Protection Of Surfaces And Furnishings
- Drop Cloths
- Plastic
- Masking and taping if required
Drop cloths are placed throughout the areas being painted with the paint supplies contained on top of them. Any additional surfaces or furnishings that need protecting are covered with plastic. Hardware that is on surfaces being painted is removed or masked and taped as necessary.
Preparing The Surfaces
- Patching
- Sanding
- Caulking
Depending on the condition of the rooms the preparation can take just as much if not more time as the painting. Homeowners are often surprised at how many anomalies are in their walls. We thoroughly go over the walls looking for nicks, dings and scratches. It’s not uncommon to see the walls riddled with patching spots by the time we are done. Any unwanted holes from curtain rods, hanging shelves or nails and screw holes from pictures or artwork are also patched and sanded.
We sand the patches once they have dried and an overall sanding is done to the entire wall surface. This removes small bumps and anomalies that may be in the previous coatings and ensures the paint finish is going to look its best. If the walls are generally in good shape this may be all the sanding that is required.
When the walls are in a bad condition it’s often due to a past paint job or several paint jobs were done poorly and without preparing them properly, if at all. Years of paint layers with improper sanding and patching can be full of bumps, runs and drips. This requires heavier sanding to make the walls smooth again.
The results of our efforts is fantastic looking walls for our customers.
The baseboards and other trim are patched and sanded as needed and then a light overall sanding is done to the entire surface of them. Then caulking is applied where required in the joints within the trim work and where the trim work meets up with the walls. Caulking makes a remarkable improvement in the finished look.
Once the caulking has dried the baseboards and the walls are painted. The caulking creates a seamless transition between the two surfaces.
The same procedure is done for window and door trim or any other type of trim work that has cracks or gaps where it meets up with the walls.
Painting
- Sealers or primers if necessary
- Ceilings
- Trim Work And Doors
- Walls
If any ceilings are being painted they are done first. Before painting we apply a special sealer to stains or discolouration to stop it from bleeding through. Two coats of paint are applied to the ceilings. Depending on the situation it may be brushed and rolled or sprayed.
The property below was completely empty and the flooring had been ripped out. This is the perfect scenario to spray the paint on the ceilings. The only items that needed to be protected during the process were windows, the baseboards heaters and the fireplace.
The ceilings in this dining area and kitchen were done with a brush and roller. The flooring is protected with drop sheets and the cupboards and any other necessary items are covered in plastic to protect from any minor spatter that may be created by the paint roller. The walls are being painted afterwards so they do not need protection. Any minor paint spatter that may land on the walls will be sanded off prior to painting.
The same scenario applied to this living room. The ceilings are being cut in and rolled. All necessary precautions are taken to protect the flooring and any other items in the room.
Two coats of paint are applied to all the trim work, this includes the baseboards, window liners and casings, door frames and casings and any other decorative trim such as crown molding or fireplace mantles. This is the part of the painting that usually takes the most time, especially if the trim has a lot of detail. We need to wait for drying in between coats and then when the final coat is dry we can start to paint the walls.
If the doors are being painted in place they are done by brush and roller. The door knobs or handles are removed. They are sanded to remove any small bumps, runs or drips that may be present in the previous finish or to de-gloss if it was a higher sheen paint.
If the situation allows for an area to spray the doors then all of the hardware is removed, including the hinges and they are set out to be painted. Once they are dry and the door frames and casings have been painted the doors are re-hung.
A primer may need to be applied to the walls if there is a drastic colour change or if it’s a special type of surface being painted. Then the first coat of paint colour can be applied. A sharp cut in line is done along the top of the baseboards and against any door or window trims covering up any caulking that slightly over laps onto the wall. A cut in line is done at the top of the walls where they meet the ceiling. Then the entire surface of the walls is rolled out. After the first coat of colour has been applied there may be a few missed spots that need to be patched that we couldn’t previously see. We patch and sand them and then spot prime them. The final cut in and rolling process is repeated again with the second coat of the paint colour. When the painting is completed it is an attractive, seamless and clean look between the trim work and the walls. The final clean up begins and we can return the space back to the home owners.
Below is a condo we were hired to paint. It had been previously painted in some vibrant colour choices and unfortunately it was not done by a skilled painter. There were a lot of holes and dings to patch in the walls, but that was not the worst of it. An extensive amount of sanding had to be done to remove large drips and runs in the previous paint coatings. The ceiling had to be painted due to the wall paint that was up into the perimeter of it.
None of the baseboards had been caulked at the top against the wall and gaps were also present in many areas where the door and window trims meet the wall. The owners were getting the condo prepared to sell. They hired us to give it a professional paint job so that it could look its best. Bringing the walls back to a nice smooth finish and having a neutral paint colour will appeal to a much wider group of buyers.
You can see the remarkable difference in the before and after photos below.
In the photo below on the left is an example of an unsightly gap between the door trim and the wall as well as wall paint that was poorly cut in and bridges onto the trim. In the after photo on the right you can see how much better it looks once the gap has been caulked and the wall and trim are re-painted with a clean cut in line against the trim work.