How to Prepare Your Home for Painters

I will start off by saying that there doesn’t have to be any preparation for painting if you are unable to do anything prior to the painters arrival. Painters can do the preparation for the project when they get there. Though from the perspective of a someone who has worked as a professional painter, there are things that can be done by the home owner prior to a painters arrival that allow them to start much easier & in better conditions. So, lets get into the things you can do if you want to create the most ideal situation for your painter to walk into as they enter your home to paint!

FURNITURE

This one is pretty self explanatory. If you know anything about the painting process, you probably know that painters need to actually be able to paint the walls! Which means that furniture needs to be moved out of the room or pushed to the center of the room so there is enough room to move around to the different walls in the room, but also to see every inch of the walls! That is to of course paint the walls, but also paint the trim, or make wall repairs.

DECOR

Living in a space or in a home for a long time, people collect items, décor, furniture, and the space fills up with things! Which happens at every home, those things are what make a home a home! However; those items can take a long time to move off of furniture for painters to begin the job. So prior to the painters’ arrival, make sure to move all décor or ”clutter” on furniture pieces that need to be moved to paint or that will be painted around.

CLEANING

Life is a lot sometimes! Work, family, kids, friends, grocery shopping, chores, cooking, with all of that the cleaning can fall to the back burner. It is understandable how dust and grime can build up! Though if you have any spare time before the painters come, try to clean up as much as you can. It will make it easier, healthier, and more comfortable of an experience for the painters being at your home.

Some important things to clean include:

Dusting/cleaning off baseboards, door frames, window frames, vents, fans, & lights.

If the painters will be working in your kitchen, make sure there are no dirty dishes in the sink so they can either use the water from the sink, and so there are no smells from the dishes.

If the painters will be working in your bathroom(s), make sure that it is usable for the painters, and the toilet is clean, the vanity is clean, and there are no smells in the bathroom for the painters to have a comfortable experience.

REPAIRS

Every painter or paint company can be different, and one thing that can differ is the services they offer or include in their paint service. With that said, it is definitely a good idea to check with your paint company to confirm if they do provide wall repairs in their service, and the scope of the wall repairs that they will do. Every paint job usually requires at least a little bit of wall repairs, whether that’s dents, scratches, holes big or small. If you have wall repairs that are too big or out of the scope of the painters, prior to their arrival drywall tapers should be brought in to complete those repairs so the space is ready to go for the painters when they get there.

-EXTRA / ABOVE & BEYOND PREPARATION-

ARTWORK

If you have any artwork hanging on your walls, or shelving or décor, items on the walls being painted should be taken down. Typically, if you are intending on hanging the item back up on the screw/nail leave it in the wall. If you intend to move the item after the wall has been painted, take the screw/nail out of the wall so the painters are aware that the hole needs to be filled.

CORDS

Cords are pretty much guaranteed to trip at least one person on a paint crew, unless you have a paint crew coming that is not clumsy. But based on my experience being in a paint crew… SOMEONE WILL TRIP! So make sure to unplug all cords to devices that you can. That means tv’s, printers, computer charging cables, and more. If you work from home and require your Wi-Fi router to stay plugged in, just let the paint team know so everyone knows where it is and can be careful to work around it throughout the day!

OUTLET COVERS

Now this one is definitely an above and beyond item. So there’s no pressure to go this far into preparation if you don’t have time, or just don’t want to do it before the paint crew comes. Because I get it, it definitely is one of those things that is a pain in the butt to do! Its an easy one, but once you start you pretty much are ready to stop. BUT, if you really want to do as much as you can to prepare for the painters, every home has a ton of outlet covers that need to come off eventually! Your painters will for sure be appreciative, and think you’re a Rockstar for going above and beyond for them! Though once again, painters expect to do it in the beginning of the project so its no problem if you don’t have time to do it, or like I said just simply don’t want to!