Possible To Diy Whole House Painting?

[CutePinkElephant 0]

hi!

I've been getting a lot of useful information from this forum and hope to contribute by sharing my experience.

Hubby and I painted our newly bought resale 4-rm flat. We only painted on Saturdays only, so we took a couple of weeks to complete. It was ok, as we were not really in a rush to move in.

We patched and smoothened the walls before painting and came to know "every crack and hole" in the wall. It was VERY tiring (esp for the man, who would presumably do most of the ceiling), plus the fact that our unit is on the topmost floor, so ceiling is higher.

Saved about $1K, which we used to buy more stuff, but the moment we finished the last panel of wall, the feeling and look on our faces was indescribable..hehe...mixed with satisfaction and relief.

For buying the paints, we found that prices are quite controlled and HDB shops sometimes are more expensive! For Nippon, some colours are exclusive to shops like Home Fix and Self Fix and are not found in the main paint colour catalogs.

Eventually, we used ICI online colour consultation and bought ICI paint for the walls. We realised we would have saved a little by ordering ICI paints over the ICI website, compared to what we bought from a shop Jln Bersah...and we wouldn't have to carry the heavy cans around, since delivery is free if you buy more than 20 litres of paint online. So, no harm checking it out if you are planning to DIY your painting!

Was definitely a learning process and we got some tips and pointers here and there from paint sellers. Would DIY painting again in future if I have the time and energy!

many thanks for the tips, may i know how many litres paint for 4rm flat? how much it cost?

[mud3210 0]

thanks thanks Pm u already )

Hihi patsy_sg, would u be kind enough to lend me the equipments for painting after u r done with it? CutePinkElephant say i can use it first. i may need to paint my flat in july or august. pls let me know if convenient, u can PM me or email me at mud3210@yahoo.com if my PM is full . tiA!

...We patched and smoothened the walls before painting and came to know "every crack and hole" in the wall. ...

hihi, can i know if u smoothen that wall with something called a "wall-sealer"?? do we have to paint wall sealer on our false ceiling b4 we paint the usual paints on it? pls advise. Thks!

Edited May 28, 2008 by mud3210

[CutePinkElephant 0]

Hihi CutePinkElephant, would u be kind enough to lend me the equipments for painting after u r done with it? i may need to paint my flat in july or august. i will return it to u when i am done. pls let me know if convenient, u can PM me or email me at mud3210@yahoo.com if my PM is full . tiA!

btw, i got a painter contact frm this forum, he is charging me for ard $400 to paint a 4-rm premium flat in 4 colors, but i dunno his workmanship. so hiring an external painter may not be as ex as we imagined afterall., but still $400 is still rather ex to me... i want to paint with my fiance tog., but he very lazy... so we may need to hire him, nevertheless can u lend me ur brushes first while i try to brainwash him

u can read more on my comment on painting and false ceiling in here also:

http://www.renotalk.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=12738

hihi, can i know if u smoothen that wall with something called a "wall-sealer"?? do we have to paint wall sealer on our false ceiling b4 we paint the usual paints on it? pls advise. Thks!

Pm already

[xaleysan 2]

many thanks for the tips, may i know how many litres paint for 4rm flat? how much it cost?

Hi CutePinkElephant,

these are the amount of paints we bought.

- for ceiling (whole house excl household shelter): 2 x 5L cans, used about 1 3/4 cans for 2 coats

- for living room:

1 x 1L (for a TV wall, used up about 3/4 for 3 coats)

1 x 1L (for 1 panel dining area wall, used 1/2 for 2 coats)

2 x 5L (for remaining living room walls, used about 1 1/2 can for 2-3 coats)

- for bedrooms: 2 x 5L cans (same colour for all 3 bedrooms), used about 1 2/3 can for 2-3 coats

most of the colours we chose are light colours, so must paint more coats then look nicer. Spent Abt $400 on paints, mostly used ICI Pentalite, except for 1L of ICI Dulux All and 2 cans of 5L Nippon Vinyl Silk.

Is it difficult to DIY patch and smooth the walls? Where did you get the plaster (is it what it's supposed to be called?) and how much did it cost you?

Hi GoalHome,

we used wall putty to patch the walls. can get from those hdb paint shops or DIY shop, or ICI online store, about $3-4 a tub. We used that and then smoothen with sandpaper before painting.

hihi, can i know if u smoothen that wall with something called a "wall-sealer"?? do we have to paint wall sealer on our false ceiling b4 we paint the usual paints on it? pls advise. Thks!

Hi mud3210,

Wall sealer, from what I understand, is like a base coat. The paint seller told me usu new house need sealer. Mine is resale, so previous owner already painted before. So, instead of sealer, he told me to paint a few more coats. We used Vinyl Silk on our ceiling (incl false ceiling). Our contractor said it's wasteful, should have used Matex can already.

