How to Paint a Room

By: Harry Sawyers

Shopping List

Supplies You Will Need

1. Paint
A gallon of paint covers about 400 square feet. To figure how much you need, add up the lengths of all your walls, then multiply that sum by the room's height. Subtract 20 square feet for each door and 15 for each window. Divide the result by 400 to get the number of gallons you'll need for one coat. Most walls will need two coats.

For the trim in most rooms, one or two quarts should suffice. If your room has a lot of molding, you may need more. If you think you'll need more than two quarts, it is almost always more cost-effective to buy a gallon.

2. 120-Grit silicon-carbide sandpaper
Get about a dozen sheets and cut them to fit the pole sander or fold them for hand sanding.

3. Sanding sponges
Get three coarse-grit and three fine-grit sponges.

4. Large cleaning sponge

5. latex painter's caulk
Get one tube per room.

6. Patching compound
To fill holes.

7. Primer
One quart will cover patches, but you'll need more to prime entire walls.

8. Painter's tape or blue tape
for protecting hardware and trim.

9. Bucket and tray liners

10. Roller covers
Use a shorter nap 3/8 inch) for latex paint on smooth walls; a longer nap (½-inch and up) is best for rougher surfaces.

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Tools List
Tools You Will Need
- Cordless drill, for removing and replacing door and window hardware
- Paint roller for painting walls and ceilings
- Paint pan, for loading roller with paint
- Telescoping extension pole with pole sanding head for reaching ceilings and the tops of walls without using a ladder
- Caulking gun, for filling gaps between the woodwork and wall
- Brush, roller spinner, and wire brush, for cleaning brushes
- Hammer and nail set, for recessing nail heads
- Synthetic-bristle brushes (2 ½-inch blunt, 1 ½-inch angled sash, "throwaways" for touch-ups), for painting molding, doors, and windows
- Putty knife for applying spackling compound
- 5-in-1 pinter's tool for cleaning roller covers
- Utility knife,
  for cutting tip of caulk gun
- Window scraper and razor blades, for removing paint from window glass
- Drywall sander, attaches to shop vacuum for sanding joint-compound patches
- Paint strainer, for removing impurities when paint is poured from can into pot
- Bucket, to fit with liners and hold paint
- Wet/Dry Vaccum with broom attachment
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Product selections for this project
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man rolling paintbrush in the paint tray

Photo: Kolin Smith

Introduction
Overview
Steps:
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6. Roll the walls

Once you've cut in around an entire wall area, use a roller to fill in the field. Dampen the roller before using it (with water for latex paint or paint thinner for oils). Dip the roller in a tray filled with just enough paint to reach the grate. Roll it back against the grate to distribute the paint and squeeze out the excess. Make sure the roller is covered completely before painting with it.