House Painting with a Broom
Posted May 5, 2008 @ 4:25 pm, Viewed by 94 Visitors, Read 102 Times.
While on vacation years ago in another country, a local resident’s car drove by where we were sitting on the balcony. It was hand painted-- a bright lime green no less. One of my party very drolly made this comment, “Painted with a broom.” I never forgot that moment. It was too funny, even though I felt sympathy for the driver.
Now, years later as a Realtor, I have seen the same phenomenon occur with houses. Last year, I had to visit a medical specialist’s office a few times. This medical group acquired a really cool craftsman style home and made offices out of it. You could tell they didn’t use an interior decorator. But the furniture and decorations were simple, warm and cozy for patients.
However, the paint job was something else. When you sat down in the waiting room, the first thing you noticed was the beautiful tiger oak fireplace mantel—and the trim paint that was dried on the side of it from a careless painter. That three inch swatch of paint just sang to me. It was unnerving. Here was this beautiful room and a fireplace marred by carelessness. It made me want to look around for more. I found more too. Roller marks on the ceiling, uneven lines between two colors, beautiful brass hinges painted over and trim paint over-brushed on walls.
On one of my visits I couldn’t resist talking to the nurse about what a neat house they had for offices. I found out from the conversation, that the staff had great fun one weekend having a paint party prior to their opening. It amazed me; even highly educated professionals such as doctors could not “see” the mess they created and the message it sent to their patients. The message it sent to me was that on some level sloppiness was ok. That’s not the professional message I think the doctors really wanted their patients to have.
Please be careful if you are going to paint your house to get ready to sell. I recently showed a house to a buyer and this potentially nice house was suffering from an owner-applied, bad paint job. Ditto here the mistakes from the doctor’s office and add wall color lines that were over cut into the fireplace grout and paint smears on the brick of the fireplace. The buyer made the comment, “This house is a mess, I would have to totally repaint it and I don’t know if I could ever get that paint off the fireplace.”
You can find many articles on how to apply paint if you are going to do it yourself to save money. But here are some tips that you won’t find in most of those articles:
1. Only paint your house if you can paint as well as a professional.
I am serious about this. You can do this, but you must be careful and accurate. My professional painter, James, can cut perfectly straight lines between a ceiling and wall with a four inch brush. And he can do it quickly and accurately. I can’t. However, I can cut perfectly straight lines with a much smaller, angled brush for edging, if I have patience and go slowly. I also use teeny art brushes and q-tips too; obviously I am not a painter who will finish a room in a day. Keep a wet paper towel with you at all times and if you make a mistake, quickly wipe it away. You can paint as accurately as a professional, but it takes a lot of time, patience and focus.
A. Never, ever, have a paint party.
You cannot control the outcome, especially after a few brewskies and pizza. The party goers do not have the same vested interest in your house as you do. Sure they want to help, but do you know what their painting skills are? Will they listen to you when you tell them your expectations and will they follow through?
During the middle of home improvement projects, I had a relative that would say things to me such as, “If they are looking that close, it’s their problem.” If I asked him to adjust, he would give me that look that indicated I was nagging him. So I stopped asking him for help on detail work and let him take out the garbage, mow the lawn, etc. Was it a passive aggressive way to get out of work? Just don’t go there.
Test the logic this way: Would you have a paint party to paint your car? Of course you wouldn’t, so why would you do this for an even bigger investment?
B. Never let your kids help you paint.
I have heard many parents say it would be a good learning experience for their children. Again, use the logic, “Would you let your child paint your car?” Your house is the bigger investment. Let the kids learn to paint at school or on some throw away items. Older children, teenagers, might be the exception if you have taught them to your standards. (Paint as well as a professional). But if you trust and use their skills, inspect frequently, while the paint is still wet!
C. Keep small children, cats and dogs out of the room when you paint.
A few years back, my outside cat approached me when I was redoing my deck with oil based stain. He had squeezed though the railings that I had just painted and was covered head to toe in new cedar deck stain. The only way I could safely get it off of him, was to cut it out of his fur. These little creatures love you and want to see what you are doing, so make sure they are safely sequestered and they won’t paint themselves and other parts of your house too.
2. If you can’t paint like a professional painter, then hire one.
A really good housepainter can make your house sparkle. There are many excellent paint contractors in Roseburg and other areas of Douglas County. There are some professionals who are stinkers too, however. So ask around, and get references. Ask contractors and local paint store owners who they would use to paint their own house. Ask friends and neighbors who have homes you admire. Get bids and ask the painter if they have former clients you could call for references. But get a good painter you can trust. James is a painter I trust. He will redo the exterior for me when the time comes and I recommend him to everyone who asks.
If you are selling your house, don’t paint it just to “Get ‘er done” A nice home with a bad paint job is singing way out of tune to prospective buyers.
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Diana Peterson is a licensed Oregon Broker with Prudential Real Estate Professionals in Roseburg, Oregon. Douglas County living is the best kept secret in Oregon. Read More
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Hi Diana, When I was a kid my mom forced my brother and I to paint the house and she didn't pay us. You get what you pay for. We had no motivation to do a good job and she got a cruddy paint job!