# Interior new construction



## ogre (Oct 25, 2007)

I am sure this question has been answered a few times on this board, but I can not find it. I do 95% repaints and 5% new construction. I am looking for the best spray operation for new constuction. In the past I have sprayed primer walls and ceilings, sprayed ceilings and closets ceiling white. Brushed and rolled custom wall colors. Come back when trim is up caulk and putty, second coat walls and brush trim 2coats. There is where I need to change my ways. I want to spray my trim but would like to know the best technique. Do you guys spray trim and then second coat walls and not worry about overspray? Or do you mask or paint shield to keep overspray to a minimum? Spray trim looks nicer and lines seem to be more crisp than my brush work. Thank you Mike


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## BenPaintinTooLong (Apr 17, 2007)

ogre said:


> I am sure this question has been answered a few times on this board, but I can not find it. I do 95% repaints and 5% new construction. I am looking for the best spray operation for new constuction. In the past I have sprayed primer walls and ceilings, sprayed ceilings and closets ceiling white. Brushed and rolled custom wall colors. Come back when trim is up caulk and putty, second coat walls and brush trim 2coats. There is where I need to change my ways. I want to spray my trim but would like to know the best technique. Do you guys spray trim and then second coat walls and not worry about overspray? Or do you mask or paint shield to keep overspray to a minimum? Spray trim looks nicer and lines seem to be more crisp than my brush work. Thank you Mike


If it is a custom color spray all ceilings closets and trim and just roll out the wall color two coats, if it is the same color on the walls and ceiling, including finish , spray first coat and back roll on walls and then spray the trim and roll out the last coat on the walls. :thumbup:


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## NuView Painting (Sep 25, 2007)

my self I spray the ceilings, the primer, the closets, the doors, the frames, and just roll two coats on the walls


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## RCP (Apr 18, 2007)

caulk and putty
vacuum and sweep
Mask windows and tubs
Put hinge mags on door hinges
Spray 2 coat primer on all
Spray doors and trim 2 coats
take pins out of doors and move them to garage
mask trim
spray 2 coat walls and lids
if lids are different color, put up 99 inch plastic on walls and spray lids
clean up
My helper and I do 2,000 sq feet house 35 man hours (three tone)
And it looks great!
There are some issues working new construction. Develop a relationship with a good GC, keep your word, quality and schedule and it is great. A good PM will help with scheduling and keep other trades from destroying your work.


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## Joewho (Apr 17, 2007)

ogre said:


> I am sure this question has been answered a few times on this board, but I can not find it. I do 95% repaints and 5% new construction. I am looking for the best spray operation for new constuction. In the past I have sprayed primer walls and ceilings, sprayed ceilings and closets ceiling white. Brushed and rolled custom wall colors. Come back when trim is up caulk and putty, second coat walls and brush trim 2coats. There is where I need to change my ways. I want to spray my trim but would like to know the best technique. Do you guys spray trim and then second coat walls and not worry about overspray? Or do you mask or paint shield to keep overspray to a minimum? Spray trim looks nicer and lines seem to be more crisp than my brush work. Thank you Mike


I see what you're saying. There's down time between painting the drywall and waiting for the trim to go up. Probably with a pay out after the walls are 1st coated.

It's hard to tape the fresh caulk on the trim, or you could just do that.

A lot of guys just spray it, keeping it low on the wall and then cut in the wall colors again, especially flat.

I usually just commit to painting the wall colors a light first coat and then roll them out again after the trim is done. Reason being, sometimes there is so much touch up, and more people are going with eggshell or satin. It helps to build the true eggshell finsh too.

With flat, you can just cut in after spraying the trim along with touch ups.


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## Rich (Apr 26, 2007)

ogre said:


> I want to spray my trim but would like to know the best technique. Do you guys spray trim and then second coat walls and not worry about overspray? Or do you mask or paint shield to keep overspray to a minimum? Spray trim looks nicer and lines seem to be more crisp than my brush work. Thank you Mike


The best technique? Not sure. 
My technique= spray prime all *surfaces*, spray finish *ceiling*, spray *trim*, cut/roll *walls*

Most guys here do it similar to this
I'm not going to bore you with 'when to mask, etc etc' ...that's common sense stuff. Oh, use a fine finish tip or just control the gun well and no worries about _excess_ overspray.

good luck


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## PowerPaintingUK (Dec 2, 2007)

RC Painting said:


> caulk and putty
> vacuum and sweep
> Mask windows and tubs
> Put hinge mags on door hinges
> ...


Thats exactly how i do it here in the UK. Very fast routine too. 
2 questions though.. what are hinge mags? and whats a "good PM"? sorry if these are obvious questions but there are quite a few differences in painting here compared to the US.


