By EA Paint & Light Carpentry7 min read
At a glance
- Typical timeAverage
- About a day a room; a house 1–2 weeks
- You pack
- Small items, breakables, valuables
- Crew moves
- Furniture to the center, covered
- Hang pictures
- After a day or two
Times are rough averages for planning only. Every house is different — size, condition, repairs and weather all change it. Your written estimate gives the actual schedule for your job.
How do I prepare my house for interior painters?
Clear small items, breakables and valuables from each room, take down pictures and curtains, and empty the tops of furniture and the bookshelves against the walls. Plan where pets and kids will be, confirm colors and sheens in writing, and agree which bathroom the crew uses. Moving furniture to the center and covering it is normally the crew’s job.
The week before: what to move and pack
The aim is to leave the walls bare and the furniture empty enough to move safely. Work room by room in the order the painting will go.
- Lamps, plants, ornaments, photos and everything on tables, dressers and shelves
- Books and contents of bookcases and display cabinets that sit against a wall being painted
- Pictures, mirrors, clocks, shelves you want back up, and the hooks or nails you want kept
- Curtains, blinds and rods, unless you have agreed the crew will take them down
- Electronics: unplug and move TVs, speakers and computers, and note how cables were connected
- Rugs you care about, rolled and moved out of the room
- Anything in closets that are being painted
- Things stored under beds, behind doors and along the walls, so the furniture can move freely
- Laundry baskets, bins and floor clutter, which slow the crew down and end up under drop cloths
Tip: Leave a small piece of painter’s tape on the wall at each nail or hook you want reused, and tell the crew. Holes are usually filled as part of prep.
Valuables, pets and kids
Any crew will be in and out of rooms all day. Put jewellery, cash, documents, medications and anything sentimental or irreplaceable somewhere secure, in a room that is not being painted or in a closet that will stay closed. This is not about distrust; it is about removing the question entirely, for you and for them.
If a room has heavy or fragile pieces — a piano, an antique cabinet, a glass-front hutch — mention them at the estimate so moving them is planned rather than improvised.
Doors will be open, drop cloths will be down and wet paint will be on the walls. Pets are safest in a closed room that is not being painted, with a sign on the door, or out of the house for the day. Cats in particular find open doors and ladders irresistible, and paw prints on canvas travel.
Kids are the same problem at a larger scale. Let them know which rooms are off limits and why, keep their routines in rooms that are not being worked on, and do not let anyone touch a wall to check whether it is dry.
If anyone works from home, schedule their office room last, or first, and let the crew know about the hours you need quiet for calls. Ladders and moving furniture are not silent.
Heat, air and winter painting in Massachusetts
Interior painting is often scheduled for the colder months here, with the house closed up. Keep the heat at a normal living temperature; paint dries slowly in a cold room, and most products list a minimum temperature on the label. Do not turn the heat down to save money while the crew is there.
If there will be sanding, ask whether the crew wants a forced-air system’s fan set to auto rather than running constantly, so dust is not pulled through the ducts, and whether they will cover the return vents in work areas. Change the filter after the job if there was much dust.
Winter also means snow, salt and mud. Clear a path to the door the crew will use, and agree on where boots and equipment come in, so the entry floor is protected from the start.
Bathrooms, water and where the crew cleans up
Agree on which bathroom the crew may use and keep it stocked. Then ask where brushes and rollers will be washed. Latex paint rinses out with water, and a utility sink or an outdoor spigot is usually the better place than your kitchen sink. In freezing weather, the outdoor spigot is off the list, so settle it in advance.
If a bathroom is being painted, plan for showers elsewhere that day, and keep the fan running when it is back in use while the paint cures. Clear toiletries, towels and anything on the back of the toilet, and empty the medicine cabinet if the crew will be working around it.
Living in the house while rooms are painted
You do not usually need to move out. On an occupied home, the work goes room by room so the kitchen, a bathroom and the bedrooms stay usable. If the kitchen itself is on the list, it is the room that disrupts a household most: clear the counters and the tops of the cabinets, move small appliances, and plan simple meals for that day. Before day one, settle with your painter:
- The final color names or formulas and the sheen for each surface, in writing
- The order of the rooms, and which ones need to be back in use by the evening
- Working hours, and what time the crew arrives and leaves
- Where the crew parks and which door they use
- Who to call if plans change during the day
The first morning: a ten-minute walk-through
Be there when the crew arrives on the first day if you can. Walk each room with the lead painter and point out what matters to you: the wall where the stain keeps coming back, the door that sticks, the crack over the window, the picture that has to go back in the same spot. Confirm the color for each room against the actual can, not a chip on the fridge.
Mention anything that is not obvious, such as an outlet that does not work, a loose stair rail, or an alarm sensor on a window frame. Then let the crew get on with it, and keep your phone handy for questions.
What you do vs what the crew handles
Most of the physical preparation is the painter’s work. Confirm the split at the estimate so nobody is surprised on the first morning.
Small items, breakables, valuables
- Usually you
- Pack and move them
- Usually the crew
- —
Pictures, mirrors, curtains
- Usually you
- Take down, unless agreed
- Usually the crew
- Fill the holes
Furniture
- Usually you
- Empty the tops and shelves
- Usually the crew
- Move to the center and cover
Floors
- Usually you
- Move rugs you care about
- Usually the crew
- Canvas drop cloths
Switch plates, vent covers, door hardware
- Usually you
- —
- Usually the crew
- Remove, label and reinstall
Nail holes, dents, nail pops
- Usually you
- —
- Usually the crew
- Fill, sand and spot-prime
Daily cleanup
- Usually you
- —
- Usually the crew
- Bag debris, clear walk paths
What to confirm with your painter, before and after
Read the written estimate one more time a few days before the start. It should list the rooms and surfaces, the prep and repairs included, the products, sheens and number of coats, and anything you have agreed the crew will move or take down. If your house was built before 1978 and the work will disturb painted trim, doors or windows, ask about lead-safe work practices and the contractor’s lead-safe renovation credentials. On the last day, walk the rooms together in good light, and ask for the leftover paint, labelled by room, for touch-ups.
Once a room is finished, remember that paint is dry to the touch within hours but takes much longer to fully cure. Wait a day or two before hanging pictures and pushing furniture tight against fresh walls, and longer before scrubbing anything.
Talk to a local crew
EA Paint & Light Carpentry is a painting and light carpentry company based in Northborough, MA. If you would like the house looked at, call (508) 466-5846 or request a free written estimate. Related services: Interior Painting.
