

I plan to install new baseboards. The existing ones are very narrow, some places broken or cracked. They are I believe 40 yrs. old, original with the house. My husband wants to install the baseboards ourselves (getting them cut at Home Depot he says!). I've heard that putting baseboards on is not as easy as some may think.

It's probably better to install the carpet first and then the baseboards? Also, last time we had new carpet put in, all the paint between the baseboards and the wall had cracked and separated b/c of the force they use during carpet installation.

Also, I forgot to ask. The family room has crown moldings, but it is paneling that was just painted white when we bought the house. My husband wants to have drywall put up right over the paneling. The contractor who gave him the estimate said it would be easier that way, and it would provide more insulation to the room. I'm worried that it may make the room look smaller b/c of laying wall on top of an existing wall. Plus, may mess up the crown moldings. I guess I would have to remove them and then put them back on.

Given the age of your house,it's possible that there was oil base enamel on the bath rm walls. if so the chipping would be caused by latex paint being applied over it without the proper primer. Ideally, the latex would be removed and the wall would be coated with an oil base primer. Depending on how easy/hard it is to remove the paint - it may be best to just scrape what's loose, patch, prime [latex primer would be ok for this] and repaint.

It is fine to hang drywall over paneling. The base and crown [any other trim too] will need to be removed. The crown [and base] would need to be recut [slightly smaller] before it can be reinstalled. The only benifit from removing the paneling is that would allow you to update electrical and insulation.

The dirty condition of the paint might be because a cheap paint was used but it is also probable that the renters didn't care for the home like you would have.

Yes, the renters did a number on my house! There is no doubt there. That's a topic for a whole nother day!

The next question is paint??

Where should I buy paint? Should I buy it at Sherwin Williams stores. Or is Benjamin Moore better?

I get really bad marks on the walls from guests in the entryways, foyers, and hallways. Plus the kids' rooms walls don't always stay as clean. Is it better to use semi-gloss in these areas. In my experience, flat paint shows marks much worse. Should gloss paint be only used for trims, borders, and bases?

The house doesn't get a whole lot of bright natural light. Should I stay away from darker colors. When we bought the house in 1997, the interior walls were either white or off-white. I know nowadays the trend is that white is dull and boring, but it did make the house look much brighter. Is it bad to paint the bedrooms different colors. Some people say that the house would look better if a neutral color flowed throughout, especially since the upstairs is a 1500 sq.ft. 3 bdrm. ranch. But, when I watch or read about home improvement tips, I always hear that it's better to add color to a home. (I've seen some people do only one wall in a room a different or darker color. Does this add depth to a room?)

How many coats? Should I brush paint the ceilings first, and then roller? And should rollers be used in a W shape going down and up?

What do you think?

What colors to use is more personal than anything else. Unless you are planning to sell shortly - use whatever color [s] you like :D Light colors tend to make a space lighter and bigger while dark colors work best in larger rooms.

Ben Moore and SWP both have excellant paints - just be sure to get atleast the middle grade [or better] Like all paint stores they also sell some cheap paint not worth buying.

If washablity is a concern, use satin or eggshell on the walls. It's not as glossy as semi-gloss but is still plenty washable. Generally a paint job looks better if the sheen on the woodwork is shinier than what's on the walls.

You always want to paint the ceilings first but no need to brush the entire ceiling 1 or 2 coats brushed and rolled will be fine. If there are any stains they should be sealed first.

Quality paints always cover better than their cheaper counterpart so you may get coverage with 1 coat although 2 coats always makes for a nicer job.

I don't know where the W or N roller pattern came from, in reality it rarely works well. I always roll on a liberal amount more or less in a straight line and then back roll over it after the roller has dispensed most of the paint, to even it out.

I don't know where the W or N roller pattern came from, in reality it rarely works well. I always roll on a liberal amount more or less in a straight line and then back roll over it after the roller has dispensed most of the paint, to even it out.

I'l take a crack at this:

Generally 2 types of rollering methods may be used. One is where the painter uses the roller on a pole, and stands back and rolls from floor to ceiling, basically the width of the roller with only one dunking in the paint tray. Then the painter moves over to do another vertical run, etc., etc., etc., etc.

