The question we hear most before an interior project is not about color. It is “what happens to my stuff?” It is a fair question. Painting a lived-in house means working around floors, furniture, countertops and light fixtures, and the difference between a crew you would hire again and one you would not often comes down to how carefully those things were covered. Here are the four areas a thorough masking job covers, what each one should look like, and what to do on your end before the first drop cloth goes down.

Tip 1: Cover floors edge to edge, not just the middle

Floors take the most abuse during a repaint: ladder feet, dropped tools, the occasional drip, and the dust from sanding patches. Hardwood and tile get covered completely with builder’s paper taped at the baseboard so it cannot migrate, with drop cloths over the paper in the working lanes. Carpet gets a cloth drop rather than plastic, because plastic on carpet slides underfoot. The tell of a careless job is a single drop cloth in the middle of the room with bare floor around the edges, which is exactly where the cutting-in happens.

Tip 2: Furniture goes to the center and under plastic

On a walls-only job, furniture is pulled to the middle of the room, away from every wall, and wrapped in plastic sheeting. Heavy pieces that cannot be moved, such as a piano or a built-in, are wrapped in place and the wall behind them is cut in by hand. If ceilings are being painted as well, everything in the room is covered rather than just pulled in, because ceiling roller mist settles on anything below it. Small valuables, electronics and anything breakable are best moved out of the room entirely by you, before the crew arrives; a wrapped lamp still has to be lifted by someone.

Tip 3: Kitchens and baths: counters, appliances and the sink

Kitchens are the hardest room to mask because almost every surface is horizontal and almost every surface matters. Countertops, the cooktop, the sink and the faucet are covered with paper or plastic taped at the backsplash line; the refrigerator, range and dishwasher fronts get plastic; the inside of the sink gets covered so nothing is rinsed down it. On a cabinet project the masking gets more elaborate still, because the sprayed finish goes on in the room: openings are tented, the floor is papered wall to wall, and the room is sealed from the rest of the house while the finish is applied.

Plan to be out of the kitchen for the duration, and clear the counters yourself first.

Tip 4: Fans, chandeliers and everything on the ceiling

Ceiling fans, pendants, chandeliers, smoke detectors and recessed can trims are either removed or bagged in plastic before a ceiling is painted. Fans are usually bagged blade by blade; a chandelier is wrapped at the canopy so the chain and crystals are sealed inside. Thermostats, outlet and switch plates and register covers come off the walls rather than being painted around; a crew that paints around a switch plate leaves a hard line the day you change it. Smoke detectors are covered, not painted, and uncovered the same day.

What to do before the crew arrives

  • Take pictures, mirrors, curtains and curtain rods down, and set them in a room that is not being painted.
  • Empty closets that are being painted, including the top shelf.
  • Clear surfaces: counters, dresser tops, nightstands, the top of the refrigerator.
  • Note anything you want left alone, such as a wall of pencil height marks or an alarm sensor, and point it out at the walkthrough.
  • Decide where pets will be. A closed room away from the work is better for them than a corner of it.

You do not need to move heavy furniture yourself. Say what you want moved and what you want left, and let the crew handle the lifting.

What masking can and cannot do

Honesty matters here. Paper and plastic reduce mess; they do not make it impossible. A few flecks of paint on a floor or a drip found on a counter at the end of a project are normal, and a good crew catches them in the detail phase and the final walkthrough rather than hoping you will not. Sanding dust also travels, even with floors covered and doorways sealed, so expect a light film in adjacent rooms and plan a thorough clean after the crew leaves. The crew sweeps and vacuums its work areas; it does not clean your house.

Why new masking materials matter

One detail worth asking any painter about: where did the drop cloths come from? A cloth that was on a job site last week carries that site’s dust, grit and dried paint into your house, and it is the grit under a drop cloth that scratches a wood floor. Alliance Painting uses only new, unused masking materials on each project and does not bring drop cloths from other job sites into your home.

The same masking sequence applies in Plano, Frisco and Highland Park, and every Interior Painting project carries a Lifetime Interior Warranty that transfers with the house.