How to paint the walls in a room (DIY)

 If there is something someone with no previous construction experience is going to attempt on their home, chances are its painting. You can't really cause a lot of damage if it's done incorrectly but you can make a mess! The basics of painting are not rocket science of course but most people hate the actual process of painting because its messy and they have no system on how get things done efficiently like a professional. I'm going to cover the process of painting the walls in a room for the DIY'ers out there so that it's a less daunting task, better yet, actually manageable for anyone to handle. If you break anything down into smaller parts, it becomes a lot more achievable. 

One of the first things you will want to do is move all the furniture to the center of the room and away from the walls. Next remove anything and everything from the walls. If you have a mounted TV or something else large, heavy, awkward or just a pain to take down you can always paint around it. NOTE: (A professional painting company should be removing everything and anything off the walls. This may be with or without your help.) Next you may have to dust or clean the walls in some areas. At this point you can remove any nail or tacks in the wall that are not being used. These nail holes can be filled with any drywall spackle before painting. One of the last things you will want to do is remove all electrical faceplates from the walls. A good thing to do is just tape the hardware to the plate.

Now that the furniture is out of the way and the walls are prepped its almost time to paint. Wiping down the trim boards is something you will want to do if you don't plan on painting them. Once that's done you can tape off the lip of the base boards and place some painters drops down. The tape acts as a barrier for cutting in the trim and also from paint splatter when your rolling walls. Now this next step can vary depending on if you have a helper or not.  Some companies will have one person cutting in walls, ceilings and base boards while at the same time a second painter will be rolling out the walls. However, if your solo you can do either first, it doesn't really make a huge difference. But assuming you have little experience I would suggest cutting in the walls first that way you won't have to worry about touching a freshly painted wall as your cutting things in.

  For cutting the walls in you will want a smaller container that you can fit a brush into that you can preferably hold onto easily. Painters usually call this a "Cutting pot". An old paint or coffee can will do. A solid rule of thumb is to cut ceilings in first and anything else that you will need the ladder for. That way, all that is left is corners and base boards. You will want to make the cut in lines about 5 inches wide so that you can get close to the ceiling and trim with the roller without touching them. Once that's been completed throughout the room get your paint in a 5-gallon bucket or tray. If you decide to use a 5-gallon bucket you will need a screen for the roller. This will allow for you to roll off excess paint. Trays have ridges and indentations that are supposed to act like a screen but in my opinion bucket, screen and roller is the way to go. A painters extension pole or old mop handle should be able to screw into the bottom of the roller handle and this will help reach the higher areas of the wall.

Dip your roller in and out of the paint and then roll it on the screen to completely saturate the roller with paint. With a fully loaded roller, going up towards the ceilings press the roller on the wall and start moving the roller in a vertical/parallel motion only up to your cut in line. With that much paint on the wall you will want to continue rolling in that vertical motion while going over your last roller pass by 50%. Continuing this process of wetting the rolling, rolling the paint out smoothly and overlapping each pass by 50% is how to achieve a smooth finish. Just like anything, the more you do it the better you'll get, and it will make more sense. Now depending on the color and paint you choose you may need to repeat this entire process for a second coat. Good news is, the second coat goes a lot faster. If you chose a similar color, chances are only one coat is needed. On the other hand, when you're doing a complete color change 2 coats will probably be needed for full coverage. Just remember you get what you pay for and the cheapest paints don't cover well while some higher end paints claim to cover in one coat. Whatever route you decide, I wish you good luck and to not forget your painter whites!