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## Ken S. (Apr 18, 2007)

Questions on new construction painting:

Anybody back-roll their initial primer spraying?
Is trim factory primed when installed. 
If so, Any sanding of this prime coat?
Acrylic waterborne on trim? Or alkyd being used?

Just curious.


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## RCP (Apr 18, 2007)

hinge mags are great, http://www.hingemag.com/
PM is a Project Manager or Super, they keep the trades scheduled and jobs on track. 
The houses I do, the trim is all in, except kitchen base, if it is preprimed, I still prime.


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## Dave Mac (May 4, 2007)

RC Painting said:


> hinge mags are great, http://www.hingemag.com/
> PM is a Project Manager or Super, they keep the trades scheduled and jobs on track.
> The houses I do, the trim is all in, except kitchen base, if it is preprimed, I still prime.


I ilke those, a system for painting doors is very important, I used to take the three new hinges off, and replace the top and bottom hinge with used hinges at the very bigining of the job, then at the end of the job put the brand new shiny hinges back on. I never liked taking all the doors to one room and spraying them, to much handling, I never liked taping hinges, becasue it just doesnt work 100%.

I prefer to start the job after all trim is up.


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## Mopaint (Oct 17, 2007)

I like the using sacrificial 2 hinges. And the doors are happier and less handling. Mike


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## FoilEffects (Dec 19, 2007)

When I used to do new construction painting this is the direction that we went...

Once drywall was installed and finished we would come in and spray 1 coat of 1st coat primer (does not need to be backrolled) this was on walls and ceilings.

Next day would come in and poll sand all areas and then spray ceilings and closets in white.

We then would leave until the trim carpenters were done and then we would come in and caulk and putty all trim and then spray all doors and trim with a coat of primer and allow to dry.

The next day we would give a light sanding to all trim and doors and then clean all areas then using a HVLP would spray all trim and doors with finish coats. NOTE: HVLP has very little overspray and gives a super fine finish unlike an airless. 2 coats with an HVLP is normal and a "big note" would be sand between coats (tack sand). 

We would allow 72 hours to set up so that we could tape off the trim for 2 coats of final coat on walls in colors of choice (rolled not sprayed). Once again sanding between coats. Sanding gives the best finish and assures that the first and second coat bonds perfectly.

When doing different colors in different rooms assure that you have boxed your paint for each room and make sure that you have at least 1/2 gallon of paint for each room so that you can do touch ups and leaving paint for the new homeowner. Put the paint in a container that will fit the amount of paint you giving them and make sure that you put a sticker on each container and mark it clearly for the room that it is for. By doing this you can guarantee that touchups match the color of the room.

Things to keep in mind: Paint is inexpensive in compairison to labor! If you do not box your paint then you will end out re-doing your rooms which will cost much more then boxing and marking the paints for the room that it is for.

Always use quality paints and do not try to shortcut. Painting companies that shortcut are not the companies that you will meet in high end homes which is where you will want to get your company into.


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## RCP (Apr 18, 2007)

Mopaint said:


> I like the using sacrificial 2 hinges. And the doors are happier and less handling. Mike


If you roll walls, probably so. I like to mask the trim and spray the walls. The doors would be PITA to mask and work around.


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## RCP (Apr 18, 2007)

FoilEffects said:


> When doing different colors in different rooms assure that you have boxed your paint for each room and make sure that you have at least 1/2 gallon of paint for each room so that you can do touch ups and leaving paint for the new homeowner. Put the paint in a container that will fit the amount of paint you giving them and make sure that you put a sticker on each container and mark it clearly for the room that it is for. By doing this you can guarantee that touchups match the color of the room.


Excellent point. I use new cans and add my business card to can in a little box with brush that I get from my paint store.


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## FoilEffects (Dec 19, 2007)

I always set doors into a seperate room or garage and spray them using an HVLP and never while hanging on there sacifical hinges as the best finishes come from having freedom of spraying movement and not when working around things like swinging doors.

Spraying is always best done on a Saturday when no one else is around to interupt of cause dust. I have seen too many painting contractors try to spray around the carpenters. I really love hearing the painter cuss out the carpenter for getting sawdust all over their wet projects.

Dust controll is the hardest thing in new construction but if you plan ahead you will never have any problems. Prep work is much harder to do then the finish coats so keep in mind that the better the finish the bigger and better the work will get. 

