Site preparation for your painting job

Whether you're doing it yourself or hiring a contractor, the ground rules for site preparation are the same.

Proper site preparation is key to the longevity of an interior or exterior painting or remodeling job.

Here are some of the procedures we use to prepare a job site. Other contractors may vary on the details, but the core principles of protecting existing surfaces and surrounding areas that are not part of the job, and thoroughly preparing the surfaces to be painted remain.

Interior painting:

• When working over hardwood flooring, putting down Rosin paper is our first step. Available from most hardware and home improvement stores, Rosin paper is inexpensive protection. A $10 roll will cover more than one average room, protecting the floor from ladder marks--especially new flooring. (Even ladders with plastic feet can leave marks; rosin paper is cheap insurance.)
• After rosin paper is down we center all the furniture, cover everything with drop cloths and put plastic around light fixtures.

Outdoor painting:

• Drop cloths should never be placed over plants and vegetation. They are too heavy. A light-weight plastic covering on top of all vegetation, light enough so it can breathe.

Surface preparation:

Preparing the surface takes time and close examination of all surfaces to be painted, and can include:

• Cleaning—thoroughly washing the surface and allowing it ample time to dry
• Caulking—Silicone-based caulk to seal out foreign elements such as heat, cold and moisture is used on both the interior (baseboards, window & door jams, crown moldings) and exterior (soffit, fascia, around window & door frames)
• Reglazing windows—easily overlooked, replacing old, cracked or missing glazing protects against water damage and helps control heating and cooling biils
• Plastering of interior walls—followed by wet sanding to control dust
• Sanding—We wet-sand to keep any dust to a minimum which means we use sanding blocks dipped in water to avoid any dust
• Priming