Creating a Plan for Your Painting Project
The phrase, We make plans and God laughs certainly holds true for many aspects of life. No one really knows what’s around the corner, after all, and planning too heavily can result in disappointment, wasted time, and a feeling of foolishness. That said, there’s nothing wrong with being prepared for whatever might occur. When it comes to home painting, the more prepared you are, the better.
Plenty of obstacles can stand in the way of a painting project -- bad weather, poor timing, improper surface prep, insufficient funds, etc. -- but you can take steps to clear your path. Let’s go over how you might approach creating a plan for your painting project so you can achieve the best results.
Determine the Project’s Scope
Begin by figuring out exactly what needs to get done. If you’re going to invest time, money, and energy in a painting project, it’s often best to get everything done in one fell swoop. You may have initially planned on simply touching up a single room or changing its colors, but upon further inspection, you might realize that other rooms require renovation as well. Maybe you want to get both interior and exterior painting done. Whatever the case, determining the complete scope of your project will inform every subsequent part of your painting plan.
Prioritize Your Project
Once you have an aerial view of your entire project, you might feel overwhelmed. To ease this stress, list which tasks are most crucial and which must get done before the others. For instance, you may need to clean your home’s exterior and interior before anything else. You might also need to invest in some repair work prior to painting. Then, consider which parts of your home need an update first and foremost -- your living room? Kitchen? Exterior? Deck? Prioritizing this way will help you with the following steps of hiring a contractor (if applicable) and budgeting.
Assign Roles
Now it’s time to determine who will take care of which part(s) of the project. If your project is small enough, you might decide to do it all yourself, from the cleaning to the prep work to the painting. Larger projects, however, typically necessitate some outside help. In this case, you must decide whether to hire a single full-service painting contractor or separate specialized contractors (i.e. pressure washing services or carpenters) to take care of various tasks. Generally speaking, you’ll save time and money finding a reliable full-service provider to take care of all your prep and painting needs.
Build a Budget
As your plan becomes more concrete, keep costs in the back of your mind. The total price tag of your project will depend on its size, whether or not you hire contractors, and the quality of the products and services rendered. Of course, even if you decide to do everything yourself, you’ll still have to pay for materials and invest in your own labor. So, no matter what, you’ll need to figure out what you can reasonably afford to achieve your goals. If, after crunching the numbers, you find that you don’t have the funds, you have a few options: you might reduce the scope of your project, only focusing on your top priorities; you might see whether your painting services offer some kind of payment plan so you can pay in installments; or you might postpone your project until you’ve saved up enough to get it done right.
Narrow Your Schedule
Whether you decide to get it done as soon as possible or put it off for a while, once you’re ready, you want to make sure the project commences during the optimal time and under the optimal conditions. Local painters can work on interiors all year round, but exterior painting is typically a seasonal proposition. In most regions, late spring/early summer and autumn tend to be the best seasons for outdoor painting projects. On a more granular level, keep an eye on the forecast, picking a span of time with good painting weather (no rain, low winds, minimal sun, moderate temperatures, etc.). You’ll also have to manage your personal schedule. If you’re doing it yourself, you’ll need to work several hours a day, so your other job(s) may get in the way. And if you’re hiring painters, you might want them to work while your home is mostly empty.
What’s the Plan?
Planning your next painting project? Nash Painting can help. We’re a full-service Nashville painting company with an eye for detail and a commitment to quality. To learn more about us, our services, and our values, call us at 615-829-6858 today!