Paint or not to paint.

BigAndy_79

Hi Guys,

I bought an apartment a few months ago and we are currently stripping the walls and are set to paint a few walls. What I was wanting to ask was whether you thought it was advisable for a couple of folk in their late 20's to paint their house with no prior experience ?

Thanks in advance.

kltoddie

If you have the time, energy and patience go for it. When we moved in (the house had been painted but never lived in and the colour scheme was awful), I painted the lounge and front bedroom. But each room took me days between masking, painting walls then ceiling (I paint ceilings last!). I did do a really good job, but when I was getting the front bedroom repainted for our daughter, I just decided to pay someone. It cost £130 and he kindly used his own white emulsion, gloss and filler - I just had to buy the coloured paint. He came after 8am on a Saturday and was away by 3. He didn't use any masking tape and it's immaculate.

So, if you have the money pay someone - it saves so much time and hassle. If not, go ahead and do it yourself. Someone did say to me though that I probably shouldn't have paid more than £80-90 to get a bedroom painted.

KT

englandsno7_2

I go round the edges first with a 1-2" paint brush and then use a roller on the rest. It's done in no time and most paints you can apply a 2nd coat almost as soon as you've finished the first one. I also buy disposable brushes to save the hassle/mess of cleaning them and rollers can be rinsed and re-used if needs be.

SUESMITH_2

dead easy! i use paint pads as i don't get on with rollers

TinyTJ

BigAndy_79 wrote: »

Hi Guys,

I bought an apartment a few months ago and we are currently stripping the walls and are set to paint a few walls. What I was wanting to ask was whether you thought it was advisable for a couple of folk in their late 20's to paint their house with no prior experience ?

Thanks in advance.

I do all my own decorating after getting a 'professional' in who painted over the pipes on all radiators, dripped paint onto my carpet and charged me an arm and a leg. Start with the ceiling, buy a good quality brush for edging in and roller the rest and try to do it early in the morning when you have the best light. Be aware using a roller splatts paint everywhere so cover everything including a plastic shower cap on your head! Good luck.

BigAndy_79

Hi again, Guys.

Thanks very much for the feedback. Looks as if I might well give it a crack myself. Am getting off work early to come home and get on with things. The g'friend will already be stripping the wallpaper as she aquired a steamer this afternoon there. She says that there are JML pads that are easy to use and help do a better job.

Thanks again :beer:

caz2703

Hubby & I have decorated 2 houses ourselves without a professional in sight. I use a cutting in brush with a steady hand (bristles are cut at an angle) to go up to the ceiling and down to skirting boards then hubby uses a roller on the rest of the walls. I don't think we've ever masked anything but just been careful instead. Obviously use old bed sheets or buy plastic sheeting to protect carpets and the first thing I'd do would be the ceiling so any japs on the wall get covered later.

Unless we weren't able or had more money than sense I wouldn't pay anyone to paint. It's a painful chore but the sense of satisfaction outweighs the dead arms and sore neck!

BigAndy_79

Thanks, Caz

Lirin

We've laid flooring, painted, decorated, removed walls, I've plastered ceilings and walls and rebuilt our porch. We've rewired the electrics, plumbed, tiled, and installed CCTV, all without a jot of experience.
Go for it!

caz2703

Lirin wrote: »

We've laid flooring, painted, decorated, removed walls, I've plastered ceilings and walls and rebuilt our porch. We've rewired the electrics, plumbed, tiled, and installed CCTV, all without a jot of experience.
Go for it!

LOL bar the plastering you sound exactly like my hubby! He even managed to lay a patio with a bit of help from Google. It's amazing how much money you save when you can do all that stuff yourself although hubby used to do a bit of plumbing and leccy work when he was younger so a bit of an unfair advantage compared to most.

Go for it Andy - what's the worst that can happen?

bigw81

Most important bit about painting is preparation - spend just a little bit more time filling any wee cracks with Polyfilla (you can buy a tube of stuff that dries dead fast now!) and then sand it down. You'll be glad you did afterwards rather than having to hang that picture of your great aunt over the crack.......
Give it a go....and you might even muster up the courage to try wallpapering - its not NEARLY as difficult as everyone thinks and if you use it on a 'feature' wall it can look amazing. My dad ran a firm of painters and decorators - he had nine kids and taught each one of us to paint and hang paper when we reached about 12 years old and could 'reach'! Seemed daft at the time but I've been decorating my own home all my life.... great life skill! Good luck; and remember, no-one sees that tiny mistake but you.