How to Prepare Your Home for Professional Painters

You have chosen your colors, scheduled your painting project, and the crew is arriving soon. Now what? A little preparation on your end goes a long way toward ensuring the painting process goes smoothly, finishes on time, and delivers the best possible results. This guide walks you through exactly what to do before the painters arrive, what the painting crew handles, and how to make the entire experience stress-free.

The Pre-Painting Checklist: What Homeowners Should Do

1. Move Furniture Away from Walls

The most important preparation task is clearing the work area. For interior painting, move furniture at least four to five feet away from the walls being painted, or ideally into the center of the room. If a room is too full to shift furniture inward, move pieces to an adjacent room that is not being painted that day. Professional painters bring drop cloths and plastic sheeting to protect furniture and floors, but giving them clear access to every wall speeds up the job and reduces the chance of accidental bumps or spills.

Heavy items like bookshelves, entertainment centers, and large dressers should be emptied before moving them. This protects both the furniture and your back. If there are pieces that are extremely heavy or built in, let your painting crew know ahead of time so they can plan around them.

2. Remove Wall Decorations

Take down everything hanging on the walls: framed photos, mirrors, artwork, shelves, clocks, and decorative items. Remove the hanging hardware too, including nails, screws, and anchors, if possible. This allows the painters to patch the holes and create a clean, smooth surface. If you plan to rehang items in the same locations, you can leave the hardware in place and let the crew know, but removing it produces the best result.

Do not forget about items that are easy to overlook: towel bars in bathrooms, hooks behind doors, curtain rods and curtains, and wall-mounted thermostats or smoke detectors. The more you remove, the smoother and faster the painting process goes.

3. Take Down Window Treatments

Remove curtains, blinds, and window valances before painting day. This protects them from paint overspray and gives the crew unobstructed access to the window trim and surrounding wall areas. If your blinds or shades are complex to remove, pull them up as high as possible and secure them tightly. Painters can work around them, but the finish around the window will be cleaner if they are out of the way entirely.

4. Protect Electronics and Valuables

Move computers, televisions, speakers, gaming consoles, and other electronics out of the room if possible. If they cannot be moved, unplug them and let the painting crew know so they can cover them with protective plastic. Dust from sanding and prep work can settle into vents and ports on electronics, so relocation is the safest option.

Similarly, remove valuable or fragile items like collectibles, antiques, heirlooms, and anything irreplaceable. While professional painters are careful and insured, preventing accidents is always better than dealing with them after the fact.

5. Clear Closets Being Painted

If your painting project includes closet interiors, empty them completely before the crew arrives. Clothes, shoes, boxes, and storage items should be moved to another room or bagged in garbage bags temporarily. Painting a closet requires the same access as any other wall, and a cluttered closet slows the process significantly.

6. Address Pets and Children

Paint fumes, open cans, and wet surfaces create hazards for young children and pets. On painting day, arrange for children and pets to be in a different part of the house or, ideally, out of the home entirely. This keeps them safe, gives the painting crew uninterrupted work space, and prevents paw prints or handprints on freshly painted walls. If pets must stay home, keep them in a closed-off room away from the work area with food, water, and their bed.

7. Clean the Walls

While your painting crew will handle detailed surface preparation, a basic cleaning of the walls before they arrive is helpful. Dust cobwebs from corners and ceiling edges, wipe down walls in the kitchen where grease may have accumulated, and clean any obvious scuffs or marks. Paint adheres best to clean surfaces, and this step saves the crew time on prep day.

8. Confirm Your Color Selections

Before painting day, finalize all your color choices. Know which color goes in which room and whether you want the same color on ceilings and trim or different shades. If you have paint swatches or color codes, have them ready to share with the crew. Changing colors mid-project causes delays and can increase costs, so it is best to have everything decided in advance.

