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Painting interior walls in 5 easy steps

Now that it is getting colder outside and the garden and gardening tools are ready for winter, we can focus on indoor chores. One task that is perfect for the fall and winter months is to repaint the interior walls of your home.

Repainting the interior walls of your home is a project DIYers can do as easily as professionals and is a lot cheaper if you do it yourself. However, there are a few things to consider before deciding to do this task. Below, you will find five simple steps that will help this project become a success.

Use the correct tools.

The additional tools that you will use depend on the condition of your walls, but you will definitely need the tools below to complete the job:

If the walls are in bad condition, you will also need a putty knife and filler to fill in the cracks in the wall and smooth out any unevenness. If the painting of the walls is just for maintenance, you can probably skip this. However, if the walls are not in good condition, then you will need to prepare the walls before painting them. To learn more about repairing damaged plasterboard, you can read our article ‘How to finish a plasterboard wall‘.

Calculate the amount of paint

If you accidentally purchase extra paint pots, the paint will likely expire in a few years. That is why it is important that you buy the right amount – not too much and not too less – before you get started. Nothing is more annoying than finding out halfway through painting that you don’t have enough paint. But also, having extra paint pots left after completing the job is a waste of money.

How much paint you need depends on various factors, but for an interior wall without unevenness, you need about 1 litre of paint per 10 to 14 square meters. If you plan on applying a double coat of paint, you will need to multiply this amount by 2.

Prepare the room

Prepare the room

Of course, you don’t want to leave paint stains on the furniture in the room. Therefore, remove all movable furniture from the room. If you don’t have enough space, place it all in the centre of the room and cover it with plastic or old sheets.

Once all the walls are free, you can use masking tape to cover up the pieces which do not need to be painted. Apply this tape to the window and door frames to protect from any paint or splatters. Since this task requires precision, it is crucial not to rush and take enough time to do it correctly and accurately. Remove the covers from outlets and light switches and apply masking tape to protect outlets and switches from paint drips.

Paint the room

painting the room

Pour some paint into the paint tray and use a piece of wood to stir it for a few minutes. Once the paint is mixed, you are ready to apply the paint to the walls. Work your way down from the top of the room, starting with the ceilings. If you are using more than one colour, paint the walls with the light colour first. Don’t worry if the lighter paint gets on the other walls. The darker paint will eventually cover it up.

If you plan to paint the window frames as well, remove the masking tape and wait for the walls to dry before applying the tape to the walls. Painting the window and door frames is something you do once all the walls have been painted and are completely dry. Start with the frames closest to the ceiling, then move on to the door and window frames and finish with the baseboards.

Time to clean up

Make sure the room remains well ventilated during the project by opening windows and doors. Once you’ve applied several coats of paint and everything is dry, it’s time to clean up. Remove all tape, collect the plastic sheets and make sure any spilt paint splatters are dry before removing them.

After this, you can clean the paint brushes with soap and water so that they are completely clean and ready for the next paint job. Oil-based paints require turpentine to clean the brushes. Here too, it is necessary to take the time and to clean everything perfectly. It is better to work half an hour longer at this point so that you can start working immediately with neat paintbrushes the next time around.

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