You can try Nippon and ICI website, I looked up some painting tips from there. And personally I feel, don't save on brushes and rollers. Good brushes and rollers make a difference to us amateurs.

Btw, just visited ICI website and their online store is now having 15% discount for paints...but I compared with my own records...their prices seem to have risen...

[CutePinkElephant 0]

many many thanks for the nice info

it means if i paint whole house the same colour is

4x5L + 2x5L for ceiling... thx

[patsy_sg 1]

Is it difficult to DIY patch and smooth the walls? Where did you get the plaster (is it what it's supposed to be called?) and how much did it cost you?

Hi Goalhome, like what xaleysan said, you can go and buy wall putty, either in the small tubs, or if you want to do the whole wall, you can buy bigger tubs in any paint store. You must also get the spatula to apply it on the wall... then when it is dry (have to make sure very dry), sand the wall down to smoothen it. First time you may need a rougher sand paper, then to finish off, can use a fine one.

Xaleysan, we also didn't use emulsion (Matex) paint for the ceilings because the effect isn't as nice, and emulsion paint tends to turn yellowish over time. Unlike the 3-1 paint, you can use those magic clean type mops to wipe once in a while.

One thing we realized, the paint colour NEVER looks the same on the catalog compared to the wall!

Should get my hb to come and give tips here, he's been painting his own house since he was in his teens!!

[xaleysan 2]

Hi CutePinkElephant,

we also try not to use too many colours so that we don't waste paint and $.

One thing we realized, the paint colour NEVER looks the same on the catalog compared to the wall!

Hi Patsy_sg,

you're right! And..different catalogues also showed the colours differently. I have 2 copies of the same Nippon catalogues, 1 looked more poorly printed than the other..and the same colours looked different! Fortunately the colours we chose were rather light, so the deviation did not have much effect.

Another good thing is, after confirmation of colours with ICI through the colour consultation, they sent me small swatches (dun know what it is exactly called. it's a small square of the colour) of the colours we chose. These swatches are closer to the actual colour, not like what is in the catalogue, so that was helpful.

[homepainting101 0]

oughhh...after read it seems not easy to diy hor.. really thanks for the feedback

by the way how much roughly for 5L paint per tin har?

if i diy, can it safe around 1k? hehehe......if can i'll try diy first lor...if cannot make it so step by step paint till next year whauwhawuawhuaw....

You may like to check out www.estore.com.sg. They carry a wide range of paint at competitive prices.

[CutePinkElephant 0]

You may like to check out www.estore.com.sg. They carry a wide range of paint at competitive prices.

thanks thanks for the info )

[brianforever 0]

We used Vinyl Silk on our ceiling (incl false ceiling). Our contractor said it's wasteful, should have used Matex can already.

You can try Nippon and ICI website, I looked up some painting tips from there. And personally I feel, don't save on brushes and rollers. Good brushes and rollers make a difference to us amateurs.

Btw, just visited ICI website and their online store is now having 15% discount for paints...but I compared with my own records...their prices seem to have risen...

heheh I use only Matex, & its perfect as it only comes in White, dont need to use any of the high priced white paints, unless ur lookin at other colours.

Been doing DIY painting for all my homes for years, Matex looks the same as higher priced paints IMHO

Edited October 27, 2008 by brianforever

[pinkpetter 0]

MmM CPE! I'm going to try paint everything myself also. Told a couple of my friends to prepare to come and help. whahaha That's what friends are for ma.

Anyways I consulted some contractors and they said that should use Pentalite. Cos when doing touch-ups, even months later, Pentalite would not come up in patches.

[KayLan 0]

Painting is fun. It's doable provided you have time. My painters were novice and I ended up painting almost half of my 5R, that also after daily office hours.

Ceiling is the toughest one but you need one or two coats there. Walls are much easier. Just have two rollers, one with an attached pole to paint the top sections and the other with normally reachable areas.

To save your cleaning effort, spend some time to mask properly rather than to jump into painting.

Ironically, my paints and tools costed me less than labor cost that also novice painters without any sense of finishing.

If you have reasonable stamina, each room will take approximately one full day... so 4 room will take 5-6 days (3BR+Hall+Kitchen..) to complete.

You have one week? if yes then just do it. Let me assure you, you will be much more happier than any professional painters, never mind the money saved, in fact quite a lot.

[ahjane 2]

i have painted my house twice...painting the ceiling is most tiring...neck almost break...

now i prefer professional painters cos the painting direction and strength applies and pattern would be consistent.

[Misc100 2]

After reading all the posts, I am more terrified and I think it is better to get the professionalds to do it.

[CutePinkElephant 0]

After reading all the posts, I am more terrified and I think it is better to get the professionalds to do it.

yes u r right, if u do reno for ur house better ask professional liao....

. diy only fun if u do it without other renovation like u paint ur house because some occasion like chinese new year or etc ....