The other rollering method is where people do not use a pole. They are tall enough to reach up to the 8 foot ceiling with just a plain roller, or with one of those shorty extensions. This then allows the person to roll on the paint in say 2-3 foot wide vertical widths, to cut down on repetitiously bending low, stretching high, bending low, stretching high, etc. By doing the "W" pattern - that allows the person to more evenly distribute the paint from the roller to cover that 2-3 foot wide vertical section. You don't have to do a perfect "W". It is the concept of simply applying paint within that section and getting it moved around evenly. The "W" enables that. Therefore, you remain in one general painting position for longer, without either stooping or reaching within seconds of each other. I actually prefer to paint this way. I find the paint on the pole creates some weird 'steering' of the roller sometimes, that annoys me. I do not paint professionally but do lots of re-rollering of rooms during rental changeovers. I suppose if I did this all the time, I'd try to master the pole method more, as it is faster, by the skilled pro. Our painter lady uses the pole and she seems so relaxed doing it - doing those vertical runs, one after the next. You master that, and you can easily reroll and entire room in minutes!, once you lay out your drop cloths. She throws old sheets all over the room, in just a few minutes.

Today I was painting in a changeover rental - and I scoot one blanket (folded in half, so it is like 3 x 7) around with a paint tray on the blanket plus a brush laying ontop a damp sponge, plus a rag there for clean up. I do a 7 foot wide run (width of blanket) and slide the blanket over (which already has all the stuff on it). I go pretty quick this way. I like the control I get by just hanging onto the roller handle directly. I have 2 paint trays, each with it's own roller, going - one with flat for the walls, and the other eggshell for the woodwork. I was doing both today - walls, casing, mopboard size base, and doors, some shelving, and some painted cabinets. I enjoy painting once in a while.

We like to use flat for walls (after years of back and forth, weighing out the pros and cons of each) because we have found we can quickly reroll or touch-up, without cutting-in, and it blends. We have found that cleaning (washing marks off of...) eggshell, changes the sheen duller, and you can often see where you have cleaned with a rag or sponge, and the frustration of spending your time cleaning it, only to find that not every mark came off, so you have to sometimes repaint areas anyway! (Double work) And then when you repaint eggshell over eggshell, the sheen gets yet MORE shiny, and you can see touchups in the light. Sometimes (or often) though, on halls we go to egshell though, because usually there is not natural lighting issues there. We paint baths and kitchens in eggshell for the washability factor. Living rooms, dens, and bedrooms are done in flat for reasons stated. You can very quickly reroll or touch up roll or brush flat over flat, without hardly noticing you did so.

Thanks for all the advice!

What essential supplies should I buy? And how many? I mean brushes, rollers, trays, etc. How many different kinds of brushes? How about drop cloths and stuff? What's a good method to calculate or approximate how many gallons of paint are required. The main floor is about 1500 sq ft. The Master Bdrm. is roughly something like 14 x 13. A second bdrm. is 13 x 12, and the smallest bdrm is 10 x 10, etc. The kitchen is 15 x 12, Family room 14 x 20, Living/Dining is a long L shaped room. The dining room is 13 x9, and the living room is about 26 x 13. There are other areas too, but I just wanted a rough idea. One person told me to approximate one gallon per average room, not including the ceilings and trims, borders, etc.

Where should I buy the supplies?

Thanks for all the advice!

What essential supplies should I buy? And how many? I mean brushes, rollers, trays, etc. How many different kinds of brushes? How about drop cloths and stuff? What's a good method to calculate or approximate how many gallons of paint are required. The main floor is about 1500 sq ft. The Master Bdrm. is roughly something like 14 x 13. A second bdrm. is 13 x 12, and the smallest bdrm is 10 x 10, etc. The kitchen is 15 x 12, Family room 14 x 20, Living/Dining is a long L shaped room. The dining room is 13 x9, and the living room is about 26 x 13. There are other areas too, but I just wanted a rough idea. One person told me to approximate one gallon per average room, not including the ceilings and trims, borders, etc.

Where should I buy the supplies?

