thinking I might have a go at painting DS's bedroom

[mckenzie]

I've never done painting before.
I've never done DIY before.
I've got the time to do it.
I've got the willingness to do it.
DH won't want me to do it because he's a perfectionist.
Usually decorator is busy for months.

Shall i have a go? Any tips please?

Definitely! It's easy. I enjoy decorating.

What are your walls like? It's the prep that's the hard bit.

What are you thinking of doing? Painting walls? woodwork? Wallpapering?

hi PastaB. That's encouraging. Just painting but one wall a different colour. Walls, ceiling and wood work. There are a few cracks that need sorting but i could always get the odd job man in to do those first maybe. Or should I do that myself too?

If they are just hairline cracks I'd do it yourself and just use a tube of ready done Pollyfilla and decent quality sandpaper. Deeper cracks are easy enough but you need to build them up with layers of filler which takes longer and you probably need a bit of practice to get good at them. Use a wallpaper scrapper to smooth the filler on so it isn't too thick when you come to sand it.

Ceiling painting is easy. Doing one wall a different colour is fine because you just mask off the joining walls. I'd reckon on doing two coats. I've never decorated a room and not found two coats to give the best finish regardless of the manufacturer's 'one coat' claim.

I find woodwork very therapeutic light sand and then just paint away using the mantra 'a little dab will do' as wood paint goes a long way.

My top tips are buy decent quality brushes and roller sleeves and wrap them in cling film overnight once they've been used. They won't need washing until you've finished the job then. I find washing brushes and roller sleeves hard. Feels like there is always paint left in them.

Good luck!

it's all in the boring bit - the prep. Fill and sand, fill and sand again. Cover everything that can't be removed before you start.

don't cut corners - unscrew light fittings, switches and sockets (turn off power first), pull them away from the wall and masking tape round them. When doing skirtings, pull up the carpet away from them and weight it down. Leave it two days after the last coat before putting it back.

always two coats - 'one coat' emulsion paint is an expensive waste of time. If you are doing a big colour change, you will need three coats. To save money, do the first coat in budget white emulsion.

I hate decorating, but have done plenty of it unfortunately. It's definitely worth taking the time to prep everything well, even though it's tempting to get onto the actual painting.

Pastab is right- Don't buy really cheap brushes otherwise you'll be picking stray hairs off the walls for weeks afterwards.

Good luck. It's really worth it once it's all done.

Have you checked out YouTube? There's always some good stuff in there for first-timers at almost anything. It'll show you stuff like 'laying off' which is nothing to do with giving people the sack.

Everyone's right, it's all in the prep.

Fill the small cracks in with ready made polyfilla in a tube, scrape off the excess and give a light sanding once it's dried. Give the walls a wipe down to remove any dust etc, same for the skirting. Unscrew the light switch, plug sockets etc. I always start with the ceiling, then the coving, then the woodwork and then the walls. One coat is rubbish, it always needs two sometimes 3 if it's a bright colour.

I love decorating and have just sat down from re-doing the downstairs loo.

wow! Thank you all
I'm so inspired I want to start now!!

I dont know whether to tell DH what I'm planning and get him on board or just wait until next week when the DCs are back at school and start it anyway and surprise him!!