1. Painting—should you hire a professional or set off on a DIY adventure?

Take the following factors into consideration when deciding if youll do the painting work on your own or call a professional. Although youll get the urge to do everything single-handedly, dont, and heres why.

1.1. Scope of work

Whether youll hire a professional or do the work on your own depends on its scope. If you plan to whitewash the whole flat or a two-floor house, ask yourself if you have that kind of time. Dont forget that itll take some time to do the preparation, and that you should apply several coatings. Its doable if you just want to whitewash a room or two, provided you invest all the free time youve got. However, if a bigger area and scope are involved, its best you contact an expert.

1.2. Substrate

Whitewashing a completely new house with smooth surfaces will save you a lot of time and work youd normally spend on the preparation. However, if youre dealing with old walls with peeling wallpapers and fallen off plaster, the work will be much more demanding and itll last much longer. Stripping, filling, skimming, grinding and all other wall and ceiling preparation works require knowledge, experience, and tools. If youre not sure youve got the right skills, call a professional.

1.3. Painting facades and other exterior surfaces

Needless to say, its a lot more complicated to paint exterior surfaces. You dont have to worry about the weather, moisture, and temperature changes when doing an indoor job. Even ceilings are not that hard to reach because theyre set low. Facade painting is more challenging because of hard-to-reach spots, and you have to watch the weather. Youd probably do a good job painting the front door. But if you have a total transformation in mind, youll need professional help.

2. How to choose the right painter?

If youre fully aware that you lack time and knowledge to paint the house on your own and you decide to hire a painter, heres some advice.

2.1. Where to find a painter?

Talk to your friends. Maybe some of them had their house painted recently or know a good painter. If you hired an architect or an interior designer for indoor works, you may ask them for a contact. They surely know and work with different professionals. Of course, you can always visit Daibau.ng and leave an enquiry or look for a company in your area offering such services. You can also view their reviews left by other users.

2.2. Get more than one offer!

We recommend getting at least three offers from three different painters. This way you can ensure that the price they quote is fair and competitive. You can post an enquiry on Daibau. This way youll get responses from several professionals, so youll save time and energy.

2.3. What should an offer include?

Once you decide who you want to hire, but before the works actually begin, you should make the agreement in writing, too. It should specify exactly what work is to be done, the method, cost of materials, quantity, and the deadline. The painter should also specify whether travel expenses, furniture and flooring protection, and cleaning are included in the price. The more detailed the offer, the better, as theres less space for unpleasant surprises.

2.4. Business licence, insurance, and warranty

When youre interviewing a painter for your house (especially in case of large areas to be painted), its a good idea to check if they hold all required licences and permits, if they have a registered business, insurance, etc. In case of a work-related injury or damage to property, insurance is the best way to ensure compensation.

2.5. Preparation

If you hire a professional, youll have much less work to do. Youll need to move the furniture and protect it, remove switches, sockets, and lighting. You might want to do this, plus cleaning all by yourself, or you can ask the painter to do this for you. Just make sure its clear who does what.

2.6. Payment terms

As a rule of thumb, you should avoid working with painters who ask for the entire amount upfront. However, youll probably be asked to pay 20–30% in advance, which is the cost of materials, and the rest is paid once the work is done. We advise you pay the advance only after the painter comes to your house with their tools. All payment details should be specified in advance and included in the offer or contract.

3. Types of works

Besides painting your walls and ceilings, a painter can do lots of other things. They can hang wallpapers, fix the facade and other exterior elements, apply different coatings, make different patterns using various tools (roller, stencils, etc.), install edging strips, borders, paint different shapes, deal with plastic elements, decorations, use different decorative skimming, painting, and pasting techniques, plaster interior and exterior areas using various techniques, paint various wooden and metal elements, etc. There are also pretty skilled professionals specialized in restoration of historic buildings or valuable objects, making noticeboards, hoardings, etc. They can also use their experience and knowledge to give you some interior design advice.

4. Internal wall whitewashing

4.1. Preparation & protection

Before the painting work starts, the furniture should be moved away from the walls, while lighting, switches, and sockets should be removed. Also, all areas (furniture, flooring) at risk of overspray should be covered, typically with a dust sheet. We recommend you use a thicker sheet for the floor to protect the flooring from ladder scuff marks.

4.2. Surface preparation

Surface preparation mostly depends on the state of the wall/ceiling in question and the desired results. If there are any remaining wallpaper pieces, they must be removed together with a damaged plaster layer. The painter will also remove all worn coatings using various chemical and thermal surface treatment products. Theyll also take care of mould if they come across it. Some minor repair work might be necessary, such as skimming and grinding. In short, theyll do whatever it takes to make the surfaces completely level, even, and clean, and coat them with protective agents to make it easier to apply paint.

4.3. Painting

Before the painting starts and once all preparatory work is done, the painter will put a masking tape over all wall, window, and door edges and frames, floors and corners. Theyll use a self-adhesive tape to mark the edge between different colours. The final step is painting, which usually involves application of several layers, allowing enough drying time in between. The painter will also make sure the paint is durable and the surface protected with various anti-mould solutions and similar products.

4.4. Cleaning

When all the work is done, the painter will remove the masking tapes and dust sheets. Theyll clean all surfaces and remove any overspray. The painter usually takes care of the waste, too, such as wallpapers, plaster, sheets, tapes, etc.