I'm planning to paint the ceiling and walls in a bedroom of an old house, and I'm also going to sand and refinish the wood floors in the same room. I'm curious about the best sequence to follow for scraping paint, priming, painting, and tackling the floors. Any suggestions on what order I should do everything?
3 Answers
Start by removing the baseboards and prepping the walls. Then paint the ceiling, walls, and any trim like doors and windows. After that, give the baseboards a fresh coat of paint too. Once that's all set, you can refinish the floors. Don’t forget to reattach the baseboards afterward, and fill in any nail holes before giving them another quick coat to finish them nicely.
I'd recommend tackling the ceiling first, then move on to the walls, and finally the floor. You definitely don't want to work with newly finished floors while painting, since you could end up dripping paint that soaks into the unprepared floor. If you choose to sand first, you'll need to cover every inch of that floor while you handle the walls and ceiling, which can be a hassle.
From my experience, the best order is: scrape the old paint, prime the surfaces, and then hit the ceiling and walls with paint. It’s best to go with two coats for a solid finish. Once those are done and dry, cover them to protect against dust while you sand the floors. Just know, it’s gonna get messy, so a good mask is a must! After sanding, go ahead and finish the floors, but remember to let that cure before moving in any furniture or area rugs.