How to Paint New Sheetrock: Right the First Time

It’s not hard to learn how to paint new sheetrock, but it can be hard to prepare the wall for painting in a way that all sheetrock flaws don’t stand out like sore thumbs. That’s why it’s recommended you let a professional remodeller or licensed contractor handle the job. It’s amazing the flaws people find in their sheetrock after it has been painted for the first time.
There are certain steps that must be taken in order to paint new sheetrock. You can’t just slap on some paint and call it good. New sheetrock must be sanded, primed and then painted. If you don’t make sure the sheetrock is flat, smooth and primed properly, the wall will not look good even after it’s painted.

How to Paint New Sheetrock

If you’ve ever walked down a hallway and noticed a wall with rounded spots, sheetrock tape lines and sheetrock mud lumps, it’s clear you’re looking at a wall that was not properly prepared for painting. All taped areas must be sanded until smooth. Before applying primer paint, the first step is to do any additional sanding needed. In addition, the nail and screw holes must be filled and sanded until flat also.

Another potential problem which must be addressed before any paint is applied to new sheetrock is getting rid of sheetrock dust. After hanging sheetrock and then sanding sheetrock mud, a lot of dust is raised. This dust will cling to the walls and all of it is not necessarily obvious to the naked eye. When it becomes obvious is when you try to paint and the dust gets trapped in the brush and paint.

The best way to get rid of sheetrock dust is to use special painter cloths which collect dust when the walls are wiped. Some people use a damp grout sponge to fix mud flaws and eliminate dust. If this method is used it’s really important that the wall not get too damp, because water can cause the sheetrock paper to buckle.

After the wall is nice and smooth, a coat of latex primer paint can be applied to the wall first. Latex paint will smooth the nap of the sheetrock paper which makes the top paint coats look shiny and new. But before you begin painting, the ceiling and baseboards or floor must be taped. A cutting brush is handy for painting along the taped lines of the wall, while the remainder of the paint can be rolled on. Professional painters will use a paint sprayer for the main part of the wall. Two coats of paint in addition to the primer coat is recommended.

Using a professional contractor is the best idea, because there are so many ways that painting new sheetrock can go wrong. When a wall is not prepared properly, and then painted, you’ll notice the flaws every time you pass by the spots.

Bathroom Improvements: Moving Pedestal Sinks and Plumbing

There are a lot of ways for you to improve the value of your home, including improving your bathrooms. Many people buy homes with the intention of making some minor adjustments: adding new paint or wallpaper, building a deck, or replacing bathroom fixtures. But there are some who look at a bathroom and think they could really do a lot with it if they could handle moving pedestal sinks and plumbing in the bathroom. While this is a great idea, especially if you are thinking or creating an entirely new bathroom floor plan, it is still quite a task.

Moving Pedestal Sinks and Plumbing

Moving pedestal sinks and plumbing in a bathroom is not only a feat of engineering; it is a feat of carpentering, plumbing, dry walling, and tiling. Think about it: if you want to try moving pedestal sinks and plumbing, you will need to move the sink and that means moving the plumbing fixture as well as the piping. You will need to remove the existing sink, repair the hole in the wall where the sink used to attach, and then you will need to cut a new hole in the wall, extend the piping, and reattach the pedestal sink. This is a lot of steps for the average weekend home remodeler to handle just for moving pedestal sinks and plumbing.

If you are thinking of tackling a large project like moving pedestal sinks and plumbing, you will want to be sure you have all of the tools and skills necessary to complete the project. A basic knowledge of plumbing skills will not be enough to correctly complete moving pedestal sinks and plumbing in a bathroom. If there are any mistakes in the installation of the sink or in the connection of pipes, you could have a lot of flooding behind your bathroom walls.

Because moving pedestal sinks and plumbing can have very expensive problems arise from mistakes, you may want to consider hiring a contractor for the job. It may seem like a lot more money, but what you spend on the contractor could save you thousands of dollars in repair costs for problems caused later on. The cost of repairing walls, taking care of severe water damage, and replacing anything that has been ruined by mistakes will require you to hire a contractor anyway. Why not hire one to do the moving pedestal sinks and plumbing project from the beginning and save yourself the headache?