Painting yourself v hiring a painter

We have just had our house painted by "professionals", and the result was under whelming to say the least. They left marks on the walls, uneven coats, they painted the wrong colours onto the wrong walls, and even had areas where they'd switched tones in the middle of the wall!

I really think that it is worthwhile taking the time to do the painting yourself, save money and maybe even do a better job. All you need is a decent roller and painters tape, as others have said here before me.

Good luck!

I find it a lot easier to paint the frame (with some overstroke onto the wall) and then cut the wall in to the frame. If you do it the other way around then you are attempting to paint the frame edging (usually less than an inch wide) without overstroking onto the wall and this is bloody hard.

Hey mate,

Last year I painted my beach house and balcony myself.

Pros – 

Cheaper – cost me $1500 in materials plus my own labour and the quotes ranged from $13k to $20k. Added to that is the beer I drank during the dar – hey it was fun!

Paint quality – a lot of painters water down pain, which may reduce quality – they is an exterior paint job in a coastal area.

Cons – 

quality – I mentioned paint quality however, obviously, I am not an expert so there were a few spots in the high areas that were not the highest standard however, who is to say a 'expert painter' would not provide the same

Time – painting takes a long bloody time. Painting my balcony with beams etc took ages as did the exterior

Safety – My house was a double story – I can tell you I did not use scaffolding, just a ladder an paint can

However this is an exterior, the same considerations will be included for an interior including the smell, moving furniture, materials such as paint blankets and sticky tape.

Cheers, Ivan

I love painting when I can. It’s mainly for the emotional investment and getting my hands dirty. It always takes longer than you think it ought to. I’d pretty much back my quality over a yellow-pages job.

But once you’ve finished the job, you say ‘Never again!’ At least until next time…

……and i’m such a bad painter its not funny. I just wasn’t born with that part of the brain it seems.

I just painted our place myself. Exposed beams, then all ceilings, walls, trim and doors. Definitely worth doing yourself, a full job like that would cost a fair bit, not sure where people are finding painters that would do it for $1800-$2000. Not in my part of Sydney anyway.

As mentioned by someone else, doing the trims before the walls is a good idea, I didn’t and its near impossible to do the trims without getting paint on the walls.

I also said ‘never again’. But gee its nice to sit back and see the work I’ve put in. Proud moment. :)

Painted our 6 x 2 brm villas recently at our motel in Wagga. Doing painting all day created very peaceful days of de-stressing , plenty music, time to think, and very rewarding financially and otherwise. Throwaway roller sleeves reduces cleanup time, plenty of small plastic disposable handheld tubs, a damp or wet rag always ready for minor spills n drips, and good lighting for ceilings essential. Appreciate the info on spraying, might try that next time.
Cheers
thecrest