Estimating How Much Paint to Buy - For Dummies

Estimating How Much Paint to Buy - For Dummies

Indianapolis ceilings and walls

I finished a two day painting project that included three ceilings, the walls in one room, and one ceiling repair. The customer was putting the home up for sale and had ceilings and walls that were yellowed and needing repair. 


Photos:

Ceiling that needed repair and stamped to match pattern on rest of ceiling (used Cornerstone Painting and Drywall to complete the repair)

 Large ceiling over breakfast area, living room and entryway.

 Painted walls and ceiling after two hours of preparation

Another view of the large ceiling

I completed an interior painting job on Friday that included a large living room.  I put two coats of eg-shell on all the walls and one coat of semi-gloss trim paint on the trim. I also painted the front door and associated trim around it.

Steps:

1.  Moved all the furniture;
2. Sanded down all the walls and trim;
3. Washed down all the walls and trim;
4. Caulked and spackled all the cracks and holes on the walls;
5. Taped out the carpet a long the baseboards in preparation for painting;
6. Painted the trim with Sherwin Williams ProClassic Door and Trim Latex paint (semi-gloss) and let dry overnight;
7. Masked out the carpet with 12 inch paper using a model 3M Hand Masker M3000 Dispenser to prevent paint splatter and drips;
8. Taped (green frog tape) out all the trim that included baseboards, door trim, and window trim before applying paint;
9. Applied first coat of Sherwin Williams ProMar 200 (no VOC) paint and let dry for 4 hours;
10. Applied second coat of paint;
11. Pulled all the tape and masking paper;
12. Touched up any areas including ceiling, walls, and trim;
13. Put furniture and pictures back;
14. Vacuumed;
15. Final walk-through with customer/

Photos:

Painting done and ready to start putting room back together

Another view of living room without furniture and curtains back in place

Painting completed with room put back together and completed customer walk-through

Painting completed and room put back together

 Painting completed and room put back together

Fishers interior painting project

I finished up a large entryway that also included working over the stairwell, two hallways, and two closets. I also painted the baseboards. I had to bring in my 24' extension ladder and also my levelers when working over the stairwell.  The walls needed quite a bit of work so I spent most of the first day sanding and cleaning. I spent the second day putting the first coat on the walls after taping and masking and then finished up on the third day with the 2nd coat.   For the walls, I used Sherwin Williams ProMar 200 in an eg-shell sheen. The color was Steeple Gray, a Lowe's color that Sherwin Williams matched.

Challenges:

1 - High walls;
2 - Working over the stairwell and reaching the top of the walls;
3 - Working around a low hanging chandelier;
4 - A lot of preparation; and
5 - Working over a wood floor (put durable paper on the entire floor to prevent paint spray and scratching.)

Photos:

Entryway - 18' to the ceiling

 Top of walls looking from upstairs hallway

Top of walls

 Downstairs hallway

 Upstairs view

 Upstairs view

 Upstairs small hallway

 Upstairs hallway

 Upstairs hallway

Lapel painting project including kitchen cabinets

I finished a 3 day painting project that included all of the kitchen cabinets (20) and drawers (7) plus the living room and kitchen upper walls. I had already done work for this customer and the house is over a 100 years old. I applied Sherwin Williams ProClassic Door and Trim acrylic latex enamel (semi-gloss) with a trim brush and foam roller. I chose to paint the cabinets without taking the cabinets off because they were older and I was concerned about getting them back on.  The disadvantage of painting in place is sagging. This trim paint is very heavy and if you don't continue to go back and look at cabinets painted, you will have big drips.  You just have to hit any drips with the foam roller and you are okay as long as the drip is recent and still wet. I did pull the drawers and painted them on my bench and then placed on a tarp and let dry.

I also put two coats of Sherwin Williams ProMar 200 (no VOC) interior latex (eg-shell) on the living room and kitchen walls. When I was there previously, one of the rooms had just been textured and just did not cover very well so I put an additional finish coat on the walls.

