How to prepare interior woodwork for painting

Before you begin to paint any wood be it interior or exterior you need to prepare the wood first. Safety first, if your house was build before the mid-1960′s you may well have layers of paint containing lead in it, if this is the case take care, always use a mask. If you suspect you paintwork may contain lead, ask your local paint supplier for a leaflet or go online and download a guide from a paint manufacturer. Most likely it has been painted over now so is less of a problem. If you are stripping the wood back to bare wood, take safety measures. Modern paint does not contain lead.

Safety first

You should always think safety first, apart from the possible lead in paint as mentioned above, you should always wear a mask, you may also wear eye protection and gloves. You should also have good ventilation.

Preparing previously painted wood

It is a good idea to wash dirt and grime off of the woodwork using either warm soapy water or sugar soap. Once you have washed the woodwork down, allow to dry fully. You should then fill any holes and cracks with filler and rub or sand down so it is level and smooth. All woodwork should be rubbed down (abraded) to give the paint a ‘key’ to stick too. Rub down all the woodwork surfaces lightly. If the paint flakes off as you rub down, more than likely the paintwork was not prepared well the time before, you may need to remove this layer.

Once all the washing, filling and rubbing down has been done, remove all dust, this can be done with an old paint brush or ideally removed via a vacuum cleaner to keep the dust circulating to a minimum.

If the wood is to be painted and not stained, you should use a wood primer on any bare wood and filler to seal it, then apply a good coat of undercoat, once this has dried you can give it a light sand to remove any fluff, dirt or grit before top coating.

Finally, now you have prepared the wood you can finish it off with either a satinwood or gloss paint. If you are staining the wood, you wouldn’t use a primer or undercoat, just simply stain the wood until you get the finish you require, at least two coats is normal.

Preparing previously unpainted wood

If you are painting new, previously un-painted wood such a new door, which are widely available in large DIY stores or online from stores such as Magnet Trade, you do not need to wash the wood down.

So for un-painted wood, fill and holes and gaps first and rub the filler down so it is level and smooth. Use a knotting solution to seal any knots in the wood. Allow the knotting solution to dry and then use a wood primer to seal the wood. Once the primer has dried, give it a light rub down to remove any debris. Next, undercoat the wood, you could give it two coats of undercoat to give a better coverage but leave to dry and rub down in between. Once you have rubbed the undercoat down you can finish off with a topcoat.

If you are staining the wood, fill holes with a wood coloured filler and rub it down flat and smooth, then stain the wood until you get the finish you require.

Moving home, the DIY Style

Moving homes is always a struggle, both financially and mentally. There are tons of hidden pressures and strains to your budget, and also to your stress levels. It is also about having a healthy balance, such as employing a removal business to move your furniture will help you with your stress levels. However, these things will put a strain on your budget! So what is a good way to keep your balance?

Making sure you are aware of the different factors that are involved in moving homes is absolutely critical for keeping your bank account in the black. Forgetting even the simplest of things, such as storage costs, are enough to put yourself in debt, and subsequent issues later on in life could lead to complications in mortgages, and possibly prevent you from obtaining one.

To help you understand just some of the most commonly forgotten costs, we shall list them and hopefully, when the time comes for you to move home, a piece of this article will remind you to triple check your estimated expenses.

1. Packers & Packing

As mentioned, these guys can really help you out when it comes to packing and moving your furniture and items from one property to another. However, these services don’t come cheaply, especially if you are planning to move to a different state, county or even country. If you are unsure if you need or want some help when moving your items, there are plenty of resources to help you when you’re moving your items from your old house to your new one.

Whilst this isn’t exactly DIY, it can help relieve a lot of the stress that is generated from moving houses.

2. Storage costs

Storage units can be an awesome tool for moving home, if you cannot or simply do not want to buy the services of a removal business, you should at least contemplate the services of a nearby storage unit. Self storage has become increasingly popular globally; whether you live in Phoenix, AZ or in London, UK, chances are, there will be a local self storage facility near by.

The basis is simple, you pay the company to look after your items, for a daily charge (varies per company). You can then proceed with taking items from storage, to your new place, at your own pace and without paying for the extra labouring costs of the removal company.

3. Fuel costs

There is no denying that fuel costs have risen, making moving home DIY style somewhat expensive in fuel alone. When planning the move, and going without removal company assistance, be sure to plan your mileage and calculate the mpg your car can handle. If possible, if a friend owns a van or another larger car, see if you can borrow it to save money on fuel trips backwards and forwards; it will almost certainly be cheaper than hiring a removal company.

