Painting a house

[zahc]

I figure that with a brush and ladder, perhaps with strategic rental of scaffolding or lift basket, that I could paint my 2 story house myself in a summer of weekends. I would use brushes or rollers rather than any spraying equipment which would have setup and cleanup. Has anyone done it? Did you keep track of how much it cost or how long it took?

Is it required to maintain a "wet edge", or can you paint half half a wall one day, and finish it another day?

[Ben]

I figure that with a brush and ladder, perhaps with strategic rental of scaffolding or lift basket, that I could paint my 2 story house myself in a summer of weekends. I would use brushes or rollers rather than any spraying equipment which would have setup and cleanup. Has anyone done it? Did you keep track of how much it cost or how long it took?

Is it required to maintain a "wet edge", or can you paint half half a wall one day, and finish it another day?

I used to do this with my rental properties all the time, inside and out. Brush and roller. I would always do it over a couple or three days. Just make sure you finish one whole wall at a time. It's not always necessary, depending on construction material, but it removes the chances of "different shades over different days". If one wall is a very slightly different shade than another (from a new batch of paint for example), it's really hard to tell versus on the same wall.

Get a GOOD roller extension pole and you won't need a ladder for a majority of your work. Or at least only a short ladder or low scaffolding. All trim is a pain in the ass, IMO, second story trim on a high ladder especially so.

Take your time with masking off areas with painter's tape and plastic. It will pay dividends later. One trick I used to do if I forgot to mask some area, or was just doing a smaller area, was to use a piece of stiff cardboard as a portable mask. I'd hold it to a corner or edge with one hand and paint with the other. Just move it as you go.

I won't do this anymore, and will hire a guy when the house gets painted next year, but for a young guy, it's not that bad. I can't remember costs anymore, other than back when I was doing it, it was way cheaper than hiring a pro. You might be able to find an illegal or handyman or somebody that would be more reasonable than a painting contractor.

[bedlamite]

BTDT. If you're going to DIY, get a sprayer.

https://www.amazon.com/Graco-257025-Project-Painter-Sprayer/dp/B004Z2090U

[charby]

Proper prep will give you years of lasting paint. Scrape, scrub, rinse, prime, and paint. Don't buy paint from a discount or big box store.

[Ben]

BTDT. If you're going to DIY, get a sprayer.

https://www.amazon.com/Graco-257025-Project-Painter-Sprayer/dp/B004Z2090U

One of the reasons I never used a sprayer is because I would have had to mask off tenant cars and neighbor's cars and stuff. I agree they are faster and easier to paint with, but you have to pick your days and either have distance between neighbors or mask like crazy. JMO.

[K Frame]

Sherwin Williams Duration or Emerald.

I won't put anything other than Sherwin Williams on the exterior of a house.

[Kingcreek]

I've done it. Thought I could do our 1928 one story arts and craft bungalow on weekends and a few days off. Started Memorial Day and thought I would be done before July 4. Finished it Labor Day.
Never again.
The old cedar siding soaked up paint like a sponge. Sudden unforcasted rain storms came up and I watched pain run down the foundation. I scraped and sanded scraped and sanded. The eaves and cornices and wood windows were wonderful for character but hell to scrape and paint. It seemed like it rained on weekends and the sun only shined during the workweek that year.
We had it painted again before we sold it. I hired a guy that did a great job and I went fishing.

[MillCreek]

^^^^This gives me something to ponder.  We will probably need to paint in the next couple years.  We have a 2200 square foot rambler, and I will need the 24 foot ladder to reach the high points and there are a lot of high points.  It was originally professional painted with a sprayer.  The siding is horizontal lap fiber cement siding, so I wonder how easy it would be to do this with a roller.  I am 60 years old now with a bad hip, so I am now thinking perhaps we should hire it out.  Plus, when the weather is good for five months of the year here in Seattle, I am already busy on good weather weekends with the yard, etc.

[Ben]

The siding is horizontal lap fiber cement siding, so I wonder how easy it would be to do this with a roller. 

That's another major consideration. When I did it, it was on California stucco. Looking at my siding here, a roller would probably be a pain in the ass.

[K Frame]

Painting clapboards with a roller is a pain in the ass. You need to use a reveal-sized roller with knap that will allow you to paint the under edge of the clapboard above the one you're painting, and even then it's a huge pain in the butt and slow.

