To decorate the bloody house myself?

[irisetta]

So we bought a gorgeous fixer upper just before prices went nuts post-pandemic, October 2020. Began to the fixing-upping in May 2021. Build is now finished, we have our 2 storey back/side extension, single storey to front. It drained us of every penny and then some.

The whole living in it as basically a building site inside still is driving me mad 😭 DH won't pay another penny for decorators, given we've spent so much on the build itself. He's great doing it himself, but as he's the sole breadwinner (for now - 2 DCs, one with additional needs) - he can only make progress at weekends. Too slow! I can do it! I'm not a bloody idiot! Even with school holidays, I can get on with it a bit, surely? AIBU?!

Of course you can do it. Anything you're not sure of look up YouTube videos. Good luck.

I should add, I have zero experience of sanding/painting, but I'm sure it's not rocket science. That's basically what we are looking at now - all the rooms have been skimmed.

He's reluctant to let me do it. Keeps muttering about the kids being in the way. They are 6 and 7 now, the additional needs one is fine with a healthy dose of Minecraft (as long as it's not too frequent). I just need to learn the basic techniques, surely?!

Of course! Not much you can’t do with knowledge, the right gear and YouTube.

I fixed a broken window lock today. I’ve wallpapered, installed my washing machine, restored various bits of furniture. I also replaced a bath tap that stopped working (thermostat broke) and hung a heavy mirror.

Painting is a doddle.

I'd love to do it myself but I'm worried about it not being perfect because it will bug me. I'm sure it's really quite simple, and most people could probably manage it though. I couldn't because the bloody hairy dog would get his hair in it while it's wet haha. Go for it. If it's really bad at all, I'm sure you can pay to have it touched up eventually.

Just get stuck in. Have a look at some YouTube videos and just give it a go. What's the worst that can happen?

Start somewhere less important (like the downstairs loo) and have a go. You can always go back over it at the end of the process when you have got a bit better. Just remember that prepping well is 90% of the battle and you tube videos are awesome for learning, but some of them are just dreadful and make everything look quick and easy. You want to watch the ones that warn you about all the pitfalls and are realistic about how long it takes

Surely the vast majority of people paint their own houses? It's not rocket science. Sure to get an absolutely perfect finish you might want to get someone in, but the quality of the finish is all down to the prep before you paint.

You honestly can and don’t let your dh tell you otherwise. Maybe start with a day together if it would help for you to see how he preps/ does a first watered down coat on fresh plaster etc but then get some decent rollers and paint and get cracking!

If the vast majority painted their own houses, how would professional painters make any money. Clearly there is a demand for it. I'm sure a lot of people just don't want to paint their own house so won't try. If I had the money, I'd obviously rather pay someone else to do it because I'd rather spend my time doing something else on the weekend.

You're absolutely right you can do it! We had a big extension over 2020 and couldn't then afford decorators so did it ourselves, with children of similar ages.

Saved over £4k painting the outside render ourselves plus we did all the fascia and soffit prep/priming/painting under the roof line. After that I painted all walls, ceilings and woodwork inside. Lots of YouTube videos, more time on prep than painting and always plan time for washing out brushes/rollers at the end.

Painting is easy particularly if you are naturally quite a detail person.
I always have at least one more coat then suggested on tin.
Take your time to prep, work around the edges carefully (cut in) and do as many coats are needed for a good finish.
It time consuming and can be physically tiring.
But definitely doable.

You can totally do it! If you have freshly plastered walls you’ll need to apply a mist coat first (use cheaper trade paint for this) before your final colour. Painting everything white at first is cheapest, less likely to show mistakes and you’ll also be able to see how the light affects your new build works etc. personally I’d use eggshell on your wood/skirtings etc as it is hard wearing if you have kids. Dulux do a quick drying one (30mins) which is worth the money. Buy the best quality brushes you can afford. Roller ceilings and walls for speed and use an extendable pole. Paint pads are also great. Buy roller tray liners. Also use the cheap ish CSI style overalls with the hood if you are Rollering ceilings as it saves washing paint out of your hair. Good luck!

I’ve always done our painting. I’m on to my 5th whole house now. Start somewhere small that doesn’t matter too much if it looks a bit rough. I second using rollers, it’s much faster. Prep before starting, like covering everything you don’t want painted.

If where you live is anyway like mine, you won't get a decorator for love nor money. I have friends who have been waiting 6 months for a decorator to start, they have agreed a price, but he just can't start. Painting new plaster is a doddle, use a roller, prep properly and take it easy. I find the loo the hardest room because normally you just can't move around easily. A large empty room is far easier as you can just go around with room to spare for all the equipment. If you are painting ceilings which are already white, then you can buy paint that goes on pink and dries white. Very handy as you can see the bits you missed!

I decided to do this the other week. I am not a practical person. It looks pretty crap to be honest! I didn't really know what I was doing and there is lots of paint where there shouldn't be. Just a warning it's not as easy as I thought it would be. Don't even mention the polyfilla attempts...

Could I just ask you about that mirror… I’ve inherited a rimless one I’m not too confident about hanging (apologies for derail)

Thank you for the thread OP, Im in a similar dilemma, can’t afford decorators and half house really needs doing. Minecraft summer holidays a distinct possibility!

Of course you can do it! Just pace yourself so doesn’t overwhelm. I’d aim to do a couple of hours a day so you still have a life outside decorating, so have a plan, aim to sand paintwork and fill gaps one day, undercoat the next, then top coat, either room at a time or skirting then door frame. I found by doing it like this, it actually gets done! Buy really good paintwork brushes, selection of sizes for awkward places and decent rollers. Good luck.

Just do it. You'll be fine. What's the absolute worst that can happen?

Excellent advice from @Netaporter.

You really need to do the mist undercoat first.

Giving a couple of coats of undercoat with inexpensive white paint will give you a great base.

Stick with neutral colours if you are unsure, rather than make expensive mistakes.

25 years ago we were you after gutting an old house.

The advice we got was to white wash all the walls with several coats of plain white undercoat and live with it, and the light, before deciding on what colours we wanted.

The house looked fresh and was a blank canvas.

As I went with some deep period shades, they would have been time consuming to repaint and change.

Also consider one of those spray painters that can be bought or rented.

They do the job in a third of the time and should definitely make the job of misting, undercoating much easier.

Finally buy the best paint you can afford.

The fact you have lovely smooth skimmed walls will definitely help! They are a pleasure to paint on! I found the concept of mist coats a bit 🤷‍♀️ but you can get a ready mixed version from Screwfix - £20 for a big tub. Agree don’t buy the cheapest brushes or you’ll be picking bristles off the walls as you go (learnt that the hard way)

How about he takes some annual leave and you blitz together?
Even better if you can get some childcare support.

When we first moved into our house we painted it all ourselves ok-ish. A few years later we could then afford a decorator to do it to a high standard.

I feel your pain! We've done something similar and had 12 rooms to pain as the whole house was re-plastered at the finish - we bought a tonne of white paint from Wickes and paid some guys to do it, it wasn't too bad financially, but obviously it's free if you do it! saying that we had all new skirting and doors which DH varnished and painted before putting them on so that made life a bit easier.
I'd say roll your sleeves up, get decent rollers or hire a paint sprayer

Make sure the mist coat (the first coat of paint) you do is really watered down - don’t miss this step and check you follow you tube videos that are painting on fresh plaster. It is very messy but completely doable!

The plaster is very absorbent & if you go in with a normal paint for the first coat- or don’t water the mist coat down enough you will end up with paint peeling off (learnt from experience!) .

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