What Professional Painters Handle

A common question we get is where the homeowner's responsibility ends and the painter's begins. Here is what you can expect a professional crew to take care of:

• Surface preparation. This includes filling nail holes and small cracks, sanding rough spots, caulking gaps along trim and edges, and applying primer where needed. This is one of the most important parts of the job and separates professional results from amateur ones.
• Protecting your floors and remaining furniture. Professional painters lay drop cloths and plastic sheeting over floors, carpets, and any furniture that remains in the room. They tape off baseboards, trim, and any surfaces that should not be painted.
• Removing and replacing switch plates and outlet covers. The crew will remove all electrical covers, paint the walls behind them, and replace them once the paint is dry. This eliminates the messy, unfinished look of painting around these fixtures.
• Moving remaining light furniture. If there are small items or light furniture you could not move, the crew can typically shift them as needed throughout the day. However, the more you clear in advance, the more time they can devote to actual painting.
• Complete cleanup. When the job is done, a professional crew removes all their materials, disposes of debris, and returns the room to a clean, livable state. You should not have to clean up after a professional painting crew.

Day-of-Painting Tips

Morning Preparation

On the morning the crew arrives, do a final walkthrough of the rooms being painted. Make sure everything has been moved away from the walls, decorations are down, and the path from the front door to the work area is clear. The crew will be bringing in equipment, paint cans, ladders, and supplies, so a clear path makes setup faster and prevents accidental damage to hallway walls or furniture.

Communication Is Key

Take a few minutes when the crew arrives to walk through the project together. Point out any specific concerns, such as a crack that appeared recently, a spot on the wall you want them to pay special attention to, or areas where you want a certain level of finish. This is also the time to confirm colors for each room and discuss any last-minute questions. Clear communication at the start prevents surprises at the end.

Provide Access and Parking

Make sure the crew has easy access to the areas being painted. Unlock any gates, move vehicles from the driveway if they need to park a work van close to the house, and ensure doors to all rooms being painted are unlocked and accessible. For exterior projects, trim back any bushes or vegetation that is tight against the house so the crew can set up ladders and scaffolding safely.

Ventilation

Good airflow helps paint dry faster and reduces odor. If weather permits, open windows in rooms not actively being painted to keep air circulating through the house. Your painting crew may also set up fans to accelerate drying. Even with low-VOC paints, some ventilation improves comfort for everyone.

Stay Available

You do not need to supervise every brushstroke, but try to be available by phone in case the crew has questions. Decisions sometimes need to be made during the project, such as whether to paint inside a particular closet, how to handle an unexpected wall condition, or whether you prefer a slightly different approach in a specific area. Being reachable prevents delays.

After the Painting Is Complete

• Do a walkthrough with the crew. Before the painters leave, walk through every painted room together. Check cut-in lines, coverage, and any areas that might need a touch-up. A good crew wants you to be completely satisfied and will address any concerns on the spot.
• Wait before moving furniture back. Allow paint to cure for at least 24 hours before moving heavy furniture against walls. Freshly painted surfaces are vulnerable to scuffing and imprinting during the first day or two.
• Be gentle for two weeks. Full paint cure time is typically two to four weeks. During this period, avoid washing walls, scrubbing marks, or hanging heavy items. Treat the new paint gently, and it will reward you with a beautiful finish that lasts for years.
• Keep your leftover paint. Ask the crew if there is any remaining paint. Store it in a cool, dry place with the color name and room noted on the can. This makes future touch-ups easy and ensures a perfect color match.

Schedule Your Project with Rock's Painting

Preparing for a professional paint job does not have to be stressful. With a little advance planning, you set the stage for a smooth, efficient project with beautiful results. Rock's Painting has helped homeowners throughout Johnson City, Kingsport, Bristol, and the Tri-Cities prepare for and complete hundreds of successful painting projects. We walk you through the preparation process, handle all the professional work, and leave your home looking its absolute best. Contact us today for a free estimate. Learn more about our interior painting process.