You have just decided to update the inner look of your house, and now you are looking for an experienced team that would make a professional design and save you from a headache of doing the task by yourself. However, before painting and decorating contractors step in, there are a few things that need to be done in order to run the job smoothly.
Take down pictures and wall decorations
House walls usually serve as a gallery of family photos, posters and artwork. Take them all down to save time of the painting crew. You can store your treasured keepsakes in a portable storage container to protect the items from the paint or possible damage. Remember the saying of Shakespeare: “Better three hours too soon than one minute too late”? Do this task in advance, a day or two before the set date.
Store decorations
There are precious heirlooms at almost every house. Such objects as statues or antiques must be safely stored in another room, basement or attic. Carefully wrap the items in a bubble wrap to avoid dust and debris collection, then move them into a safe place. Keep in mind that some of the objects must be stored only in spaces that are free of moist. If you think your attic or garage is not the right space for family treasures, consider renting a temporary storage room.
Remove furniture
It is obvious that professional painting and decorating contractors require a space to do their job properly. Remove as much furniture and accessories as possible before the due date. Remember that if the job is more challenging, it costs more money. Removing your inner fittings will surely reduce the work of the crew, which may result in lowering the final costs. Plus, if you make it easy, the painting crew will work more efficiently.
Take care of electronics and appliances
Television, gaming set, sound system or refrigerator are valuable and expensive items. If you do not want them to get easily defaced or damaged while relocating them by the painting crew, you better take a good care of your essentials. Cover it with a large piece of material, or simply move all items to another room.
Secure your fabric items
The day before professional team steps in, take down the drapers and roll up rugs and carpets. While securing the rugs, you can wrap them up in a fabric tie (burlap straps may come in handy) and cover it with a drop cloth or a plastic foil. Otherwise, after the work is done, you may walk into a freshly painted room and find out your favourite and expensive carpet is covered with splash marks that are not that easy to remove.
A thorough cleaning before the crew arrives
You can also make sure that you did your best in order to prepare the walls to accept the paint. Professional painting and decorating contractors will surely perform a series of actions before applying a fresh coat of paint onto the wall, but once again – there is something that you can do to lower the bill.
A thorough cleaning on your own is a great idea. Wash your walls from top to bottom, remove cobwebs and vacuum the floors. You will make sure all surfaces are perfectly clean and there is no floating dust that is possible to land on the walls before the paint will dry.
Make sure no one is home
Professional painting and decorating contractors need at least a couple of hours to finish the job. It takes time for the paint to dry before a second coat can be applied. If the task is more demanding or a large surface needs to be painted, the job is possible to take at least two days.
If you have any children at home, you can ask them to stay overnight at your family’s or friends’ place. Such plans will keep them from being underfoot, which may slow down the painting crew. What about your home pets? You can always ask your neighbour to keep an eye on them in his or her house. If your cats or dogs are not environment-friendly, a kennel is another good idea.
In other words, make sure no one is home while the painters are doing their job. You will avoid exposure to the fumes of your beloved ones and will make sure everything is going according to the schedule.
