How long for interior paint?

[bekkiz]

Hi everyone, as we're so new to this homeownership thing, we are FULL of questions!

We're trying to estimate costs for painting, and I have just no clue how long something like that takes.

We have 4 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, 2 living rooms, 2 hallways, 1 kitchen and 1 entry way (about 2300 sqft). Any ideas about how long something like that might take!

thanks

 

[FroggyinArk]

somewhat depends on ammount of furniture to move, pictures to rehang, pros working 8 hours days will take about three wweeks,, 15 days, patching , caulking, trim and walls maybe 4 if the existing is in bad shape and needs washed and primed and depending on number of coats

 

[Froggyswife]

If done by professionals calculating an 8 hour day about 3 working weeks. or 15 days total. BTW I am a professional painter

 

[Rafiki Rafiki Rafiki]

Did you know we have a board just for interior decorating now?

I only ask because sometimes I get lonely over there....being about the only one who seems to visit every day....

I've painted several rooms in our house myself. If you're painting rooms somewhat close to the current color, you can usually get away with two coats. It generally takes me about 1 day per room...mostly because the killer is in taping, putting down drop cloths, removing switch plates, and then touch-up/clean-up.

I would do it myself instead of paying someone, but that's just me.

 

[beckmrk04]

It depends on how good you are at painting on how long it will take. Having spent the last year renovating my house, I have a couple of suggestions (take them or leave them, it's just stuff that helped us out).

1) Don't go to Lowe's or Home Depot for the expensive paint. BUT- don't buy cheap paint. The one I found that is absolutely THE BEST (after I tried the expensive stuff) is the KILZ brand at wal-mart. They'll match any paint sample you get- I went to Lowes, picked out my colors, took it to Wal-Mart, and got the KILZ paint. That stuff saved us a LOT of work and coats. Learned it the hard way, though- after 3 coats of expensive stuff in my kitchen.

2) Tape everything off before you get started.

3) Buy good rollers and roller handles- comfy ones that you can hold a long time.

4) We did one room at a time or so, but did the bedrooms in one day. Depends on how adventurous you are and how much time you have, though, really. I'd say you can do 2, maybe 3 rooms in a day- but that's pushing it sometimes. Also, depends on how much help you have. I invited my family over and fed them- then they helped me paint!!

 

[soccerfreak_08]

I am not sure about how long it will take. I do have a bit of advise for you though. Last summer we made a family project of painting or fairly large living room. It took nine gallons but the brand of paint we used did not come in a ten gallon bucket. We had them match the color of our siding but they didn't get it the exact same each time because we ended up making several different trips to the store to get paint. OUR LIVING ROOM IS NOW NINE DIFFERENT SHADES OF TOASTED COCONUT. It looks pretty bad but is hard to notice unless you live here. So my advice to you is if it is going to take you more than one gallon to paint a room get a large resealable bucket and dump all the same colors of paint in it. You can generally get these large buckets at farm supplies stores(We got them at Rural King).

 

[clh2]

I you are going to be doing that much painting, you NEED one of these:

wagner power roller then search on catalog #0514003


I bought the lessor model a couple of weeks ago, and wish that I would have bought this one instead.

The power roller is AMAZING, and really saves time.

Clean up is a little bit of a hassle - I used it with two colors. The clean up was (obviously ) much easier the time I cleaned up immediately after I was done. The 2nd color, I waited a bit - 4 hours - and, well, I wish I hadn't.

The model I bought did not have the "trimming" things, but I wish I would have spent the extra money.

Another thing that is helpful is a really good paint. I used a Sherwin Williams, and eventhough my colors were medium bold, covered in 1 coat.

 

[Froggyswife]

I agree with the kilz brand paint it is great It has always been my primer of choice. Thank goodness they came out with regular paint.

 

[beckmrk04]

soccerfreak- you must be close to me- NO ONE else I know outside of this area knows about Rural King!!

 

[soccerfreak_08]

soccerfreak- you must be close to me- NO ONE else I know outside of this area knows about Rural King!!

Yes, we live an hour and a half from St. Louis on the IL side. lol

 

[FroggyinArk]

ok as to colors,, read the labels folks,, every single one,, including white will tell you if using several gallons to mix the cans together...


as for the brand of paint,,

if you want the truth wal marts color place is the exact same paint as a famous name brand menbtioned above, made in same batches and runs, and factory, even shipped on the same trucks with the "name brand" paint. the main difference i have found in 20 years as a professional painter,,, wal marts is about half the price. as for the power roller.. those are not a favored method by any professional painter. and are not the greatest for even coats and reliability.

get a good brush. that is comfortable to your hand. expect to pay at least 15 bucks, some of my brushes cost over 50 bucks,, but they are worth it. also,, make sure you get a high quality, ( not neccesarily priced but quility) roller cover. hte cheep paper cored covers will fuzz off onto your walls, leaving little patces of hairy paint.

personally i dont tape, but then i have 20 years of practice. i also taught dw and helpers to cut in with out taping because its not that hard to hold the brush properly and steady. also, a good razor scraper and window washing will take painbt off glass faster than you can tape it.

drop cloths are a must. if possible, buy them in a roll instead of single, and cut to lenght you need instead of all one size. news flash,, there are very few 9X 11 rooms...


also trying to walk on folded or wadded plastic sheeting with a can of paint,, not a good thing,, and speaking of cans,, get your self a brush can, they have several types on the market now, with a handle, a brush rest, etc, to make brush work easier, tryingto brush out of aregular paint can will create a mess. the lip around the lid will present a chalenge,

unless oing some fancy dry brush technique.. keep you r brush full of paint. dip the first inch or so into the paint, wipe ewach side lightly, then dip again, lightly wipe off hte excess and then paint with it,, dry brushing is number one reason that you can see brush marks around edges


edge and cut in( trim out ) first, then roll

if painting ceilings as well.. start with ceiling paint, finish ceiling, then paint trim, then walls. trust me, doing this in other ordres, can become a problem. if you tape,, peel tape asap. if letf too long, it becomes a problem

 

[beckmrk04]

Yes, we live an hour and a half from St. Louis on the IL side. lol

I KNEW it!! I'm about an hour from St. Louis!!

 

[bekkiz]

Thanks so much for the advice! Just some clarification

1) This house is 900 miles away, and we're not moving until June 1st. We'd like to have everything done before we move up there, hence why we're not doing it ourselves

2) We have already bought our paint (one of the "best" brands--sort of a boutique brand, Devine Paint, if anyone is interested )

3) There is nothing (furnture wise) in the house and there's only a little bit of patching etc. A few rooms need priming, but the walls are in pretty good shape

Thanks again!

 

[FroggyinArk]

three weeeks tthen, but please ask for references. get pictures of the painters work, contact the local paint supply store, or hardware and ask them about the painters, also try not to call his competitors,, because they will not give you the glowing reviews, unless the guy is actually sub par.

btw paintiung for 20 yeras and never heard of devine..lol

 

[soccerfreak_08]

I KNEW it!! I'm about an hour from St. Louis!!

IL- The worlds largest Cornfield. You gotta love it.

 

[snappy]

Froggy, we are using Benjamin Moore on the exterior, after priming with KILZ (we don't want mildew, and noted that flooded N.O. houses painted with KILZ did not end up with mod or mildew). What ya think of Benjamin Moore?


Interior, we have not bought the paint yet. Guess now we should consider Walmart (that's where we bought our KILZ, best price anywhere) paint for interior over Benjamin Moore?