It never fails to surprise homeowners just how economical and affordable it can be to hire professional painters. In fact, once you’ve taken into account the various equipment, supplies and time required to get the job done, it can often work out considerably cheaper to have the experts do the job on your behalf. Not only this, but there’s also the added bonus of being guaranteed superior results backed by an extensive warranty.

That being said, it may still be necessary to carry out initial preparatory work prior to the team’s arrival at your home. This all depends on who you work with and the kind of service package you decide on – some professional painting companies will take care of literally everything from start to finish. Others, however, will expect you to have pretty much everything in place and ready to go when they turn up at your door.

Suffice to say, it pays to be prepared and find out where you stand ahead of time!

There is one key benefit to organizing the preparatory work yourself, which is the way in which it can potentially reduce the overall costs of the painting service. The reason being that thorough prep has the potential to be one of the most time-consuming elements of the process, and in all areas of business these days, time is money! Make it as quick and easy as possible for your chosen painting team to get the job done and you may benefit from savings.

Once again though, this is something to take up with your chosen service provider before going ahead.

So for those who have made the decision to carry out their own preparations ahead of either a professional paint job or a DIY project, here’s a quick rundown of some of the most important things you need to do along the way:

1. Check For Lead Paint

First of all, if your home was built prior to 1978, there’s a strong possibility there may still be layers of lead paint underneath the current top coat of paint. For obvious reasons, it is crucially important to focus on health and safety, which means that the lead paint may need to be professionally removed before going ahead. As you will be unable to determine personally whether or not any lead paint is present, you will need to speak to a qualified expert and arrange an inspection. Subsequently, should there be any traces of lead paint present, it is advisable to leave it to the experts to remove them safely.

2. Prep For Paint

Make no mistake about it, preparation represents the single most important element of the job as a whole. Putting paint on any given surface is comparatively easy – making sure the surfaces are flawlessly prepared to accept the paint is a different job entirely. Poor preparation can lead to paint that chips, peels, cracks and generally deteriorates in no time at all. By contrast, solid preparation ensures paint sticks around and looks the part for the long-term. Exactly what you will need to do in terms of preparation will be determined by what is currently on your walls and the materials your walls are made of. In all instances though, they need to be flawlessly clean, comprehensively dry and free from imperfections to the largest possible extent. Grab yourself an online guide in accordance with the specifics of your walls, or speak to the experts for further advice,

3. Hiring Experts

When it comes to hiring professional teams for interior paint jobs, you need to be as clear and precise as possible with regard to what is provided. After all, there’s really no sense investing time and effort in the preparation process if this is included in the package as standard. Rather than taking things for granted, find out exactly what is included in the painter’s estimates and what constitutes an additional service charge. For example, moving heavy furniture may not be part of the package, just as extra-high ceilings may cost more to paint than a standard wall. Be as specific as possible and ask for concrete quotations.

4. Kids and Pets

For obvious reasons, it simply makes sense to ensure that all pets and children are kept as far away from the area to be painted as possible. The vast majority of paints and associated products these days are manufactured to be as safe as possible, but this won’t stop energetic kids and pets both making the job considerably harder and perhaps making unnecessary mess at the same time. When working with professional painters, it is always worth discussing the option of having the job carried out when you and the family as a whole will not be at home.

5. Clean Well

Last but not least, while it may seem counterproductive to extensively clean an area that is shortly going to become extremely messy once again, it is nonetheless important to give the entire room a good clean. The reason being that the more dust, dirt and debris there is in the air, the more likely it is that it will find its way onto your freshly painted surfaces. Try to ensure that the room is as clean as possible before the painting commences, paying particularly close attention to dusting and vacuuming.

For more information on any area of internal or external home painting, get in touch with the Homm CPS customer service team today.