Painting your house - Crazy or no?

[Tezz24]

We are in the process of purchasing a home and we want to paint the interior of the house. It's about 1900 sq ft. Would you hire painters or do it yourself?

We live in a very HCOL area so it would be pricey. I'm thinking we will be spending a lot over the next few months anyway since we are moving from an apartment to a house, so why not save where we can. We don't plan to move in for about 6 weeks so there is time to do it while the home is emtpy.

If we do it by ourselves, what advice do you have?

[Miss Piggy]

My advice is for you to provide more details about the situation. Is it a 1-story or 2-story house? How high up would the painter have to go, and would you feel comfortable doing that? And what prices have you been quoted?

[mrteacher]

OP said interior, not exterior.

DIY.

My wife and I just repainted several rooms in our rental unit (between renters -- painting in empty rooms is far easier) having not had much prior experience. There is a gentle learning curve, but I'm guessing you'll save several hundred dollars, or more.

We were inconsistent about putting down a drop cloth, in part because the rooms were empty and are all hardwood floors - easy to wipe up drips right away with a wet cloth.

[trollwithamustache]

DIY is cheaper and very doable. one or two rooms at a time and understand it will take a while. (multiple coats, ect, prep time.) Outside on a multi story building is a different animal if you are not comfortable with scaffolding ect.

Plus, interior painting is  like a gateway drug, if you can handle this, then you are ready to move up to more hardcore DIY, saving even more mustache wax.

[Tezz24]

Yes - Interior.

I've painted rooms before but nothing of this size. It seems doable though.

I haven't gotten any quotes yet - just estimate based on friends' recent experiences. They were in the area of 10k. That seems like it's worth it to do ourselves.

Seems like prep work is the most time consuming part.

[Miss Piggy]

OP said interior, not exterior.

Ah, yes...interior. Disregard my earlier post.

I agree...DIY.

[mrteacher]

$10K! Wow!

Definitely DIY if you are quoted near that price!

To add to my earlier comment - and agree with what's been said: the prep work is a hassle. Cleaning the walls, spackling dents/blemishes, sanding, and then cleaning windows/trim if you plan to paint those. But once you're prepped the actual painting is not all that hard or time consuming. With multiple rooms to paint you have the luxury of not twiddling your thumbs waiting for one room to dry -- you can be at different stages in different rooms at the same time.

[Tezz24]

OK - great. I think we'll lean DIY.

The walls were actually just painted - but they are an awful color that no one can stand. The place was terribly marketed and staged which is likely why we were able to get it. (still way too expensive - bay area *sigh*).

I'm hoping this alleviates some of the prep work. We're going to ignore the trim for now. The walls may just need to be cleaned and then we can get started.

[mrteacher]

OK - great. I think we'll lean DIY.

The walls were actually just painted - but they are an awful color that no one can stand. The place was terribly marketed and staged which is likely why we were able to get it. (still way too expensive - bay area *sigh*).

I'm hoping this alleviates some of the prep work. We're going to ignore the trim for now. The walls may just need to be cleaned and then we can get started.

Sounds like a fortunate scenario!

[Adam Zapple]

Buy a good quality paint like Benjamin Moore or Sherwin Williams.  Their middle quality paints are fine. 

The cheap paints look the same when you finish but the benefit of Benjamin Moore or Sherwin Williams is you can touch up areas years from now and the color will still match.  If you go cheap now, you will have to paint entire rooms or entire walls again in two years when somebody scratches a chair on the wall or kids color on it.

[TeresaB]

Buy a paint sprayer.

[secondcor521]

Buy a good quality paint like Benjamin Moore or Sherwin Williams.  Their middle quality paints are fine. 

The cheap paints look the same when you finish but the benefit of Benjamin Moore or Sherwin Williams is you can touch up areas years from now and the color will still match.  If you go cheap now, you will have to paint entire rooms or entire walls again in two years when somebody scratches a chair on the wall or kids color on it.

And if you use Sherwin Williams, wait for their 30% off sales, which happen with regularity every two or three months.  They will tell you when the next sale is if you ask.

I agree with the DIY.  I got bids on the exterior of my house and the good contractors seemed to run about $5K.  My OOP cost with paint and all the supplies is about $600.  It's a deal as long as I have the time (I do) and I don't fall off a ladder (so far so good).