It's a bit easier with cement siding, which tends not to have as large of an under edge on the reveal, but it's still a huge pain.

The best way I've found to deal with such siding is with either a GOOD quality brush or with a sprayer.

The problem with the brush is that it will make your arm fall off.

With a roller you'll get a bit father before your arm falls off.

I painted a couple of houses with the vertically grooved shingle-type cement board, and using a sprayer was the only way to go.

[Kingcreek]

The best way to paint a house is with a checkbook.

[zahc]

My quote for prep and paint, including replacing 70ft of fascia, is $6500 for a 2 story 2000sqft house. Seem reasonable?

[Kingcreek]

It's going to vary widely depending on condition of surfaces, amount of ladder lift or platform work, and geographic location. Sounds a little high for our area but it's been years since I had to hire anyone.
Also, price of paint is up because everybody has been home doing home projects.
My wife bought 3 gal of interior paint and they told her she got lucky. They have been out of the premium paint and only get a few gallons in at a time lately because of much higher demand nationwide.

[Silver Bullet]

If you buy a sprayer beware there are three or so different basic types.  With some of them you lose more paint to the wind than you apply, and you might have to buy three times the amount of paint compared to brush or roller.  Also, some sprayers require you to dilute the paint. 

I spent a few more bucks and side stepped those issues with the Graco Magnum 257025.  There is a surprisingly low expected life, 50 gallons per year.  I don't understand the "per year" qualification, it sounds like they're saying I could paint 50 gallons three consecutive years (150 gallons), but that I can't paint 100 gallons the first year.

We went Sherwin Williams for the paint, we might have gone with Benjamin Moore, Wal-Mart Behr, or Ace, but Sherwin Williams had the color we wanted.  Expensive, though, I think we paid $45 per gallon.  This is why I was concerned about paint loss from the sprayer.  SW were having sales (about 30% off) every three months, I don't know if that is still true.  Worth it to wait for their sales if it is.

[K Frame]

Good quality paint is expensive.

You can really tell the difference, though, by the sheer weight of a can of quality paint vs a can of cutrate paint... the cutrate stuff is significantly lighter, which is accounted for by the solids that provide the pigmentation.

Fewer solids, less weight, less cost.

You can cheap out a bit more on interior paint, but if you want a paint job to last you put the effort into preparation and you put the money into QUALITY paint.

[Ben]

You can cheap out a bit more on interior paint, but if you want a paint job to last you put the effort into preparation and you put the money into QUALITY paint.

I won't cheap out on interior paint anymore. I am absolutely sold on the "semi-semi gloss" types of paints. They seem to have various names, but "eggshell" seems to be fairly common. Not flat, not semi-gloss. The benefit is being able to wipe walls with a damp sponge or even mild cleaning solutions to remove marks and dirt.

As much of a pain as it is to repaint a furnished interior, paying the extra dough for "once and done" and being able to just clean minor marks instead of repainting at some earlier point is well worth it to me. I will never use flat paint indoors again.

[charby]

I won't cheap out on interior paint anymore. I am absolutely sold on the "semi-semi gloss" types of paints. They seem to have various names, but "eggshell" seems to be fairly common. Not flat, not semi-gloss. The benefit is being able to wipe walls with a damp sponge or even mild cleaning solutions to remove marks and dirt.

As much of a pain as it is to repaint a furnished interior, paying the extra dough for "once and done" and being able to just clean minor marks instead of repainting at some earlier point is well worth it to me. I will never use flat paint indoors again.

Yep, I've pretty much switched to Sherman Williams for everything. Their premium interior paint is an absolute dream to paint with, brush and roller.  I have a brick ranch, so very little exterior painted surfaces.

[K Frame]

"I won't cheap out on interior paint anymore."

I'm not advocating that you go out and spend $3 for a 5 gallon bucket of Unkle Wallie's Inside Yur Shack Wall Splat and call it good.

I'm saying that you don't have the environmental challenges facing an interior paint that exterior paints face so your options are a LOT more open.

For interior paint I've had excellent results with Behr, Pratt and Lambert, Pittsburgh, MAB, Benjamin Moore, and Valspar. I don't feel at all uncomfortable with buying interior paint from Home Depot or Lowes as long as I go for a well-rated brand.

