Parnell Painting, Nanaimo B.C.

Here is a bit of insight into the interior painting of a new construction home.

We arrive on the scene once the plumbing and electrical have been run through the house and the drywall work has been completed. The final mudding of the walls and sanding has been done by the drywallers. They have also completed any texturing of ceilings.

We come in at this point, before any other installations are put into the house, such as flooring, kitchen and bathroom cabinets and fixtures, trim work, etc. We spray two coats of flat ceiling paint onto any smooth ceilings. In this particular home this was done in two of the bathrooms. A coat of colour the same as the walls was applied to the ceiling of the stairwell.

We now cut in next to textured ceilings and any other necessary areas. Then we spray and back roll a primer onto all the wall surfaces. Once the primer has dried we visually inspect the walls for any imperfections that may have been missed by the drywallers. Minor nicks and dings, etc. in the walls. We patch and sand anything we find.

A light sanding is now done to the overall wall surfaces before any other paint is applied. This ensures a smooth finish. We now start to apply the first coat of colour. Cut ins are done to the textured ceilings and other necessary areas again. Then we spray and back roll all the wall surfaces.

At this time we can apply a final finish coat of colour to a few areas such as the walls of the kitchen where cabinets will be placed and in bathrooms where the toilets or cabinet may go. This makes it easier when doing the final painting of the rooms. We don’t have to worry about cutting in around the cabinets and fussing with paint behind the toilets.

A few different scenarios can now happen depending on the particular project. A typical scenario is the window and door casings and trims are put in. In the rooms where carpets are going to be installed, the baseboards are put in.

We come in at this point and fill the nail holes in the trim work, sand them, and caulk all the joints and where they meet the wall edge. We do any necessary taping and masking, then spray two coats of paint onto the trim work. Sometimes spraying is not always possible and the trim work is done by hand. Some tricks of the trade allow us to simulate a sprayed look when it is done in this manner.

We can also spray the baseboards that have been installed in rooms where carpet will be placed. At this time we can finish the walls in those rooms if no other installations will be going in that affect the walls. We cut in and roll the final coat of colour on the walls.

The tradespeople continue putting the installations of the kitchen, bathrooms, and flooring in.

The baseboards get put in after any hardwood floor or tile is installed. Once that has been done we can come in and put the final coat of colour on the rest of the walls and finish the baseboards in any rooms that they have not been done in yet.

Doors are usually sprayed on location in the garage and allowed to dry. They are sanded and get two coats of paint applied. If they are stain grade they may be getting stained and/or clear coated. Once the doors are dry they can be installed into the house.

We do a final inspection of the home to make sure everything is complete and our job is done.

The owners of this particular house asked us to do painting of the primer and the first coat of colour. They will be doing a lot of the finishing installations themselves. We will be doing an estimate for the final painting for them once they get closer to completion.