Don't scrimp on prep work.  It'll make your final work product look much better.

[TheWifeHalf]

I vote DIY

Good paint makes a big difference. We use Sherwin Williams, always when on sale.

[trollwithamustache]

bay area *sigh*

gadzooks you need to DIY. Bay Area labor premium easily doubles what you can save plus you need to be saving those heavily over taxed dollars and not spending them on anything you can do yourself.

[Swish]

Buy a paint sprayer.

This +1. When I was in university I bought a Graco 490 (http://www.graco.com/us/en/products/contractor/ultra-max-ii-490-pc-pro.html)

Prep takes a fair amount of time but on a home that size it definitely will save you time. Watching some youtube videos it was very easy to learn how to use it without making a mess inside or outside the home. Machine runs great and I was able to pay my way through school with no student loans just working on the side painting. Eventually I just hired a couple kids at $15/hr cause I was tired of doing the painting myself so I just quoted the work. I don't paint very often now but one weekend exterior job can easily cover the cost of the machine. I even painted a local three story hotel once :). No formal training. It looks great 8 years later!

[narrative]

We just did this last month. We painted almost all of the upstairs of our home (walls and trim) as well as two basement bedrooms within a week of closing on it. It took a few days of our time but the cost was minimal - well under $500 - and the house feels like "ours." The other basement room's paint is included in that price but we haven't done it yet as other projects took precedent. With two people painting it really goes pretty fast.

We do have a paint sprayer but it has never been out of the box. We were worried about the overspray and making more of a mess than necessary since we already know how we work with rollers.

We used Glidden paint from Home depot and it went beautifully. Watch the mistint section and you can score an even better deal. We picked up a 5 gal bucket of high grade Behr paint tinted slightly off white for $30. I have heard the Walmart mis-tint area has good deals as well.

[Reddleman]

Former professional contractor- now I just do a few odd jobs in the summer to keep myself busy.

For interior you can definitely do it yourself.  I went over to the Seattle area to paint a friends house a few years ago. HCOLs are pretty horrible.

Just make sure to take your time.  Clean everything before you begin.  Use drop cloths to keep everything clean.  The biggest problem for most people is cutting in the trim.  As long as you're not super picky, you can cut a decent line yourself with a little practice. 

BTW- Sherwin Williams is generally good.  Their next sale will probably be around the 4th of July.  Even if you don't go with them, pay for the premium grade of whatever you buy- you are saving thousands, don't be cheap with materials.  Same goes for tools- buy quality Purdy brushes/rollers/roller covers. 

Like anything else, you can learn a lot of good things from Youtube.  As a former pro, the best regular source of techniques and advice is probably the Idaho Painter- look him up and I'm sorry you will now spend the next 20 hours watching someone show you how to paint a house. 

Good luck!

[starbuck]

Oh yes, definitely DIY. I have painted every part of a house you can paint, and I don't bother with taping anymore. Painting is a skill so the more you do it the better you get. I'd recommend starting in the part of your house that you'll spend the least amount of time (2nd or 3rd bedrooms, etc) so you can hone your paint skills first. That way it'll be easier to repaint the early work down the road if you need to.

I prefer Benjamin Moore paints, and using a short handled, angled 'Cub' brush for cutting in around the trim. Buy quality brushes like Purdy and take care of them instead of cheaping out. They're worth it if you're doing that much painting.

[Sun Hat]

Always DIY. I paid painters once, and they did a terrible job.

Quality paint will save you time and money. I buy either Behr Marquee from Home Depot, or Benjamin Moore. They're more expensive per can, but you'll need fewer coats to get good coverage, so I find that the price balances out.

Like Starbuck, I don't tape any more, as I find that I get better lines by just edging with a high-quality brush. If there are two of you and one is better than the other at edging, then the other can work a roller while the other edges - my neighbour and I did her whole house this way, and it was a snap!

Keep a damp cloth handy, so that you can wipe off any spots or drips before they dry.

[trollwithamustache]

Like Starbuck, I don't tape any more, as I find that I get better lines by just edging with a high-quality brush.

No Tape? you've got balls of steel and a steadier hand than I!  Respect.