PAINTING TIPS

Al Carrell: Painting is one of the most inexpensive ways to remodel an existing home. It really does make a great difference. And if you're building your new house, it's a great opportunity for you to be able to start off with colors that you really like. Here are some tips for painting the interior of your house that will save you time and money.

First, I recommend talking to your local paint supplier for the latest colors and techniques. There are so many colors to choose from, and you're going to want to make sure that you use the right paint for the right room.

Okay, let's talk about paint. There two basic types of paint used in the home, latex and oil based, also called alkyd. Latex is easy to work with, has a long lasting finish, applies quickly, dries fast and tools clean up with water. Latex is the choice of most do-it-yourselfers because you can apply it over properly primed drywall, wood or masonry. Oil based paints are harder to work with, but some people think they're more durable, more stain resistant, and offer better adhesion. The draw back is, you're going to need solvents to clean up oil based paint tools. Latex and oil based paints have a full range of finishes from velvet flat to durable, easy clean semi-gloss. For painting wood work, you can use either latex or oil based paint, but be sure to always prime bare wood. I recommend easy to clean semi-gloss finishes, but if you have kids, your walls are going to take a lot of wear and tear, and a flat paint would be easier for touch ups. For ceilings, us a specially made ceiling paint. It has a flat finish to hide lap marks, irregularities and it rolls on with little splatter and never yellows over time.

People often ask me, what kind of paint should they use in the kitchen or the bathroom? And how much paint should they buy? These are really good questions and they ought to be asked when you buy the paint. Here are some tips to remember. The kitchen and bath both need a moisture resistant paint, and both latex and oil based will do just fine. How much paint to buy? First determine your room's square footage by measuring the distance around the room, the perimeter. Multiply that by the height of the room. The ceiling area is length times width of the room. If you use a different paint for doors and trim, you need to subtract the area of the doors and the windows from the total area. For doors, approximately 21 square feet and window frames, usually 15 square feet. The paint can label will tell you approximately the area that one gallon of the paint will cover. Divide your wall area by that figure, and the result will be the number of gallons required for one coat.

If you're going to be doing the painting yourself, remember that you paint the ceilings first, the walls second, the woodwork and the trim third and the floors, if they're going to be painted, will be the last thing. If you're going to paint it yourself, or if you're going to have painters do it, be sure to save some of the leftover paint for touchups later on.

Here's a neat trick. When you get ready to put the paint away, you want to get a tight seal, so no air gets inside there. So take some Saran Wrap, put it over the top and then put your lid on. And that gives you a real good seal. Incidentally, Saran Wrap comes in handy if you want to take a break. You don't have to clean up the brush or the roller, just wrap them in Saran Wrap, put them in the refrigerator and they'll be ready to go when you come back from lunch.

Episode 40 1996 - 97 Season

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