Obviously, these three points are a matter of opinion. Everyone has a different budget, but this is made with the tighter budgets in mind; still, as long as you remember to keep the balance of stress, and financial strain in an even line, things should go smoothly as possible when moving home.

Preparing the walls for lining paper

If you are going to put lining paper on your walls, you still need to prepare them correctly before hanging it. Lining paper will not hide all the lumps and bumps on your walls, it isn’t a miracle cure for bad walls. You still need to put the time and effort into making the walls good before lining the walls. Lining paper is not an cheap answer to having your walls re-plastered or a way of not doing any preparation before hanging wallpaper or painting the walls.

Why use lining paper?

Lining paper is primarily used to line the walls and leave a good sound surface to wallpaper over. However, lining paper can be painted over. You can cross line the walls, this means hanging the wallpaper horizontally rather than vertically as you would with wallpaper. This is done to ensure the joins of the lining paper will not come in the same place as those of the wallpaper, however, lining paper is wider than most rolls of wallpaper so isn’t always required.

If you are going to paint over the lining paper be aware that the joints may show if the paper shrinks slightly, you can fill the gaps afterwards but be careful not to damage the paper when you rub the filler down.

Preparing the walls for lining paper

First things first, remove all existing wall coverings from the walls, then wash them down to remove as much of the old paste as you can. Like for any wallpapering, the walls must be dry, free from dust and flaking paint. Holes and cracks should be filled in using a powder filler and any joints around door frames, windows or ceiling should be filled with decorators caulk. Rawl plugs should be removed and the holes filled. All powder filler should be rubbed down to a smooth level finish otherwise it will show through the lining paper.

If the walls have badly flacking paint this should be removed with a scraper and if the walls are very dusty they may need sealing with a PVA sealer first.

Paint drips can also show through so remove these with a scrapper or by sanding them down.

Lining paper comes in different grades of thickness, known as gauges, they range from 800 – 2000, 2000 being the thickest. There are also specialist lining papers such as a thermal liner, this helps reduce heat loss and also fibreliner an alternative lining paper.

Once you have done all the preparation work you are then ready to hang lining paper on your walls.

If you want to work out how many rolls of lining paper, or wallpaper you require, then use this quick and easy wallpaper calculator. Its one of a range of decorating calculators.

Choosing the right cordless drill for your needs

Whether you’re a professional builder, or just looking to put up a few shelves in the bedroom, it’s vital to make the right decision when selecting power tools for your needs. Making do with an inadequate piece of equipment might serve for a small job, but pretty soon the benefits of a quick bit of research before purchase become obvious.

Branding

Many people prefer to use tools from a specific company simply because they have used them in the past and trust them. There’s nothing wrong with this approach, as most of the professional tool brands feature only premium products, but don’t let it blind you to what other companies offer if your regular brand is no longer delivering.

Warranty

Most power tool brands will offer a free extended warranty, up to three years in some cases. Remember to check if this applies to batteries also, as in many cases it will not, although some brands, for example Bosch and Metabo, are happily now providing extended cover for batteries too. If your kit is likely to be used frequently, extended cover is vital.

Weight

The type of job you’re doing dictates the weight of the tool needed. For example if you’re making a lot of small holes rather than a few large ones then you will probably want a more compact, lightweight drill. Generally, the higher the voltage required, the heavier the drill. Other functions which can affect the weight should also be kept in mind. For example, often people will not need a hammer function, which makes the drill heavier, as they will be using a SDS+ drill for that purpose.

Gears

Some cordless drills have two speeds, and others will have three, but for the amateur DIY enthusiast, two should be more than enough. The gears operate in a similar fashion to a car, giving you more versatility and “oomph” depending on the application. Just as you wouldn’t drive on a motorway in third gear, neither would you drill a 32mm auger bit using the same gear as you would for a 7mm bit through metal. Most drills should also include a reverse gear to free stuck bits or remove screws.

Batteries

Batteries are probably the most important single factor to consider when buying cordless drills, with different types, sizes, voltages, and AH ratings all having a significant bearing on performance. Some brands offer an extensive range of cordless power tools which can be fitted with the same battery, so if you’re expanding your collection, then you can buy “Body Only” units, i.e. without a battery or charger, to save money. Of course if you’re using tools from a mix of brands then you’re likely to need several batteries to fit them all. It’s always worth looking into what the cordless range of a brand consists of before investing.

Author Bio

ITS is one of the UK’s largest independent providers of professional power tools, stocking a wide range of cordless drills and power tools.