Your factory-built home is eight or 10 years old or older and ready for painting inside and out. Should you do it yourself or hire a professional? You can save money by doing it yourself if you are willing to take the time, spend the money to get the right tools and if you know how it should be done.
If you are like me, you won't do it yourself. I dislike painting. I would rather dig a ditch 6 feet deep and 10 feet long than paint one small bedroom. When I was young, I painted bridges for the county highway department for a couple of years, and I owned two very old homes that had to be painted inside and out. I lacked the funds to hire professionals so I did it myself and hated every minute. I vowed years ago never again to pick up a brush to paint my home. I have kept that vow.
Tom King, a licensed and insured painting contractor in Polk County, has more than 30 years of painting experience. He spent his first 18 years in the business in the Fort Myers area, where he decided to limit his work to factory-built homes.
If you are going to do the work yourself, King said, do it right and buy the right equipment. Use only high-quality paint. Avoid discount paints, as they do not hold up. He uses only paint that can be washed (not scrubbed). He recommends using a mild dishwashing detergent and a sponge to wash first, then carefully rinse.
Many do-it-yourselfers do not do a good job of masking areas not to be painted, and in many cases don't use painter's tape. They use inexpensive brushes or rollers that don't spread the paint properly and are prone to leaving streaks. Failure to prime areas that need it is another mistake of do-it-yourselfers, King said. If an area to be painted is not prepped properly, the paint job will either look bad right away or will not last. A good professional paint job should last eight to 10 years or more.
Before you hire a professional to paint your home, obtain references from recent employers. Talk to every reference and, if possible, go to the home and see the work. Make sure the painter is licensed and insured. King told me that in his 30 years of painting he has never made an insurance claim, but he carries it nevertheless.
King has many requests to repaint the ceilings of factory-built homes. The original popcorn effect tends to collect dust and dirt and to become discolored from cigarette smoke or from cooking in the kitchen. Many residents notice little white pieces on the floor that have fallen from the popcorn ceiling. This, he said, is because of the type and quality of paint used.
Homeowners who see these little white spots on their floor realize it is time to paint their ceilings. That is when homeowners, particularly of the newer models with cathedral ceilings, realize they need a taller ladder or perhaps two ladders and a walking board to reach the peak.
King masks around the room, then covers all the furniture and the floors before painting ceilings. He caulks areas needing it and fills nail holes. He sprays semi-gloss latex on the popcorn ceilings. He wants to assure that no small pieces will fall from that ceiling after he paints it.
In many factory-built homes, walls are painted with an "orange peel" effect. King first knocks down and scrapes any loose areas of the walls. He primes any areas that need it. He carefully masks everything in the room and spray-paints the walls with a compound mixture (a drywall cement) that, when scraped with a trowel, will give the room the orange-peel effect. He uses flat latex for the walls in the bedrooms, baths, etc. In the kitchen, he usually puts on two coats of semi-gloss or a flat luster.
When he is asked to remove the strips on the walls, he quickly points out the expense. It means removing all the strips, filling the gaps with spackling compound, letting it dry, then sanding it down and putting on another coat of spackle. He lets that dry and sands it down before painting.
King no longer hangs wallpaper himself, but contracts it out. His subcontractor charges $16 a roll for labor, plus the cost of the paper.
Sometimes, owners of kitchen and bathroom cabinets that were covered with paper want to paint the cabinets to get rid of spots from water damage or peeling. He removes the hardware and the doors, sands down all rough areas, puts a prime coat on everything and finishes with a coat of semi-gloss enamel.
Exteriors in Florida are subject to intense sunlight and heat and have a tendency to fade, streak and begin to chalk after a few years. Exteriors require pressure cleaning, then the use of a wire brush on most areas, especially where it has been chalking, and on all screws, trim and nails. King uses a sealer that will bond the old paint with the new. When necessary he applies an undercoat, then an exterior paint designed for aluminum and/or vinyl. A professional painting of the exterior should last 10 to 15 years.
King recommends obtaining two or three estimates on any sizeable job. Compare the quality of the work, the experience, the materials used and the references from each painter before making your decision. Making a decision on price alone can be a mistake.
Now the decision is yours. Do you want to get out the ladders, drop cloths, sandpaper, painter's tape, spackling compound and trowels, purchase the paint and go to it yourself, or call in the professional?
WINTER RESIDENT NOTE: Follow this column online while you are up North this summer. Go to www.sptimes.com In the upper right corner "search the archives" type in "Len Bonifield" and click on "search." This column appears biweekly.
Send comments or questions to Len Bonifield at elb@gate.net or fax to 863 853-8023, or phone (863) 858-1557. Please include your e-mail and mailing address. Bonifield is a manufactured-home resident and a past HOA president and former officer of the FMO District 1 board of directors.
