Back to School is a Perfect Time for Painting

It’s a chance for the kids to start fresh, with new paper, pencils, books, and maybe even a new backpack to start the year outright. Back-to-school time is not only a chance for your kids to get a fresh start; it’s a great time for you to brighten up your home by painting the walls.

Once the kids are finally out of the house (and off the couch, where they might spend time playing video games and binge-watching Netflix,) take the opportunity to touch up or completely repaint the inside of your home. Here are a few tips to help you maximize these kid-free hours and get your house ready for the rest of the school year and beyond.

Clear Your Schedule

Whether you need to take a couple of days off work, clear any meetings, or other obligations, be sure you are setting aside a goodly amount of time to take on this large home project. Check to see if your partner or a good friend can also spare a few hours to assist you in this hefty and ambitious project. Though painting is significantly easier without kids and dogs running in and out of the house, and friends dropping in for coffee, it’s still going to make for a long and exhausting day. Any help would make the workload a little less grueling.

Prep Your Space for Painting

The night before you plan to paint, be sure to do all the prep work, so you can maximize the time when the kids are at school, to cover more ground – or actually, wall. Move the furniture to the center of the room, or if possible, completely clear it out of the room you plan to paint. Cover every item of furniture left in the room with tarps or old sheets, so no paint accidentally gets on your couches, the coffee table, or Grandma’s antique buffet. Remove all pictures, artwork, etc., from the walls and do a quick wipe down with a slightly damp cloth, to remove any dust or grime.

Before you paint, you’ll also want to ensure all holes are patched. Remove switch plates and carefully use painter’s tape to prevent paint from getting on crown molding, the ceiling, or the baseboard.

Lastly, you’ll want to make sure you have enough primer, paint, brushes, and rollers to complete the project, (or at least for the entire day, so you don’t get interrupted by having to go for supplies.) A paint specialist at your local hardware store can help you determine how much paint you’ll need to purchase for your project. For homes with small children or pets, the recommended paint type is acrylic, because it contains less volatile organic chemicals and is ultimately more durable (and more scrubbable) than oil-based paint.

Painting Techniques to Help You Get the Job Done Fast

Now that you have your walls prepped, your furniture covered and your tools ready to go, you’re ready to get started painting. After the kids have headed toward the bus stop (and you’ve had a chance to get your second cup of coffee,) pour your primer in the roller tray and load up the roller brush, rolling a few times in the tray to get off the excess primer. Roll your primer up and down onto sections of the wall until completely covered. Read the instructions carefully on the back of the primer container before applying paint. You will want to ensure the primer is completely dry before you start with your color.

Once the primer is completely dry, you’ll want to start painting below the taped trim. Using an angled brush that’s dipped in paint about a third of the length of the bristles, carefully paint at the edge of the tape and work your way inward a couple of inches until you have a narrow strip of paint on the wall. Once all of the edges of the wall have been painted, you’re now ready to move onto the bulk of the wall with a roller. Dip your roller into the paint in the tray and remove any excess paint. Paint a large “W” shape (about two to three feet wide) with your roller and fill in the empty spaces of the shape without lifting the roller. Repeat this process until the entire wall is filled in. Once everything has been painted, carefully remove the painter’s tape before it completely dries, so the paint on the tape doesn’t pull paint from the wall with it.

Don’t have time to paint the entire interior of your house? Bring in the professionals from Arizona Painting Company for all of your large projects. We have experts on hand to get the job done efficiently, saving you the hassle. Call the Arizona Painting Company today for more information on multi-room painting projects.