Stretch your home improvement budget and paint your home’s interior yourself

Of all the home improvements you can do in your home, painting is probably the most cost effective. All you need is some brushes, rollers, buckets of paint, and some painter’s tape and plastic sheeting. The most expensive part of painting your home is hiring the painters to do the work. Fortunately for you, painting the interior of your home also happens to be one of the easier home improvement projects for DIYers so you can really stretch your budget by doing the painting yourself. Though it’s a relatively easy project, it isn’t completely fool-proof. Here are a few tips that should make it easier.

Type of paint

Paints come in different finishes ranging from flat (dull) to high-gloss (shiny). Semi-gloss and high-gloss are going to be easier to clean since you can just run a wet cloth over it without ruining the paint so you’ll want to use this kind of finishes on doors, doorways, and other high-traffic areas that are going to get a lot of smudges.

Equipment

You’re going to need a good brush and roller. Don’t buy the cheapest ones you can find or you’re going to get bristles coming off and sticking to the painted walls or it’s going to do an uneven job. Some other tools you’ll need are a ladder for hard-to-reach places, paint trays for your rollers, some painter’s tape for professional looking borders, and some plastic sheeting to protect your furniture and floors.

Before you paint

Use spackling to fill in any imperfections such as nail holes and sand those areas down so they’re smooth. Caulk any gaps in the wall and trim so the end result will look professional. Go around windows, door frames, and anything else that you don’t want to paint with painter’s tape. Make sure to apply it firmly so paint can’t seep beneath the edges. Use painter’s cloth or plastic sheeting to completely cover the floor and any furniture in the room so you won’t get paint on them.

Painting

Use a brush to paint any areas you can’t get with the roller first. Use long strokes with the brush and don’t go back and forth with the brush. Now break out the paint roller and do the rest. If you have friends or family you can trust to do a good job. Get them involved. If the weather is nice, throw open all the windows and get plenty of fresh air circulating while you work.

Source: Nooga

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