Get matched with top exterior painters in Lewistown, MO

If you're hoping to save time by simply painting over your front door, we have bad news. This usually won’t give you the results that you want. You need to fully prep your door so that the paint adheres to the surface. If you don't sand and clean your door, you may find that you need to repaint your door sooner than you would if you had prepared the door properly in the first place.

If you’ve already installed your carpet and your baseboards need a fresh coat, painter’s tape can help ensure the paint stays on the wall and off the flooring. Be sure to add a margin of 2 to 3 inches of tape along the carpet to give yourself extra space for any unexpected spills or drips. You should also lay down a plastic tarp and secure it as close to the wall as possible with painter’s tape.

The time it takes to prep and paint a room depends wholly on the project's details. You can expect to spend at least two days on the job, including one for prepping and priming and one for applying two coats of paint. If the room is complex with many features to work around, expect to spend an additional day.

One gallon of paint covers about 400 square feet. Assuming that you have four equal walls that are 8 feet high, a 12x12 room will need one gallon of paint per coat. The number of coats you need will depend on the condition of the wall and whether you’re painting over an existing color or starting fresh.