When you’re looking around your home thinking about remodeling projects, the ceiling may be one of the last things that comes to mind because it’s quite often overlooked — yet it has to be re-painted on occasion as it’s not that different from any other wall in your home.
It’s entirely possible to make some rather costly errors in the process of painting your ceiling, which are avoidable if you are aware of them well in advance.
With that being the case, here are seven mistakes to avoid while painting your ceiling in Austin, TX in 2020
1. Not Setting Aside Enough Time To Paint Your Ceiling
Painting your ceiling is a time consuming process, and the problem is that many people jump right into it without realizing exactly how time consuming it can be.
One of the reasons that people make this mistake in calculating how long the ceiling painting process will take is that they do not fully realize the time that it takes for the ceiling to dry after they properly clean it, as well as how long it takes the primer coat to dry and each of the coats of paint to dry — although of course once you’ve applied the second coat, you’re pretty much good to go.
Be sure to make proper time assessment so that you don’t plan on painting your ceiling in a few hours and end up needing a couple of weekends for the project.
2. Not Properly Protecting The Floor
Though some people do not take the time to protect their floors prior to painting the ceiling, avoiding this important step is a big mistake.
Paint drips as you paint, as carefully and as smoothly as you may be applying the coat — and those drips will land on the floor where they will cause a stain, one which can be quite difficult to remove.
By using a heavy canvas drop cloth, you can protect the floor and if it has an upper plastic layer it will ensure that the paint will not get through to the floor.
3. Using An Overly Long Telescoping Arm On Your Paint Roller
When you paint the ceiling with a paint roller and you aren’t standing on a ladder to access the ceiling, the best thing you can do is to use a telescoping extender to help you get the ceiling.
You should be careful not to use one that is too long for your ceiling as then much of the handle will be in the base and that will make it heavier and more difficult to control.
4. Leaving The Furniture In The Room
If you are thinking about leaving furniture in the room while you are painting, have another think because furniture can be a major impediment while you are painting any part of the room, let alone the ceiling.
If you find it overly difficult to move furniture, what you can do is to at least get it to the center of the room and then cover it with a drop cloth so that it does not get paint on it.
5. Not Sanding
There are those who will tell you that sanding isn’t necessary and while you can of course paint your ceiling without sanding, you will get a better paint job if you sand first.
The smoother a surface, the easier it is to paint, and this is the case even when you are painting the ceiling.
This is why you can paint the ceiling without sanding it first, but it is advisable to sand.
6. Not Cleaning The Ceiling
Though your ceiling may look pristine from the distance of the ground, it’s probably pretty dirty and as this is the case definitely needs to be cleaned before you paint your ceiling.
Clean the ceiling well and allow it to dry before painting it.
7. Using A Makeshift Scaffolding System
If you’re trying to reach the ceiling and don’t have one, invest in a ladder that’s portable — don’t try to make your own scaffolding system using whatever you have around the house.
Sure, you can put a couple of stacks of books or other large objects and then put down some sort of beam, but you risk falling and getting injured — and on top of that, this sort of scaffolding system cannot compare to a ladder when it comes to portability.