Professional Tips and Tricks

In my 40 years as a house painter and contractor, I've gathered many tips and practices that are now part of my every day routine. Some of these tips simply make my work faster or more efficient. Other tips help produce higher quality results.

I'm certain that homeowners painting their own dwellings will benefit from these suggestions. Less-experienced contractors may also find my suggestions helpful, so over the coming days and weeks I hope to provide this information freely via my Twitter feed.

Why am I sharing this hard-earned experience? It's my belief that generosity of knowledge and practice brings benefits to the giver and the recipient. I hope you'll call on me the next time you require a professional house painter.

You can access previous tips and keep up-to-date by "following" me on Twitter.

Tip:

Children and pets don't belong in any area where there is fresh paint. The dangers go far beyond children with a bit of paint on their clothing. A child tripping over an open paint can could cause many thousands of dollars of damage to your floor—and the hazards to the health of a child are too numerous to mention.

Pets need to be confined or kept clear of the working area until the paint is dry and the tools and paint are all put away.

Anecdote: A client's dog followed her into the room where the painter was working. The client picked up her dog to keep it from being underfoot, but the dog wriggled free and landed in a roller tray full of oil paint, splashing the paint onto carpets and saturating its fur. (Fortunately, all three individuals—the painter, the client and the dog—survived without serious trauma.)

Keep pets and children away from new paint!

Copyright ©2011 by Nathan Harms
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