Getting a Riverside House and Yard Ready for a Painting Crew
Why does preparation before the crew arrives matter?
A painting job moves at the speed of its slowest delay. A crew that arrives to find a hallway full of boxes, a car in front of the garage and a flower bed against the wall loses the first morning to moving things. Most of that time can be given back by a few hours of work the day before. The questions below come up at nearly every older house in Riverside, from the Queen Anne streets near Downtown to the tract neighbourhoods around La Sierra and Arlanza.
What gets moved inside the house?
Anything that sits against a wall being painted needs to come away from it. In a room with plaster or drywall walls, furniture is pulled to the middle and covered. Pictures, mirrors and shelf contents come off the walls and go into another room. Curtain rods and blinds usually come down too, since painting around them leaves a messy edge.
Small items on top of furniture are boxed. Rugs are rolled up and moved out of the work area, because tape and plastic slide on rugs and paint soaks through. In an older house with wood floors, the floors are covered with rosin paper or canvas drop cloths rather than thin plastic, which is slippery and can trap moisture on old finishes.
Do closets and cabinets need to be emptied?
If the closet is being painted, yes. Shelves and rods come out for the best result, and clothes go to another room. If only the closet door is being painted, the contents can stay, but the door comes off the hinges and is laid flat on sawhorses so both faces and the edges get coated.
Kitchen and bathroom cabinets are different. Cabinet faces being painted are emptied, because doors are removed, numbered with painter's tape and sprayed or brushed off the hinges. A good habit is to photograph each cabinet wall before removing hardware, so everything goes back in the same order.
What about the outside of the house?
The first task outside is clearance. Shrubs, climbing roses and vines that touch the wall are tied back or trimmed. Plants pressed against stucco or siding make the bottom 18 inches of a wall nearly impossible to cut in cleanly. On older homes in Canyon Crest or the Eastside where jasmine and bougainvillea have grown into the eaves, the plants are pulled gently away from the house with soft twine and covered with breathable cloth.
Furniture, grills, pots and bikes move away from the wall by several feet. Outdoor lighting and house numbers are removed or masked. Any window screens come off and are set aside, since paint spray on a screen cannot be cleaned.
How should plants and the yard be protected?
Drop cloths go over the ground and the plants under the drip line. Canvas is better than plastic in Riverside summers because plastic heats up quickly in the sun and can scald leaves. A light mist of water on plants before covering helps. Lawn areas next to the wall are covered too, and hoses are stored out of the work zone.
Pots and fragile plants on a porch go to a shaded spot. Fairmount Park-style mature trees overhanging a roofline are not a problem for paint, but falling leaves and seeds stick to wet surfaces, so loose debris is swept off the eaves and gutters beforehand.
Should the house be washed before the crew comes?
The crew washes the surface as part of prep, and the wash has to be done by someone who is ready to scrape and prime right after. A homeowner pressure washing the house a week early can force water into old wood and plaster, and the surface can look dry but still hold moisture inside for days. The crew's wash is timed so the dry period is controlled and the scraping and priming follow.
What a homeowner can do is remove cobwebs and loose dirt from eaves with a broom, and check that gutters and downspouts are not dumping water down the walls. A leak that stays active during painting stains the new coat from behind.
What time of day does the work happen in the heat?
Riverside summers are hot and dry, and a wall in direct afternoon sun can be too hot to paint. Paint that dries too fast on a hot surface skins over before it levels, and the brush marks show. Crews start early, paint the shaded side of the house in the afternoon and move around the building with the sun. That means an early start on day one, and a driveway that is clear when the crew arrives.
Inside, the same heat works in the opposite direction. Paint dries fast and can leave lap marks where the wet edge dried before the next pass. Closing blinds on sunny windows and running the air conditioning at a steady temperature helps the paint cure evenly. The thermostat is best left alone while paint is drying.
How should access be arranged?
Clear a path from the driveway to the work area. Cars move out of the garage and off the front of the house, and the street gets a quick look for parking. Gates are unlocked or the crew gets a code. Side yards are cleared of bins and tools so ladders and scaffolding can go up. Narrow side yards on older lots are common in older Riverside neighbourhoods, and a ladder that cannot stand level is a safety problem.
Pets are the other access issue. Dogs and cats should be kept inside a closed room or at a neighbour's, away from open doors, wet paint, ladders and cans. A gate left open by mistake is the most common way a pet gets into trouble during a job.
What about safety on older houses?
A house built before 1978 can carry lead in its old paint, and the work area is sealed off for that reason. Children and pregnant household members should stay away from the work zone until final cleanup, and food, toys and dishes are moved out of the area. The crew sets up containment, scrapes wet and cleans with a HEPA vacuum. A homeowner who wants to know how that is being done can ask to see the plastic sheeting and the cleanup plan before the first scrape.
Windows in rooms next to the work stay closed during scraping, then open for ventilation once dust is settled and the area has been cleaned. Smells from oil based primer and enamel are strong, and rooms should be aired out with cross ventilation after each day.
What should be decided before day one?
Colours, sheens and trim choices are settled before the first can is opened. A sample square on the wall, viewed at morning, noon and evening, avoids changes that cost days. Exterior colours are chosen with the roof, the stonework and the neighbouring houses in mind, and period houses tend to look best when the body, trim and accent colours follow the style of the house, whether that is Queen Anne, Mission Revival or a mid-century ranch.
It also helps to decide what is not being painted. Masonry, brick, stone, fixtures and tile are masked or left as they are. A walk through with the crew lead, pointing at each surface and naming what is included, prevents most disagreements later.
How does the end of the job work?
The last day has a walk through. Light from a window at a low angle shows missed spots, drips and thin areas. Touch-ups are done while the crew is still there, and leftover paint is labelled with the room, colour name, sheen and date. A sample card or a small labelled jar stays with the house for later touch-ups. Furniture goes back after the paint has cured enough to hold, and rugs wait a day or two more.
The short version
A clear house, a clear yard and a clear driveway let the crew spend their time on prep and paint instead of moving things.