Brushes: A 2 1/2" 'All Paints' brush, either Wooster, Purdy, or Corona, from a paint store. If you have wood windows that need painting, also get a 1" for all that thin trim.
Rollers: At the very least a 3/8", or maybe a 1/2" Purdy or Wooster top-line synthetic roller. (I use 3/8" Purdy White Doves for everything.) If you have texture, you need a 3/4" or 1" nap.
Tray: If you are using the same color throughout, get a deep-well metal tray, along with liners. If you are using a bunch of different colors, a standard metal tray will be fine.
Drop Cloths: If you are careful, just a bunch of old sheets (enough to cover the entire floor of your biggest room) will be fine.
Roller Frame: Wooster SherLock. $7, smooth rolling, accept no substitutes.
Pole: If you are tall, a single 4' pole will be fine (used for ceilings). If not, get a 2'-4' adjustable.
Sandpaper: Get med. grit (120 or so), along with a pole-mounted sanding block. Some here use drywall screens instead.
Swiffer-like cloths to remove sanding dust before painting.
Mineral Spirits/Paint Thinner: Get a couple of gallons for cleaning your brushes if you use oil-base primer. You will also need three pails that seal to put the three different rinses in.
Tape: For taping off hardware that you don't remove, or taping off baseboards you aren't replacing.
7/9/12/whatever-in-1 tool: This is a nifty tool that will clean rollers, pull bad caulk, smooth spackle, and even open beer bottles.
Caulk: Use paintable siliconized elastomeric caulk. I can't estimate how many tubes you need, but unopened ones can be returned.
Caulk Gun: Get a "dripless" gun.

As far as how much paint to buy: The pros here can probably give you a better estimate, but I have been using about a gallon and a half for the four walls of an average-sized bedroom. That being said, our handyman somehow managed to do two coats in the master bedroom with just a smidgen more than one gallon. (I think his coats are a little thin, but maybe that is just me.)

Buy brushes and all paint and primers at a paint store. Other stuff, like roller covers and dropcloths, roller frames, etc. can be purchased at your local Big Box Store.

SirWired

Thanks! This list of supplies helps so much!

The old paint job has tons of mistakes. I'm trying to see what the best way to fix the horrible job he did with spackling several areas. All over the house, it looks like someone smeared thick icing (like from a bday cake) on the walls. Where there were tiny nail holes from hanging things, he spackled almost the size of a big fist or a hand and didn't even bother to smooth it very well. He even covered two to three feet of wall with it to cover some heavier markings on the wall. Isn't this the lazy way out? Shouldn't he have sanded to get the writing or marker on the walls off. It looks so bad!!

Is there a way I can remove the big glops that he slopped on everywhere. The walls aren't like smooth, flat, matte type of drywall. (Feels like a fine, grainy, cementy texture.) They have the fine texture on them in shapes of arches, or like maybe thick rainbows would be. It's not very raised, very fine texture, but it's there in a pattern. If I sand the spackle, won't that sand away the textured finish of the wall, or, is there a way to preserve it or reapply it.

All textures can be duplicated. I'm having trouble visualizing what type of texture you have.... could you supply a pic?

You need to fix all the bad drywall repairs. Ideally you would sand them smooth but often it is easier to add a little joint compound to the bad edges and then sand them to make it all blend.

I'd be a little leary of using sheets for a drop cloth - too easy for the paint to soak thru. I also don't like using plastic on the floor - it won't obsorb the paint and if you step in it, you are likely to transfer the paint to an area not covered :eek:

I only use a paint tray on very small jobs. I prefer to roll paint out of a 5 gal bucket with a screen/grid to roll off some of the excess paint. This is a lot faster and less danger of stepping into a container of wet paint. I have no use for a small paint tray, the deep trays not only hold more paint, they do a better job of containing the paint - less likely to push paint out of the tray while loading the roller.

Tape can be a good aid but don't rely on it totally! Brushed or rolled paint is good at seeping under the tape. Tape applied over fresh paint has a tendancy to pull the new paint off of the substrate when it's removed. Also the tape should be removed before the paint has completely dried. paint often forms a bond between the wall and the paint on the tape. If the paint has dried it is best to use an utility knife to carefully cut along the edge of the tape to break that bond.

Most paints cover 400 sq ft per gallon. Pourous or rough surfaces may require more paint.