Painting around your life
Many interior repaints happen while the family is still at home. That is perfectly workable, but it changes how the job is planned and what it costs. A crew in an empty house moves fast. In a lived-in one, they have to clear and cover each room, keep a path through the house, and leave bedrooms and the kitchen usable at night. The price reflects that extra handling.
This guide quotes no prices. It explains the parts of an occupied interior repaint that make one proposal higher or lower than another.
Sequencing the rooms
Painters usually work through an occupied house a few rooms at a time. Bedrooms are often done early in the day so they can air out by evening; kitchens and bathrooms are scheduled when they're least in use. The more phases a job is split into, the more set-up and clean-up time is built in. Ask the painter for a room-by-room plan and how many days each room will be out of use.
Furniture and belongings
Moving furniture to the centre of a room and covering it is normally included. Emptying bookshelves, taking down art and curtains, and moving heavy pieces between rooms often isn't. Doing that yourself before the crew arrives can lower the cost.
Air, odour and drying in a cooled house
NOAA's U.S. Climate Normals for the Honolulu International Airport station give 4,767.1 cooling degree days and 0.0 heating degree days in an average year. A house that is cooled with the windows shut traps paint odour and the water a fresh coat releases. Ask how the crew will ventilate: fans, opening windows during and after painting, and running air conditioning in a way that circulates air without blowing dust onto wet walls. Low-odour and low-VOC products help. Drying that takes longer than expected adds days.
Walls, ceilings and trim
Ceilings are usually painted first, then walls, then trim. Ceilings take longer than their area suggests because of overhead work and cutting in. Trim, doors and closet interiors are hand-brushed and priced separately. If you only want walls, say so; if you want everything, expect more time per room. Our interior painting page explains the order.
Repairs and preparation
Nail holes, dents, cracks and patched areas need filling, sanding and spot-priming. Water stains need a stain-blocking primer, and mildew needs cleaning and drying. Our drywall repair and surface preparation guide shows what's involved. A proposal that lists repairs room by room is easier to compare.
Products and sheens
Bathrooms and kitchens call for a moisture- and mildew-resistant finish. Hallways and children's rooms benefit from a scrubbable sheen. Our sheens guide explains the options. Premium paints cost more but often cover in fewer coats.
Older paint indoors
Under EPA's Renovation, Repair and Painting Rule, anyone paid to do work that disturbs paint in homes, childcare facilities and preschools built before 1978 must hold RRP certification, firms included, even sole proprietorships, and their workers must be trained in lead-safe work practices. In an occupied home built before 1978, lead-safe work usually means sealing off each room, using careful sanding methods and cleaning thoroughly before the family returns to it. That adds time per room. You can ask the painter whether the firm holds RRP certification.
What moves the total
- the number of rooms and the number of colours;
- ceilings and trim included or not;
- how many phases the job is split into;
- repairs and stain blocking;
- lead-safe work in a home built before 1978.
Comparing proposals
Ask each painter for a room-by-room scope with products, coats, repairs and a schedule. The pricing guide explains how interior work is usually priced.