Making The Choice To Paint My Home

Posted on: 27 February 2018

When you paint the interior of your home, you want to make sure that you protect the interior. You want to paint the walls of your home, you don't want to paint other objects in your home. Here are a few tricks for protecting your home when you are painting inside.

#1 Clear the Space

The first thing you want to do is clear the space where you want to paint. Although you can leave furniture in place and just put a drop cloth over the top of it, the best way to protect your belongings is by removing them.

Get someone to help you move your furniture and belongings out of the room where you will be painting. Add an extra hour or two to your paint preparation time for this task. If you have any furniture that is too heavy or bulky to take out of the room, move it to the center of the room and cover it with plastic. This is the best way to protect furniture from paint splatter. 

#2 Cover Up The Floor

Second, you need to cover up the floor. You don't want to get paint on your carpet or hardwood flooring. The cheapest way to cover up your floor is with plastic sheets. However, it is easy for plastic sheets to rip and tear, resulting on paint getting on your floors anyway. The best material to cover your floors with is a sturdy and thick drop cloth, such as a canvas or butyl-backed cloth. 

Put the drop cloth on the floor and tape down the edges of the cloth where your flooring meets with the walls. If you have floorboards, you can use the same plastic drop cloth to cover up the floorboards as well. If you have to use more than one sheet of plastic or drop cloth, make sure they overlap a couple of feet and secure the sheets where they overlap with painter's tape. 

#3 Cover Up Light Fixtures

Third, you need to cover up the light fixtures in the room as well. For hanging light fixtures, wrap plastic around the hanging portion of the light to protect it. Use painters tape to cover up the base of the light where it meets with the wall or ceiling. 

#4 Remove Switch Plates & Outlet Covers

Fourth, for outlet and switch plate covers, instead of covering them up, it is best to remove them. You can easily remove switch plate and outlet covers by using a screwdriver to remove the screw, generally located on the center for outlets and above and below the switches on light covers, and then gently pulling the plate off. Removing switch plates and outlet covers will allow you to paint the wall behind the covers. When you put the covers back on, your new paint cover will seamlessly flow behind the covers, instead of having white space around the covers where the tape was at. 

Once your paint is dry, simple put the switch plates and outlet covers back in place, and secure them with screws that you took out earlier. If you want to change the color or style of your switch plates and outlets covers, you can do so after you finish painting.

#5 Cover Up Windows

Although it will reduce the natural light in the room, you should cover up your windows and window sills. You can use thick brown paper or plastic to cover up your windows.

#6 Create A Central Staging Area

To reduce the chance of a creating a mess when painting, create a staging area in the room where you are painting. Keep all of your paint brushes, rolling trays, and paint in one central location. Having a central location for mixing your paint and for pouring your paint can help you better contain any mess that you make.

#7 Have Dedicated Paint Clothing

Have clothing that is dedicated for painting that you don't mind getting messy. When you are done painting a room, before walking through the rest of your home, change your clothes on a drop-cloth or plastic sheet right outside of the room that you were painting in and put everything into a bag. Be sure to take off your socks or change your shoes as well. This will help prevent you from transferring paint from your clothing and shoes to other parts of your house.

Keep the paint you put on your walls from getting all over the room you are painting and your home by taking the time to remove furniture, switch plates and outlet covers from the room you will be painting. Be sure to cover up the floor, light fixtures and windows as well. Finally, set up a dedicated staging area for all of your paint supplies and have a changing area so you can take off your paint clothes after you are done painting. For more tips, contact a company like Integrity Painting, Inc.