Painting tips From an Amateur
We have lived in our house for over a decade and have hardly touched it. That isn't because there is nothing to do -- quite the contrary! Rather, we just haven't had the time, or the money, or the knowledge.
We still don't have any of those, but we decided to paint the bathroom, anyway.
Two weeks later and we're still painting. It just never ends. The ceiling was in a dreadful state, and the filling I did made it better but also worse. Then my partner missed a spot when painting, so it needs another coat. And now we're back at work and we're still going, the house is a mess, and all our spare time -- of which we have none -- has been taken up by this endless painting.
And we're only painting the bathroom, the toilet, the laundry, and the little hall that connects them all.
When you start a job like this, you always seek the experts because they know what they're doing. But, in doing so, you miss out on some tips from the first-timers about mistakes that you'll also make, because the experts don't make them. So, just in case you're thinking of painting your own home, here's a few tips from a complete amateur.
1. It takes longer than you think.
It really does. It has taken weeks. The first day went well, but we didn't have the equipment and by the time you wait for things to dry just means you don't get anywhere near as much done as you thought you would. And if you have kids -- we do -- then you can't spend your entire day just painting. You need to do kids' stuff, too. Our kids have been amazing, but it is taking its toll. They are both a bit sick of it. So whatever you plan, multiply it by four and then maybe you'll have a decent estimate.
2. It's expensive.
DIY isn't cheap. I don't know how much a painter would have cost us, because we didn't check. We just assumed we could do this and it would of course be cheaper because we are only buying supplies. But we've also taken annual leave, and we had to buy tools, and we're still going. I am amazed at how much it has cost us -- almost a thousand dollars as of this writing, and we still need to buy more paint!
3. Make your bed before you start.
Oh God, another 'make your bed in the morning' post. But, honestly, make your bed. At the end of the day, you're going to want to pass out and if you have to make your bed before you do, you'll cry. Also: when you're moving stuff out of the way, a made-up bed is a great spot to use, which you can't do if your bed isn't made.
In the same vein, make dinner before you start, and put the washing on. Get the evening sorted so you can focus on the day. Otherwise you'll end up eating take away food and that makes you feel gross. If it's winter, do a slow-cooked dish, or maybe even a roast. Something that takes no time to prepare but a bit of time to cook will make you feel a million bucks. And it will stop you having an argument.
4. Assign a trash room.
I'm sure most houses have a trash room. I guess you could call it a storage room, but let's be honest: the only thing that goes in here is shit that never comes out. So move all your stuff that needs to disappear until you finish into this room. Really, you need two piles: stuff that you don't need for six weeks, and stuff you'll need tonight. Once you're done, go back through this pile and throw out ninety percent of it -- I'm guessing if you haven't touched it by the time it took to do this project, then you never will.
5. Buy soft filler, unless you need the hard stuff.
There are many fillers out there, some are harder than others. I made the mistake of using the hard stuff when I should have used the soft, and now I have lumps in my ceiling because I can't sand it down. So don't do that -- if you need to sand it back, get soft stuff. If you need some structural integrity, get the hard stuff. A paint scraper can work wonders on some hard fillers, but others just seem to be harder than rock.
6. Spread less filler than you think.
Something I learned the hard way. You don't need a lot. You want a smooth finish, because that means less time sanding and a better final result. You can do that with way less filler than you need. Start with the least-important room first. Again: our mistake. We started with the bathroom when we should have started with the laundry. Now the laundry ceiling looks amazing but the bathroom does not. And who cares about the laundry ceiling? We should have started in there, and learned as we went so the bathroom would have looked a million bucks.
7. Do the prep work first.
The problem with painting is you think 'paint' when you should really think 'preparation'. You can do the prep work in your spare time, because you don't really need to wait for anything to dry, etc. So do your prep work well before you even buy paint: sand down the walls, fill the spots that need filling, double-check all the fixtures, tighten any screws, etc. And only then do you go and buy the paint. Otherwise you'll be itching to paint but you can't because you have to do all the work you haven't even started, and your precious painting time will be wasted.
8. Learn to use the tools.
We bought a wall sander and then promptly abandoned it because it was too hard to use. It was only when I took some time to watch a few YouTube videos and actually give it a go that I realised it was easy to use once you've figured it out. But because we were in such a hurry, we didn't give ourselves the time to understand what we needed to do. So don't do that. Learn how to use everything first, and then you'll be in such a better position to get the project done.
9. Don't let it consume you.
This is me. I wake up and think about painting. I go to sleep and think about painting. I go to work and think about painting. I hate painting! So don't do that. Give yourself a proper schedule, allow for breaks, have something else to do. Otherwise you'll go insane.
So there you have it. Tips from an amateur. I hope your paint job is just a little bit better than ours.