How to Prep Your Home for the Painter

You’ve hired a professional residential painter to help transform your home. But as you look around your house at the furniture and toys strewn on the floor, you may be wondering what you should be doing to prepare for paint day. Here are a few paint-prep tips from our team at MasterWorks Painting & Remodeling.

1. Move furniture away from the paint zone.

If you’ve hired an interior painter to apply a fresh coat to your house’s walls, then move all furniture, toys, and other items away from the walls. You may decide to move things to another room for the time being, or you can simply move things to the room’s center and place a drop cloth or old sheet over them for added protection. Just allow plenty of space for the painters to work and place their equipment.

2. Remove wall art.

Take down all your wall decorations or mounted shelving, so the painters don’t have to mess with it after they arrive. They will prep the walls for painting, but you can give them a fresh surface to get started.

3. Fill in nail holes or cracks.

After taking down wall art, you’re likely to find a few nail holes, nail pops, or cracks that occurred as your house settled. Fill in these holes to create a smooth paint surface. But before you do, be sure to call your painter. Some painting contractors do minor wall repairs as part of the contract, especially if the company offers other home improvement services.

4. Clean the space.

Dust and dirt can easily cling to a fresh coat of paint. Avoid this painting catastrophe by thoroughly cleaning the rooms to be painted.

Preparing your home for painting services helps the project move quickly and efficiently after the painters arrive. However, know that the painting pros will take care of covering flooring and utilizing painter’s tape to mask off areas close to where they’ll be painting.

If you have additional questions about paint prep or need to hire a painter, contact MasterWorks Painting & Remodeling of Virginia at (703) 263-3302. Our professional painting and home improvement team serves the areas in and around Fairfax, Ashburn, Vienna, and Oakton.