Advice for having teens or tweens do indoor painting

[ThelmaLou]

I'm wanting to keep my 15 and 13 year old boys busy this summer. I'd like them to try their hand at painting a few bedrooms/bathrooms. I've never done my own painting, so I don't really know what I'm getting myself into. Any advice would be helpful.

 

Have your teens done indoor painting? Are there parts that are too difficult for them that you take charge of? (painting near trim/ceiling, taping, etc...) How have things turned out?

 

[Jean in Newcastle]

I help with the taping and the trim mostly by looking for smaller details (like tape that doesn't quite go to the corner etc.) that might need fixing.  I would assign the trim to the older one or whichever one is more careful and detail oriented.  Big surfaces of walls are easy and my kids have done those for years.  Make sure there are drop clothes on the floor.  And supervise clean up.  

[Karen in CO]

I help with taping and protecting.  I also help with edges and corners for the first few rooms.  Once they are started, I don't look unless they ask.  

[Farrar]

I somehow ended up roped into this job a lot as a teen.  Prep the area well with them beforehand, including drop cloths, taping, etc.  Then leave them alone - you don't want to micromanage.  Check before they leave off for the day so you can see if they left huge drips that you can maybe deal with before totally dry.

 

(This is how I treat dh painting too, btw.  :tongue_smilie: )

[Seasider]

To be honest, bathrooms are pretty challenging to paint. A small room with immovable fixtures makes it hard to get a ladder in place if you need to get high up. I'd recommend letting them start with a room that is large enough to move around in and is basically just walls (ie, not a bunch of windows or other fixtures to paint around, etc.

 

Show them how to remove switch plates and outlet covers and make sure the flooring is protected. Other than that, painting mistakes are usually pretty easy to fix with just another layer of paint.

[5of5]

Can you give them a practice room to start with?  Such as painting some garage walls if you have any.  "Practice makes perfect".

[Chris in VA]

We had the boys paint the basement for $ when they were about 13 and 15yo.

 

My husband drew numbers on each wall, representing the $ he'd pay for that wall to be painted! Made it kinda fun. 

 

It was good work for them--both went on to paint professionally for people for extra $$.

 

Oh, and dh likes the paint pads much more than the paint rollers. Says they are easier and faster, and neater. IDK much about that.

[PrincessMommy]

I had my college aged boys paint most of our old house before we moved out.  We paid them money to do it during break.   No, they didn't do a perfect job, but they did it well enough for selling - and certainly WAY less than the professional painter.     I went around and fixed a few mistakes - but that's way easier than painting the whole room.  I hate painting, so I was willing to pay.

 

Ditto, on the drop clothes and taping.

[In The Great White North]

 

 

Prep the area well with them beforehand, including drop cloths, taping, etc

 

This.  If everything is prepped well, the painting part is easy..  Remove fixtures, switch plates, outlet covers, etc.  Tape all edges.  Tape the drop cloth down. Remove furniture if possible and all knick-knacks.

 

 

 

 

I also had my 13yo pull out nails and patch. 

 

Here too.  

[Prairie~Phlox]

I just have to say, my dh is is a professional painter and my kids, now 13, ~15 & 16 have been painting a few years during apartment rush (when college turnover is)  It's hard work and is not as easy as some people think.  Getting a good cut line is tricky, we don't use tape, but they have learned proper technique from my dh, As far as cutting it in, it's 3 steps, 1 to put it on, 2, to put it where it needs to be and 3 to smooth it out.  (so 1 you put it near the edge, but not "on the edge", 2, you get it edged and 3 smooth it all out.  I personally would not just cut kids loose on rooms, I've seen too many crappy paint jobs, however it's up to you what you want it to look like.  We're pretty picky and notice little details, even the edgers you buy don't work 100%

[Prairie~Phlox]

I agree. It is NOT easy. The only thing that I thought was harder was refinishing hardwood floors. But yeah painting is backbreaking. Sometimes the tape doesn't work right. Good lighting is important. When we painted this place we had to often do it at night without natural light, which is not ideal. You don't see certain things with lousy lightening that will stick out like a sore thumb during the day.

 

Oh and then there is removing wallpaper. That's torture. LOL

Haha, the other thing my dh does is refinshed hardwood or installs it. It's a workout, that's for sure.

[Mothersweets]

I would demonstrate exactly what it means when you say, "Don't let the roller bump into the ceiling. I do not want paint on the ceiling!". And, yes, they got paint on the ceiling. sigh.