How many times have we said, “I’ll take care of it”? Starting an interior painting project, only to find your not quite cut out with either the time, knowledge, or energy completing.  Interior painting walls and ceilings require all of these attributes, having the proper knowledge will save both time and energy, completing the interior painting project as a painting professional. Having only limited time and without one of the two remaining attributes will be set up for in-completion. I admire any of those who even consider painting interior walls and ceilings themselves, knowing how much work is involved, saving the initial cost of painting.  A lot goes into an interior painting project even before any paint is applied, and will be addressing these subjects rolling out walls and ceilings for a quick guide.

1st. You must have the mind set for your interior wall and ceiling painting project will look magnificent, even though you are in a 9-5 M-F corporate setting.

2ND. Someone needs to clean all the walls and baseboards with a damp rag, a standard with any professional interior painting project. A perfect place where dust settles even in the cleanest of homes. Letting trim surfaces dry completely, as masking tape will not stick to wet trim surface.

3rd. Most interior painting projects require masking off baseboards with a hand masker using 9-12″ masking paper and 1″ regular masking tape once completely dry is the next step. Moving right along, a hand masker is well worth the money, having several rooms to paint. Most hand maskers cost around $50.00 plus the blade which is around $10.00. Buy the film blade, as it will cut paper and plastic, but paper blade only cuts paper. Do not know why they make both, only to catch someone off guard, selling an inferior product.

4Th. After masking baseboards, seal tape edge with a thin bead of paint-able latex caulk,  wiping with a damp rag, needing amount to fill any cracks from baseboard to wall,  to prevent paint migration under tape on to baseboard. New Frog Tape eliminates caulking tape edge, but cannot recommend having never used such. You are now getting close to being ready painting your interior walls and ceilings, but still have some more work to do.

5Th. Move all furniture into the center of the room you will be painting, giving ease to cover if painting ceilings, and certainly out of your way painting walls, especially using extension poles. Using a large plastic sheathing gives way to cover in the shortest amount of time. Extend plastic over brown paper taped to wall’s baseboard, covering every square inch of flooring. Many dimensions to choose from, a common one is 9′ X 400′. Masking all the rooms you plan to paint at one time, gives way to move from room to room without stopping. Depending upon wall and ceiling height, an extend-able 4′-8′ extension pole is recommended for most interior painting jobs. Gives way to extend for higher reaches painting, and shorten it in tighter spots. A paint roller’s best friend is the “E” pole.

6Th. Now that all your baseboards are cleaned, masking off all areas not to receive paint, it’s time to break out the brush, cutting in, brushing out at the tape line a few inches above the baseboard. Doing the same at the ceiling if ceiling is a different color than the wall. Don’t worry about getting ceiling paint on wall, as this will be cut in by hand if ceiling color paint is different than wall color. Painting interior ceiling first, then cutting in your baseboards, gives way to roll out walls with ease, all at one time.

7Th. Now all edges have been “Cut in” on walls, the real fun begins, with a paint roller. If you have not already purchased a roller and frame, buy a 14″ instead of a 9″. A 14″ roller and frame will also require a special roller pan, but can be purchased rather inexpensively, saving many hours depending on how many square feet of wall surface you will be doing. If painting only one or two rooms, a 9″ will be just fine. Roller “Skins” come in a wide variety of thicknesses, which is dependent on texture you will be covering. Typically a “Popcorn” ceiling will require a 3/4″ roller skin, where a near smooth wall texture will require a 3/8″ – 1/2″. Experienced season painters tend to go with the thicker roller skin, getting more paint on the walls quicker, rolling them out as described below.

8Th. Loading up your roller, rolling off excess, start in one corner of room. A few feet from the corner, half way up the wall, write a Z or W, coming back to corner with frame outside edge pointing down the wall you will be going. Rolling out from top to bottom, keeping the frame pointed the same way, after each reloading and rolling. This will ensure no heavy marks or darker lines on walls and or ceilings, as this technique goes for ceilings as well. Very important painting tip, only season painting professionals, and Painting Denver readers know about.

9Th Steps above may seem easy, but if your not a seasoned professional Denver painter, painting walls and ceilings may be more work than you thought, not touching on all the manual labor involved with the “Arms over the Head” time required. So, be ready if tackling this on your own, or call a seasoned painting contractor for your painting needs.

Good luck with your next interior painting project. Give us a ring with any questions or concerns, more than happy to walk you through any difficult situations at 303.591.4978. Hoping this helps you with your next interior painting walls and ceiling painting project. Any comments would be much appreciated, as I can talk paint all day long, a hobby and love over 30 years.

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Most of our Interior Painting, ceiling painting or wall painting is residential, however we at Eco Paint Specialist’s has the ability and expertise taking on much larger painting projects on an as need basis.

A quick reference to Commercial Builders and Painting Contractors

Many new commercial structures are being built, and previously built with a roof ceiling system known to many as B-Decking and Bar-Joists supports.  Bar Joists are usually 4′ on centers, having a 12″ depth. These are typically flat roof systems, that can withstand large weight loads, and are the most economical way of covering large areas. Support posts must be in place over much wider spans, supporting roof to the ground normally in concrete.

Typically in painting, most contractors including Painting Denver works off a square footage to determine amount of product and materials, and of course price. Generally speaking this can vary to some degree from one contractor to another with quality of products used, however one thing remains the same; Quantity of paint used.

B-Decking = 2.5 X Width X Length

Bar Joists = Width X Length X 2.5 (small bars, but both sides, spraying all directions for proper coverages)

So in a building having 100′ X 100′ ceiling to paint, one would calculate;

100 X 100 X 2.5 (giving more than double ceiling space for both B-Decking ridges = 25,000 sq. ft.

27 bar joists (one on each wall side) X 100′ X 2.5 = 6750 sq. ft. Calculating this comes out the same using a factor of 3.175 X Width X Length for total square footage of roof  surfaces to paint. Figuring any other way, most would fall short on product, which in turn falls short on labor and total job. You can see, it would not take long before painting a Super Walmart or Target could send the painting contractor under the sheets. More on Estimating Interior Painting

Below is an interior painting job we completed in Aurora Colorado at the local Ed Bozarth Chevrolet using more than 600 gallons of dry-fall Flat Paint from Sherwin-Williams, normally covering 200 sq. ft of area. North building approx. 200′ X 200′ X 3.175 = 127,000 sq. ft. /200 = 635 gallons.

Ceiling Painting at Ed Bozarth Chevrolet in Aurora Colorado

B-Decking and Bar Joists

Ceiling Painting using Dry-Fall Flat Paint

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