Painting Your House's Interior

Painting a house's interior is a challenging job. Every painting job has to be planned and executed carefully. It is generally best to do any interior paintwork when the weather is sunny. This is because you can have the doors and windows kept open in order to let the paint fumes disperse quickly.

Before you begin painting the interior of your house, move any furniture out of the room. You can also move pieces of furniture toward the center of the room and cover them with plastic or cloth. Cover the edges of doors and windows with removable masking tape. Cover the floor with old newspaper. If there is smoke detector in the room, cover it with a plastic bag. Turn off the air conditioner or heater. All these will ensure you don't get paint spots in place you don't intend them to be. It will also save you a good amount of time.

When you have done everything moved or covered, it's time to tackle the walls and ceilings you wish to paint. First, scrape off the flaky and any loose paint using a paint scraper and sandpaper. After you have scraped off the flakes and loose paint, take a putty knife and fill all the screw and nail holes you can find with spackling compound. Use caulk to fill in the cracks. If the walls and ceiling are greasy and dirty, wash the surface with trisodium phosphate. Use paint deglosser to clean glossy surfaces. Rinse the surfaces and let them dry thoroughly before applying paint.

Please note that houses built before 1978 may contain lead paint, which is toxic, particularly to pregnant women and children. If your house falls into this category, then it is best that you do not proceed with the paintwork just yet. Instead call the National Safety Council’s Lead Information Center at 800-424-LEAD on how you can safely scrape, sand or expose the paint.

When the walls and ceiling are thoroughly dry, paint the ceiling first, then the walls. When you're done, remove the masking tapes and covers on the doors and windows and then paint them carefully. When painting the edges of doors and windows, be careful so that the paint does not spatter or transfer on adjacent walls. Following this sequence will prevent the need for retouching.