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The following describes our process for preparing a room for either ceiling painting or ceiling textures.  This assumes the home is not in a new construction state.  Each project will vary but we’ve found this process provides amazing results.

Tools Needed:

Many of these tools can be purchased from your local hardware store.  We’ve included links to our Amazon store, which helps support our how-to program.

1.  Pre-Arrival

Please refer to service standards post for instructions on how to communicate with a client and organize for a job.

2. Room Prep

Option 1 for Ceiling Painting

  • Covering floors depends on the amount of sq ft being painted and the availability of drop clothes.  If the number of drop clothes are adequate, cover flooring with drop clothes.  Furniture or items raised off the flooring should be covered with .31 mil poly.  You can also use the .31 mil poly to cover the floors and tack to floor with intertape.  This should be avoided if drop clothes are sufficient to cover floors to avoid material waste.
  • Run 2 inch intertape tight to ceiling line.  Press firmly on upper half of tape leaving bottom half lose and open for plastic.  If masking over a brick fireplace or hard to tape areas use scotch hard to stick surfaces tape.
  • Run 12 ft by 400 ft by .31 mil poly around room by tacking under 2 inch tape.  Unravel plastic along room to make attaching plastic faster.
  • Put shoe covers over shoes while inside the protected work area.  When walking outside, remove shoe covers.  Before flooring is protected, remove shoes if working in an occupied home.

Option 2 for Ceiling Textures

  • Cover floor with 12ft by 100ft 4 mil poly.  Tape each seam with 2 inch inertape.  Tack edges of floor plastic with intertape to base trim on walls.  If taping on wood floors use scotch blue delicate tape.  You may need to place delicate tape on wood floor and then tack intertape on top of the delicate tape you placed on the floor.  This will only be necessary in high humidity which results in problems with the delicate tape sticking to the plastic.
  • Run intertape 1/2 inch below ceiling line.  Press firmly on upper half of tape leaving bottom half lose and open for plastic.  If masking over a brick fireplace or hard to tape areas use scotch hard to stick surfaces tape.
  • Run 12 ft by 400 ft by .31 mil poly around room by tacking under 2 inch tape.  Unravel plastic along room to make attaching plastic faster.
  • Run 1 1/2 inch (3M exterior water proof) tape over scotch general purpose tape.  You are getting closer to ceiling leaving about 1/8 inch of wall color exposed.  Its important to come down on wall a bit so new ceiling texture isn’t sealed into the tape.  Since moisture is added to ceiling during most of the following steps, water proof tape helps to prevent the plastic from becoming loose and releasing from the wall which is a real bummer when it happens.
  • In occupied homes, place filters over furnace return vents.
  • Put shoe covers over shoes while inside the work area.  When walking outside, remove shoe covers.  Your shoes will collect drywall mud and if you do not cover shoes you will track mud onto the customers driveway.

3.  Next Steps

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