There are two ways to do a house painting in San Ramon project: hire a professional contractor or do it yourself. If you decide to do the painting job yourself, you may wonder if you’re going to save more money by doing it.

The answer to whether or not you will save money depends on how you will do it and what you will buy. For the paint alone, you will need to consider the quality and brand of the paint you prefer. Paint may cost you anywhere from $13 to $60, or more if you want specific additives. For instance, if your room measures 12 x 12, you will require about 2 gallons of paint for full coverage, given that the surface is smooth and not textured (like stucco). The higher quality paint you buy, the fewer coats of paint you need to apply, and the more even coverage you will achieve.

Of course, you will also need painting tools to get the job done. A primer isn’t always necessary, but it helps paints to stick better to the surface, and is also an effective stain blocker. It may add to your budget but once the painting is done, you will see a big difference when your room has been primed. Other materials you will need: brushes, rollers, rolling handles, paint pans, buckets, rolling grid, tape, plaster filler, caulk, and sandpaper. If you have very tall ceilings, you may also need ladders, extension poles, or scaffolding, which all will add to your cost whether you purchase the items or rent them.

As for the painting labor, if you leave the painting to the professionals, they may charge you about $1 to $3 per square foot. And that’s only for an average-sized room. If your room is big or otherwise has vaulted ceilings and complicated areas, they may charge you a little more. On the other hand, if you do the painting yourself you will obviously save money on the labor, but it will cost you in time.

Before you begin the painting part, proper preparation is a key to a good finish. You may want to haul the furniture out of the room and clean the whole room and the surfaces to be painted, it will also be necessary to fix surface flaws, cover the floors with drop cloths, remove fixtures such as electrical outlet and light switches. Priming may also be necessary. These are some of the prepping steps needed before painting.

A professional painting contractor may charge a bit more if the job involves painting intricate details such as crown molding and baseboards, or decorative painting such as stripes and stenciled designs. If you have an artistic eye and hands as well, you may add the designs yourself, which is great because it reflects your own personal style and taste.

After the actual painting job is done, all is not finished just yet! You will still have to do the final part, the clean-up. This may include removing the painter’s tape as well as cleaning the brushes and rollers. You will also need to reattach fixtures and clean the whole room. Storing leftover paint and disposing of debris is also needed when you do the painting.

Doing the painting can save you considerably on labor costs — the only expenses you will have to shell out are the paints and the materials necessary for a good finish.

However, if you look at it much deeper, you may get stuck in the middle of the painting job due to lack of time. Painting takes a lot more time and effort than it appears. Besides, your apparent lack of painting skill may lead to some costly mistakes, not to mention the risk of getting yourself injured. Besides, if you buy the wrong or inferior kinds of tools, you may end up with unsatisfactory results in your paint job. You might hire a contractor in the end, anyway.

At first, hiring a contractor is expensive as opposed to doing the job yourself. But you will eventually realize how much money, effort, and time you will save from all the troubles that you might encounter when doing a DIY painting job:

• The pros are able to focus on their task at hand and get the work done in a reasonable amount of time.
• Most professional painters are covered by insurance. So you don’t have to worry when something goes wrong with the paint job.
• In reality, painting is not at all easy as it looks. It requires skill, the quality paints, the right tools, and the proper methods not only in the painting job itself but also in the preparation and cleanup.
• Letting the pros do the work for you means you have saved yourself from the stress and the risk of getting injured.

Without a doubt, the primary advantage of doing a DIY painting project is the big cut in the cost of getting the job done. But will you get satisfactory results? By contacting professional painters such as Custom Painting, Inc., you don’t have to second-guess on the paint, tools, or the methods. These pros will help you simplify the whole painting process, make it less stressful, and even save you more money when house painting in San Ramon.