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What do I need to know about painting the inside of my house?

1K views 10 replies 7 participants last post by  Living Slowly 
#1 ·
As I've said in a few other threads now, we just found out that we're moving into DH's great grandfather's house within the next month or so (he's still alive, just living with family because he's 95 and can't live alone anymore). Sorry for repeating myself, I just want to explain the situation before I jump into my question!


So, we've been told that we can paint all of the rooms (they need it!), and that we can paint them however we like (we're not going to own the house; we'll just be occupying it for the next few years, and fixing it up, because it's been majorly neclected). We've never lived in a house before, so we've never painted, and I don't know anyone IRL who has any insight on the "green" or "healthy" way to go about painting.

So, what do I need to know? Do I need to be aware of certain brands that offer a better alternative to the chemicals that may be in the popular paint brands, or is paint just paint?

FWIW, I'm not going to be doing any of the painting. Sure, I'm going to pick out the colors (with DH's help), but I told him that the painting is all his. I'm sure he will get the guys in his band to come help out too.
 
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#2 ·
You can use "low VOC" paint, which releases much less of the nasty stuff into the air as it dries. I believe it is much healthier and safer than regular paint, but it is more expensive. We just painted the interior of our house with Benjamin Moore "Eco Spec" paint (their low VOC line) and we could hardly smell any paint smell at all.
 
#4 ·
We use Sherwin Williams Harmony Paint - it is NO-VOC (Volatile Organic Compounds) which are the chemicals that are off-gassed from the paint and make your air toxic.

Here is the link to their site
http://www.sherwin-williams.com/do_i...greensmart.jsp

And here is the info about harmony:

Harmony® Interior Latex
Low odor and no-VOC formula
Ideal for use in children's and infants' rooms
Can also be applied in occupied rooms without causing disruption
Available in Eg-Shel, Flat and Semi-Gloss finishes

It is a bit more expensive than say a Home Depot paint, but with high quality paint you don't have to use as many coats and I think it looks much better. Plus you can breathe easier.
 
#5 ·
Make sure you buy a large bucket along with the paint. Any paint you buy of one color should be mixed together in the large bucket and then redistributed in to the cans (or a pan for painting). Otherwise you might find yourself with noticable color differences on your walls.


Good luck!
 
#7 ·
dark colors require more coats. for example, dark red may require 3 coats if the walls have not been painted for a while. Walls tend to SOAK up paint if they are not primed first. Primer will keep the paint from soaking into the wall, but if you paint every couple of years, you don't need it. I have found this to be true both with concrete walls and with sheetrock the hard way.

Also, invest in painters tape. tape off everything you don't want to paint. if you are going to do the ceiling it might be easier to rent a sprayer and spray everything rather than rolling the walls.

Paint all edge surfaces completely first (there are LOADS of different types of brushes and sponges out there now specific for corners, edges, etc). Once the edges are done, spray or roll out the large blank spaces. Not doing edges completely the first time can make the finished product look unfinished.

I have never used any of the products previous posters mentioned above (although I have painted quite a bit in the last few years- I think the paints recommended are VERY interesting!) but mainly I think it is because I was always painting places that were not occupied at the time (like I was moving in within a few weeks- or it was my classroom over the summer or something). Regardless, make sure the room is well ventilated. I know a lot of people on mothering downplay plastic, but at the end of the day, I have found nothing that works better than wrapping the brushes and rollers in plastic so they don't dry out for painting day 2.
 
#8 ·
Thanks so much for all of the info everyone! We're definitely looking into the Sherwin Williams paint, since it's VOC-free.
As far as colors go, so far the only one we know for sure on is the kitchen, which is going to be some kind of orange, to pick-up from the orange detail in the ancient
tile (I don't think it's been changed since the 60's).

So, I have another question now. Do we need to strip the pain that's on the walls right now? My mom says we do...but she's a know-it all, mostly about things she doesn't really know anything about, so I thought I should ask others too.
 
#9 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by Rikki Jean View Post
So, I have another question now. Do we need to strip the pain that's on the walls right now? My mom says we do...but she's a know-it all, mostly about things she doesn't really know anything about, so I thought I should ask others too.

That depends. If there is lead paint underneath the other layers, I would avoid it as much as possible. Lead paint is best "sealed" under other layers of non-lead paint. However, you DO need to "prep" the walls before you paint. Patch holes. Sand rough areas (especially after patching holes), clean off dirt. I have always had trouble with ink pens, personally. Kids' pen explodes on the wall, and it can't always wash off, and then the paint sort of smears it. Yuck. I usually have to let the paint set the ink in it, and then go back after it dries and repaint it.

Hope that helps!
 
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