How to Paint the ceilings in a room (DIY)

 Alot of people attempt to paint their walls but not ceiling. Maybe they believe ceilings for some reason are more complicated or just don't think they need painted. Whatever the reason I aim to teach you how so do exactly that with minimal hassle. Like painting anything ceilings can be messy, but with the right process and systems it's not too hard. One thing you will want to take note of right away is the amount of texture on your ceiling. This will dictate how much paint you'll want to buy. For example, if you have popcorn ceiling, that will take up more paint than a smoother ceiling surface. If the ceiling has minimal texture and is the exact same as the walls, then you won't need as much. Other than a brush, roller and ladder you'll also want an extension pole, a damp rag as well as a mini or weeny roller. The mini roller will help with the heavily textured ceilings. If it's a minimally textured ceiling this mini roller may not be needed

One of the first things you will want to do is center all the furniture. However, you will want to do it in a way where you can move a ladder around the edges of the room but also so that when you are rolling the ceiling nothings in your way. The extension pole will help you reach over things. Depending on the size of the room and the amount of furniture and stuff there is, the goal is to move the furniture twice. Once to arrange to paint and second to put it all back to its original spot. Next you may want to take a few things off the wall that may get in the away or that you don't want paint on. Ceiling paint can slowly splatter as your rolling. The nice thing is that ceiling paint in particular cleans off very easily with water. Now you will want some painter's plastic to cover the furniture and furnishings. Painter's drops are good for filling in random gaps on the ground otherwise cut large pieces of plastic in order to cover the ground in fill in the spaces. You can tape the plastic to the floor or the base trim.

Next get your paint in a bucket with a roller and screen. Now some people like to paint their walls and ceiling the same color and that's fine. It just means this entire process will go faster. Just make sure you get the right sheen when buying more paint. There is on the other hand specifically ceiling paint that traditionally just comes in flat. Ceiling paint in particular applies smoothly to reduce the chances or roller marks but also hides small imperfections better and a lot of that has to do with the flat sheen. So, remember next time your choosing sheens, Satin will show all imperfections while flat will do the best job of hiding them. Alot of companies will have two painters working at the same time but for this process were going to say it's just you.

I always begin on one side of the room. Preferably the side with more room if possible. Attach the extension pole to your roller and really saturate the roller with paint. Whan rolling ceilings you almost have to do it heaver then you would be painting walls. Beginning on one side without touching the wall, raise the roller to the ceiling and begin rolling in the same motion as you would painting a wall. Move in the same direction the entire time while overlapping you last roller pass by 50%.  It's a good practice to roll in the shortest direction of the room. If you have a 12x25 room roll the 12feet over the 25ft span rather than the other way around. This is important because it will allow you to continue painting without stopping in the middle of the ceiling as much. You really want to put the paint up there on the ceiling and kind off move fast because this will allow for a smooth dry. If you try to go back over areas that are already drying with a wet roller it will show. You always want to try to only work where the paint is still wet and not go back. When and if you splatter or drip paint as your moving along, bust out your damp rag and just wipe it off right away. Work slowly to completely cover the ceilings surface area.

Lastly, you'll want to grab your ladder so you can cut the ceiling out around the wall edges and in the middle around lights/ceiling fans or vents. Grab a small cutting pot and fill it halfway with some ceiling paint. With your brush and possibly mini roller go around the edges and paint everything in that you couldn't get with the large roller. If the ceiling your painting is very textured, then you'll want to use the mini roller to fill in the tiny spaces and then come back with a brush to fill the grooves up against the wall. If not, then a min roller is optional and can just speed up the process. Repeat this again if needed. Alot of times you can get by with only cutting things in once and rolling twice, but that's up to your discretion and skill level. Ceilings can be tricky so if you want a flawless job, I recommend hiring a professional. Final steps would be to clean up the plastic and organize the room back to its original state. Oh yea, before I forget, I highly recommend wearing some protective clear eyewear as you do this and maybe even a painter's sock. (Sock looking face mask/cover for spraying). There is nothing worse than getting paint splatter all over your face, or even in your mouth and eyes! PPE is important!