Personally I started my own business back in 1985 and I already had 4 years with my grandfather (union painter and plasterer), I worked after high school and all summers and then when I was out of school for a full year I started out doing spec homes. The toughest thing to me in new construction was getting to point of doing the jobs that the big dogs were doing which were 5,000 and up sf homes. By doing better quality work then my compition the word quickly got around. The key to getting to this point is to never say that it cannot be done and never leaving a job half A_S done. Quality finishes are exactly why people hire professional painters and just because you get paid to do a job does not make you a professional. Dont worry about the money you make at first, instead worry about the quality of your finish and leaving all your customers with the want to use you again. Keep in mind you are building a database of referrals and these referrels both have friends and will want more projects done. By leaving each and every job in a professional manner you will build a database of HAPPY customers resulting in bigger and better jobs! IMO too many painters go in with good intentions but for some reason leave there jobs in a manner less that high quality.

I have done a re-paint on a single bedroom which wasnt a ton of money but by leaving them with the best job possible and never complaining landed there friend who had there entire new home done and price was not a issue and never even shopped price as I was reffered as the best! In the last 3 years I have not even advertised because of word of mouth and I went from a painter and faux finisher making a decient living to just a faux finisher making a great living and more than that this year I got almost 75 Christmas cards from my customers which means that I must be doing something right!

Honestly I am no better than anyone else that comes to this board. Everyone here has the ability to do their very best and really that is all that it takes to get to the next level.


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## FoilEffects (Dec 19, 2007)

One more thing to add, when painting door frames (case) paint the top of the frame as well as the rest. The reason I say this is most painting companies (even high end painters) leave the top of the frame unfinished (dont know why) BUT it is part of the job and only takes a few minutes to finish that area. Maybe not all people look but those that do will keep this in mind and may even call you back.


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## painttofish (Aug 28, 2007)

Great post foil! You give painters a "good" name, and we all need that. :thumbsup:


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## bikerboy (Sep 16, 2007)

Well....here in Maryland this is what you get. 
Spray everyting in flat.

Blow the dirt on the walls at the corners, and carry some up the wall 
from when you move your gun from the base to the ceiling.

Roll trim and brush over it after it sets up a little (satin here). 

Not dogging the painters as much as the contractors. Builders never cease to amaze me. They will pay more for a kitchen countertop that is maybe 20 square feet, than a paint job for an entire house. And for that price you the painter are expected to fix all the other trades screwups.


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## Tmrrptr (May 4, 2007)

RC Painting said:


> hinge mags are great, http://www.hingemag.com/
> PM is a Project Manager or Super, they keep the trades scheduled and jobs on track.


Ha! Ha!


Project Manager/Super is the guy who crams all the trades into a jobsite to get the work done quick as possible to avoid making interest payments on the project loans.

A good one is the greatest guy you ever met and is worth a LOT of money!


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## FoilEffects (Dec 19, 2007)

bikerboy said:


> Well....here in Maryland this is what you get.
> Spray everyting in flat.
> 
> Blow the dirt on the walls at the corners, and carry some up the wall
> ...


   
I hate to say this but that is just builders everywhere!!! They want it done quickly, they want low cost and will live with the imperfections to make a buck!

Here is my way of thinking... I dont work for those good for nothing  !!! In fact I want my name no where around them as there rep of unprofessional work and constant problems makes it impossible to have job security. In the past I worked for them just to give me a pallet to paint on, I did the best possible job, made everything look better than anyone else could and did it at the price that they told me they could afford (which is a crock). Along the way I took a butt load of pics, walked 100's of people through my completed work (including other contractors) and soon I was painting for 3-5 contractors only doing the work for those that wanted better quality and a professional job and then soon after I QUIT! 

The reason that I quit and pulled my team is to raise awareness and it worked great as they started paying me 2x's as much. Now it has been a while since I thought about that way of doing jobs but I will challange all of the painters here that feel that they are getting the butt end of the deal!
Beef up you quality of you work, give them more than they expect and make yourself indispensable to them. Do this for 6 months to a year and then QUIT! Trust me you will thank me...


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## bikerboy (Sep 16, 2007)

FoilEffects said:


> reason that I quit and pulled my team is to raise awareness and it worked great as they started paying me 2x's as much. Now it has been a while since I thought about that way of doing jobs but I will challange all of the painters here that feel that they are getting the butt end of the deal!
> Beef up you quality of you work, give them more than they expect and make yourself indispensable to them. Do this for 6 months to a year and then QUIT! Trust me you will thank me...


I do work for 2 custom builders the rest is homeowners. We stopped doing work for all large mass builders years ago. Partly for the money, but mainly because what the industry is doing now.
I posted this before but: "if all your work comes from one or two builders, what will you do when the industry slumps?" 
We have a good referal/re-paint business and it is not dependant on a housing bubble. Thats because we had years to build up that end of the business.
The only bad thing about the current housing slump is the fact that so many painters concentrated on the new construction, and now there is little work, they will do jobs for practically nothing.


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