Have I done it? Once or twice. *wink

I'm happy to hear you paid someone a lot of money last time. Professional painters are entitled to a living wage. :)

I don't have the time to share what I have learned in 35 years, but I'm linking you to an article that will coach you along the way.

Send us pictures when done!

Here is a link that might be useful: How to Paint

Sure, you can paint the house yourself. I wouldn't suggest taking on the whole house at once, though, or you will burn yourself out. Set as a goal one room at a time. Rest, repeat when you're absolutely ready.

by the way, I think you made a great decision hiring a professional the first time around. The painter had to remove all the wallpaper, and do the whole house at once. That's just a huge task.

Good luck.

YES! Yes you can paint a room yourself. I have painted rooms off and on throughout my life, and when I was preparing to paint the inside of a new house, I spent a lot of time on this forum doing research. There is a wealth of information here. I will look around my computer and see if I still have what I collected.

After reading as much as you can, you should put together a list of supplies that you will need:
Besides a high quality brush, your best tool will be a 7 inch (not a 9 inch) roller and a pole to extend your reach. A 7 inch roller weighs less and gives you more control - important for most woman because we have less upper body strength than men.

Don't buy a paint tray, buy a bucket and screen. It is easier to move around and you won't step in it! The professional painters use a 5 gallon bucket, I use a smaller bucket and screen. Buy these when you buy the roller so that you can test that the roller will fit in the bucket with the screen.

brushwork, I read the article you posted "How to Paint". Excellent article - thanks so much for sharing that.

Some tips.

Don't apply pressure to the roller. Lay the paint on and off, don't press it on. :) Too much pressure will leave ridges.

Keep a wet edge. When you start, you must end in a corner before a break. Same applies to trim when brushing.

When brushing, be sure to spread paint from dry to wet edge to avoid lap marks. A properly loaded brush will spread about 6" of paint.

A quality brush that I recommend is a Purdy Chinex Glide.
Roller frame - Wooster and roller cover a 50/50 wool-polyester, 1/2" nap.

A gallon of paint covers about 350-400 SF. Nothing more than that. Apply second coat the same thickness as the first coat. Paint two FULL coats.

Paint the trim before the walls. It's much easier to cut in around trim than it is to cut in to the wall.

So great to have brushworks posting on the forum again! :)

The good news is if you paid someone a lot before, one could assume that they did a really good job prepping and painting. Hopefully, you got the quality you paid for.

Which is the perfect situation for you as a DIYer to follow. You know what a great paint job looks like, the walls are in good shape to start with, all you have to do is follow the steps for proper prep and paint, use quality tools and paint.

Just don't rush. Plan on taking your time and you absolutely can paint yourself. ;)

Don't buy a paint tray, buy a bucket and screen. It is easier to move around and you won't step in it! The professional painters use a 5 gallon bucket,

Not going to argue you're point but the last part of this statement is just plain false.Some of us find the bucket cumbersome and dirty( ie, too much crap builds up and gets on the wall). I have been a professional painter for 20 years and DO NOT use a bucket and I know plenty more that don't also.

I prefer the professional paint tray with liner. It doesn't make sense to pay a helper or spend time scrubbing a bucket when you can easily toss a liner in the trash and do something productive.

The high quality acrylic enamels bond well to those buckets, usually requiring a scrub brush and time to get them clean enough for another paint.

See! Another one, so there are at the very least 2 of us!

I will use pans for small rooms and buckets for larger areas. Moving that pan around is a pain in the butt it's true and those paint tray liners cost money. Really I think that most pros use both, so it's unfair to say they only use buckets. When rolling from the bucket I try to not whack my frame all over the sides of the bucket too as I am getting dips of paint. If you only need to clean out the bottom of the buckets, cleanup is easier.

james, I would not recommend trying to paint entire rooms with only a brush.

I use a metal tray and line it with heavy duty aluminum foil. I throw the foil away when I'm done. The tray stays clean. I sometimes wrap the foil the around the roller cover when I pull it off the frame so I don't get my hands full of paint.

Painting yourself can be very difficult. You need to use a mirror or you can't see some of your parts. The trouble with using a mirror for this is that you have to learn to do the motions because of the image reversal of the mirror. It will probably help if you are used to applying make-up. Really, it would be easier to get a friend to paint you.