Good Housekeeping likes Benjamin Moore in its tests: https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/home-products/interior-paint-reviews/g2308/interior-paints/

Bob Villa has similar ratings: https://www.bobvila.com/articles/best-interior-paint/

Consumer Reports also has reviews, but you need to be a member to see the ratings.

I'm going to be painting my living room soon, with an eye toward slowly painting the entire interior, and I'll likely go either Moore or Behr.

For the living room, bedrooms, and dining room I'll go eggshell, for the kitchen and bathrooms I'll go mildew resistant semigloss.

When I finally get around to painting the exterior? Sherwin Williams Duration. And since my exterior is all trim, I'll go with a glossier finish to offset the matte of the brick and siding.

[Ben]

I'm not advocating that you go out and spend $3 for a 5 gallon bucket of Unkle Wallie's Inside Yur Shack Wall Splat and call it good.

I was probably unclear in my post. It wasn't so much paint brand as paint type. I don't know if it's a regional thing, Boomer thing, or what, but growing up in CA, everything inside that wasn't a kitchen or bathroom was always flat paint. It wasn't until maybe 7-10 years ago that I noticed eggshell and other forms of the "semi-semi gloss" paints getting popular for living areas.

For the extra expense of eggshell over flat, mitigated by its ease of maintenance, it kinda makes me wonder why flat paint even still exists. 

[makattak]

This thread makes me very happy my house is brick.

[charby]

"I won't cheap out on interior paint anymore."

I'm not advocating that you go out and spend $3 for a 5 gallon bucket of Unkle Wallie's Inside Yur Shack Wall Splat and call it good.

I'm saying that you don't have the environmental challenges facing an interior paint that exterior paints face so your options are a LOT more open.

For interior paint I've had excellent results with Behr, Pratt and Lambert, Pittsburgh, MAB, Benjamin Moore, and Valspar. I don't feel at all uncomfortable with buying interior paint from Home Depot or Lowes as long as I go for a well-rated brand.

Good Housekeeping likes Benjamin Moore in its tests: https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/home-products/interior-paint-reviews/g2308/interior-paints/

Bob Villa has similar ratings: https://www.bobvila.com/articles/best-interior-paint/

Consumer Reports also has reviews, but you need to be a member to see the ratings.

I'm going to be painting my living room soon, with an eye toward slowly painting the entire interior, and I'll likely go either Moore or Behr.

For the living room, bedrooms, and dining room I'll go eggshell, for the kitchen and bathrooms I'll go mildew resistant semigloss.

When I finally get around to painting the exterior? Sherwin Williams Duration. And since my exterior is all trim, I'll go with a glossier finish to offset the matte of the brick and siding.

Benjamin Moore is in the same arena as Sherwin Williams, PPG, Diamond Vogal. You won't find BM at discount or big box stores. Usually just independent hardware stores.

[Silver Bullet]

I forgot to mention I had the outside of my house painted, not the inside.  For inside I probably would have gone with rollers.

[K Frame]

"Usually just independent hardware stores."

Benjamin Moore is carried by the Ace Hardware chain.

[K Frame]

I was probably unclear in my post. It wasn't so much paint brand as paint type. I don't know if it's a regional thing, Boomer thing, or what, but growing up in CA, everything inside that wasn't a kitchen or bathroom was always flat paint. It wasn't until maybe 7-10 years ago that I noticed eggshell and other forms of the "semi-semi gloss" paints getting popular for living areas.

For the extra expense of eggshell over flat, mitigated by its ease of maintenance, it kinda makes me wonder why flat paint even still exists. 

As with everything, it's a series of tradeoffs.

Flat paint isn't durable or easy to clean, but it's very good at hiding imperfections in the surface you're painting.

Egg shell is more durable, and it's a bit more reflective.

Satin is more durable still, and more reflective.

Semi-gloss and and high gloss generally aren't used much on home interiors except in bathrooms (generally semi-gloss) and trim. A room painted with high gloss paint can be very disconcerting because the light bounces so much but it's really durable.

[charby]

"Usually just independent hardware stores."

Benjamin Moore is carried by the Ace Hardware chain.

And each store is an independent franchise, like Do It, Coast to Coast, True Value, Hardware Hank, etc.