Surfaces and finishes
Interior painting
Paint is 80 percent preparation. We write the finish schedule before the first drop cloth comes out, so every surface gets the right primer and the right sheen.
A finish schedule is a simple document that lists every surface in the house, what is on it now, what primer it gets, what product goes over it and at what sheen. It exists because the right answer is different for new drywall, for previously oil-painted trim, for a smoke-stained ceiling and for a bathroom that runs at high humidity. Without the schedule, a crew defaults to one product everywhere and the trim starts peeling in eighteen months.
In a renovation the paint work also has to fit the sequence. Ceilings and first coats go on before flooring. Final trim coats go on after flooring and before base shoe. Touch-up happens after the second punch walk, not before. Painting out of sequence is how a brand new floor ends up with roller spatter on it.
On any house built before 1978 we follow lead-safe renovation practices: contained work areas, HEPA vacuums, wet methods, and no open flame or high-speed sanding on painted surfaces. That is a legal requirement, not a preference.
What is included
The scope, item by item
Surface assessment
We identify what is currently on each surface, test adhesion where it matters, and note anything that needs a bonding primer or a full strip.
Repair and prep
Crack repair with tape rather than filler alone, nail pops re-set, caulking at trim joints, sanding to a consistent profile and full dust removal.
Priming
Stain-blocking primer on water marks and knots, bonding primer over old oil, drywall primer-sealer on new board, and a high-build primer where a level 5 finish is specified.
Finish schedule
A written product and sheen list per surface: flat or matte on ceilings, matte or eggshell on walls, satin in wet rooms, and a hard enamel on trim and doors.
Application
Two finish coats as standard, cut and roll with consistent wet edges, spray and back-roll where the surface suits it, and doors sprayed off their hinges in the shop where practical.
Protection and cleanup
Floor and fixture masking, daily cleanup, and a labelled touch-up kit with the exact products and colour codes for your file.
Numbers that govern this work
How it runs
Six phases from first visit to punch list
Walk and schedule
Room-by-room survey and the written finish schedule you sign off.
Repair
Cracks, nail pops, failed caulk and any drywall correction.
Prime
The correct primer per surface, not one primer for the house.
First coats
Ceilings and walls before flooring goes in.
Trim and doors
Enamel work after flooring, before base shoe.
Touch-up
After the second punch walk, with the labelled kit left behind.
What moves the price
Five factors, in order of impact
Condition of the existing surfaces
Sound, previously latex-painted drywall is the cheap case. Old oil enamel, wallpaper adhesive or smoke damage each add a full prep stage.
Level of drywall finish
A level 5 finish under a satin sheen in raking light is significantly more labour than a level 4 under matte.
Trim quantity
Houses with deep base, crown, picture rail and panelled doors carry far more enamel hours than the wall area suggests.
Lead-safe requirements
Pre-1978 houses need containment, HEPA extraction and wet methods, which adds time to every disturbed surface.
Colour change
Going light over a deep saturated colour often needs a tinted primer plus two coats to cover properly.
The band of $4.50 to $11 per sq ft shown on this page is a sample figure for this demo site, not a quote.
Questions
What people ask about interior painting
No, and the schedule says where. New drywall needs a primer-sealer. Old oil enamel needs a bonding primer or the new coat peels. A sound, previously latex-painted wall in the same colour family often does not need primer at all.
Flat or matte on ceilings, matte or eggshell on most walls, satin in bathrooms and laundry rooms where you need to wipe them, and a waterborne alkyd enamel in satin or semi-gloss on trim and doors. Higher sheen shows more of the wall behind it.
Yes, room by room, with low-odour products and a working plan for where you sleep each night. We stage it so you never lose a bathroom or a bedroom on the same night.
We can scan and match a chip, but matched paint over an aged wall rarely disappears into a spot repair. For an invisible result the whole wall, corner to corner, gets recoated.
The written schedule with every product, colour code and sheen, plus a labelled touch-up kit. That file is worth more than the leftover gallon in the garage.
More on our questions page, grouped by scope, money, permits, living through the work and building science.