Ionized - LMAO!!

Everyone else, thank you so much. I actually decided it was a bad idea but have now (after getting some quotes) decided that maybe I can do the kids rooms myself. I think the professionals will have to do the big rooms :).

Another question - I have asked friends for recommendations and seems like most don't use the big companies but uninsured handyman kind of people to paint. I am not fully comfortable with this. Would you be?

There are painters who fall between those two categories. Small companies that carry insurance.

There is a thread on another forum on the subject of using uninsured workmen. One thought is that if you have a good multi-million dollar umbrella insurance policy - which isn't that expensive to get - you can chance using someone without insurance.

I actually decided it was a bad idea
Well, why not do the kid's rooms first and just see how you get along?

I paint for myself and have painted for several friends, with them helping a bit. Might you have a good friend who could come over and help you, get you started, or show you how? Maybe they could even loan you their 'gear'. I'd come and help you and get you going, if you were close, as I really like to paint, and help 'painting challenged' folks.

My gear includes
Paint
stir stick(s)
opener
hammer to close lid between uses..
newspapers
drop cloths...I just use old sheets and have never had a major mishap, so they handle drips and spatter just fine.
Paint trays...sometimes I use a plastic liner (and then clean it) and other times I line the pan with heavy aluminum foil
comfy roller handle...some are more comfortable than others and I've always used the 9" and never thought of it as heavy.
A few smaller brushes and I like using an artist brush (about 3/8") for trimming (where the colored walls meet the white ceiling) and for trimming...I don't tape
good 'painting rags' ...I like torn up cotton t shirts for wiping and little bit that might get on the trim.
Butter bowl for trim/cutting in painting.
Big butter bowl and screwdriver for holding switchplates, outlet covers and screws.

I often have a (painting) lamp, with an extension cord on it and no shade that I can easily move around the room, in case the lighting is not so good.

I think the professionals will have to do the big rooms :).
For big or large areas, I break it down, and just do a wall or two at a time, and do more as time allows. Once a wall or 2 is finished, furniture and wall decor can be put back in place.

I have asked friends for recommendations and seems like most don't use the big companies but uninsured handyman kind of people to paint. I am not fully comfortable with this.
I'd be fine with it, if I got a really a good recommendation from someone I knew quite well. I'm all the time getting recommendations from my friends who are 'in the know' about who all is good at what....computer repair person, auto mechanic, roofer, etc.

You may find that the hardest part is picking out the paint color.

Oh...I know that folks who paint for a living are not going to do it like I do, so I'll just say I a small time painter and do what works best for me

You can do it gf! Good luck, and keep us posted please.

Sue

Ionized - LMAO!!

Everyone else, thank you so much. I actually decided it was a bad idea but have now (after getting some quotes) decided that maybe I can do the kids rooms myself. I think the professionals will have to do the big rooms :).

Another question - I have asked friends for recommendations and seems like most don't use the big companies but uninsured handyman kind of people to paint. I am not fully comfortable with this. Would you be?

as chemocurl says, start with the kids room and see how you go. A big part of DIY, and not just painting, is having the confidence to have a go at it. Women in particular talk themselves out of things like this because it is a bit outside our comfort zone and we lack the confidence to just jump in. You might do the kids room and decide you hate painting or just don't have the time to tackle it yourself but then you'll know, but you might enjoy it and it is a very handy skill to learn because there will always be something that needs painting.

I have painted myself and I have hired professionals. It depends on the size of the job and the difficulty of the job. I will say, there is nothing better than the paint job of a professional. Their lines are crisp and clean.

I recently discovered "frog tape" and I think this stuff is just amazing. I can get that solid line that the professionals get and it makes the job so much nicer.

Even with the tape, there are just rooms I would not tackle and I have been painting my own spaces for 30 years. (my husband wont touch a paint brush, he hates it. I couldnt always afford to hire a professional so its do it or live without it) I do bedrooms and bathrooms, but my livingroom has 20 foot ceilings. I wouldnt even attempt this room. This is for the professionals.

Its like anything else, people can do it themselves and it can turn out pretty decent, but nothing is like the job of a professional, in this profession or any other one.