Challenges:

• Sagging paint on the cabinets;
• Keeping over spray off the recently installed counter top and the stone floor;
• Keeping paint off the stained trim in the living room; and
• Keeping paint off the wood floor in the living room.

Tools used for cabinets:

• 4 inch foam roller;
• 2.5 tapered trim brush;
• Oscillating sander using 180 grit to prepare cabinets;
• Small 220 grit sanding block;
• Small painting bucket that holds both the brush and small roller frame;
• Masking paper for the floor and counter top; and
• Electric drill to remove all the cabinet and drawer hardware.

Photos:

Kitchen cabinets and walls with sealed wood counter top and stone floor

 Kitchen cabinets and walls

Bedroom (textured walls) with third coat

Living room with stained wood trim and wood floors

Bedroom (textured walls) with third coat

 Living room with stained wood trim and wood floors

 Living room

 Living room

Fishers entryway and master bathroom

I completed a large entryway and master bathroom on Wednesday. It was a challenge because of the high walls and applying a semi-gloss finish to all the walls.  Most customers select a flat or eg-shell finish, which is more forgiving if the walls have drywall flaws.  I also painted the trim in the master bathroom, which was large and there was a lot of preparation including sanding,caulking, spackling, and taping.

Challenges:

• Repaired a lot of nail pops;
• large entryway where I needed to bring in my 24 foot extension ladder to reach the ceiling;
• using a semi-gloss on the walls is always tricky because of the potential of lap marks so I always had to keep a wet edge; and
• had to bring in levelers to work over stairwell. I also used a 12 foot ladder to reach some of the ceiling over the stairs.

Photos:

Note: you can see how shiny the walls are

Entryway view from the upstairs hallway

Another view of the entryway from upstairs

 Master bathroom

Largest entryway wall

Entryway view from downstairs

 Master bathroom

Lapel interior rooms and trim

I completed an interior painting job on Sunday that included rooms and trim in a house over 100 years old.  It included three large rooms with heavily textured walls and 9' ceilings. I also painted a stairwell railing and spindles. I put two coats of eg-shell on all the walls and one coat of semi-gloss trim paint on the railing and trim.

Steps for each room / railing:

1. Masked out the floors with 12 inch paper using a model 3M Hand Masker M3000 Dispenser to prevent paint splatter and it also makes it easier to paint the bottom of the baseboards;
2. There were a lot of cracks between trim and walls so I did a lot of caulking;
3. Sanded and feathered chipped trim with a Rockwell multi-purpose tool (used 180 grit);
4. Primed all the sanded areas with an oil-based primer (no odor);
5. Painted the trim with Sherwin Williams ProClassic Door and Trim Latex paint (semi-gloss);
6. Let dry overnight so the tape would stick and also not pull up the newly painted trim;
7. Taped (green frog tape) out all the trim that included baseboards, door trim, and window trim;
8. Applied first coat of Sherwin Williams ProMar 200 (no VOC) paint and let dry for 4 hours;
9. Applied second coat of paint;
10. Pulled all the tape and masking paper;
11. Touched up any areas on the trim that needed it;
12. Worked on a straighter line between ceiling and walls. With both the ceiling and walls being textured, it was difficult to get a straight line so I had to be a little creative and make the lines look straight from the floor;
13. Vacuumed. 

Challenges:

• A lot of prep work including caulking, sanding, and taping.
• As mentioned above, it was difficult to get a straight line along the ceiling. I had to go back up on the ceiling and straighten the lines.
• With the heavily textured walls, I had to use  a 3/4" roller nap in order to get the paint into the all the crevices.
• The railing and spindles were really nicked up so I had to spend considerable time sanding, feathering, and priming to get them ready for painting.

Photos:

Downstairs empty bedroom

Downstairs empty bedroom

Stairwell with railing and spindles (I only painted the bottom one)

Downstairs TV room with an accented wall

Downstairs TV room

Upstairs bedroom

Upstairs bedroom