Having interior walls and ceilings painted: preparation, paint and what the painter does

New paint on the walls and ceiling is one of the quickest ways to freshen up a home. Yet the difference between good and mediocre paintwork often only shows after a few weeks: streaks in the raking light from a window, paint peeling off near the skirting boards, stains showing through on the ceiling or mould that is back in the bathroom within a year. The cause almost always lies in the preparation or in a paint that does not suit the room. This article is about interior painting: when you can do it yourself and when a painter is the wiser choice, how the surface is prepared, which paint belongs where, what to watch out for in damp rooms, on ceilings and with woodwork, and what should be in the quote. For painting the outside of your home, read Exterior painting: when to paint, what weather and what the painter does.

Paint it yourself or hire a painter?

Painting a wall in a bedroom or living room is perfectly doable for many handy homeowners. Above all, it takes patience with masking and preparation, and a good roller. There are, however, situations in which the difference compared with a professional is large:

• Ceilings. Painting a ceiling without streaks is harder than a wall: you are working above your head, the paint dries while you are busy, and every lap mark is visible in the light from the windows.
• High rooms and stairwells. A void or stairwell requires scaffolding or a stable working platform at height. A painter has the equipment for that; a wobbly ladder on a staircase is a well-known cause of falls.
• Large surfaces and exacting requirements. If you want a whole house painted, for example for a sale or after a renovation, a painter will often finish faster and more evenly.
• Difficult surfaces. Chalky old distemper layers, stains that keep bleeding through, new plasterwork and mould require knowledge of primers and stain-blocking undercoats.
• High-gloss woodwork. Finishing doors, frames and stairs with a smooth gloss coat without runs and brush marks is real craftsmanship.

What else you can do yourself during a renovation and what you had better leave alone is explained in What you can do yourself in a renovation and what you had better not.

The preparation: where the result is determined

For interior work, a painter often spends more time preparing than painting. The steps that recur in a good approach:

1. Clearing and covering. Furniture goes to the middle of the room or out of it, floors are covered with protective runner or dust sheeting, and switches, sockets and lights are unscrewed or masked.
2. Cleaning and degreasing. Walls in the kitchen, around light switches and in the hallway are often greasier than they look. Paint adheres poorly to a greasy surface; the painter wipes those areas with a degreaser and rinses them.
3. Filling holes and cracks. Nail holes, wall plug holes and small cracks are filled with filler and sanded smooth once dry. Larger damage or loose plasterwork is more a job for a plasterer. Cracks that keep coming back in the same place, for example where the ceiling meets the wall, may point to movement in the structure; in that case filling only helps temporarily.
4. Sanding. Existing glossy paint layers are lightly sanded so the new coat can adhere, and filled areas are sanded flush.
5. Masking. Skirting boards, frames and the transition to the ceiling are masked with painter's tape, unless the painter cuts in a straight line freehand.
6. Priming. A porous or unevenly absorbent surface first gets a primer or sealer, so that the wall paint dries evenly and does not become patchy.

The rub test: chalky old layers

In older homes, walls and ceilings sometimes have old distemper layers based on chalk or lime. Rub the surface with a damp finger or a dark cloth: if white powder comes off, the surface is chalking. New wall paint adheres poorly to that and may start to flake. A painter removes such layers or binds them with a fixing primer before starting to paint.

New plasterwork: let it dry first

You cannot paint directly on new plasterwork or a freshly plastered ceiling. The plaster must first dry out thoroughly, which, depending on the thickness of the layer, the temperature and the ventilation, easily takes several weeks. Dry plaster is evenly light in colour; dark patches indicate moisture that still has to evaporate. After that it gets a primer, because new plaster is very absorbent. If you paint too early, you trap moisture, with a risk of peeling paint and stains. The difference between smooth plaster, spack (sprayed finish) and decorative plaster is explained in Plasterer or spack sprayer.

Which wall paint: latex, acrylic and the sheen level

For walls and ceilings, a painter almost always uses water-based wall paint. In everyday Dutch this is often called latex, even if technically it contains no latex. The difference lies mainly in the binder and therefore in the quality:

• Standard wall paint (latex). Suitable for walls and ceilings in living rooms and bedrooms that do not have to put up with much. Highly vapour-permeable and easy to apply.
• Acrylic wall paint. Wall paint with an acrylic binder is generally more hard-wearing and more washable. Painters choose it for hallways, stairwells, children's rooms, kitchens and other places where walls are touched or cleaned.

You also choose a sheen level. Matt hides unevenness in the wall best and is the standard for ceilings, because raking light there reveals every irregularity. Eggshell and satin are more washable, but show unevenness and lap marks sooner; they therefore require a smooth surface.

Scrub resistance and the classes of NEN-EN 13300

The label or the technical data sheet of wall paint often states a class for wet scrub resistance according to the European standard NEN-EN 13300. That standard divides interior wall paint into five classes, with class 1 being the most resistant to scrubbing and class 5 the least. The same standard also has classes for hiding power and a classification by sheen level. For walls that are wiped regularly, such as in the kitchen, the hallway or a child's room, a paint in class 1 or 2 is a sensible choice; for a bedroom ceiling that matters less. Ask the painter which class they propose.

Volatile organic compounds

Paint can contain volatile organic compounds (VOCs), solvents that evaporate during drying and that you breathe in. European Directive 2004/42/EC (the Decopaint Directive) sets a maximum VOC content per product category for paints and varnishes placed on the market, including interior wall paint. For professionals, including self-employed tradespeople, the Arbeidsomstandighedenregeling (the Dutch Working Conditions Regulation) also applies: anyone who professionally applies paint or varnish in homes and other buildings may, with a few exceptions, only use products with at most 60 grams of VOC per litre for wall paint and 100 grams per litre for other products, such as gloss paint. In practice this comes down to water-based paint and gloss. As a private individual you are not covered by those occupational health and safety rules, but even then water-based paint is the sensible choice indoors.

Bathroom, kitchen and other damp rooms

In the bathroom, the kitchen, the utility room and the toilet, paint has a harder time because of water vapour and condensation. A moisture-resistant wall paint is appropriate there, and for places where mould has already appeared there is anti-mould wall paint with an additive that inhibits the growth of mould on the paint layer.

The order is important. Anti-mould paint does not tackle any cause: if the room is not ventilated enough or if moisture is coming through a wall, the mould will return. Existing mould is first removed thoroughly and the surface must be dry before painting. If mould keeps returning, first have the source of the moisture investigated; the signs and the right tradesperson for each cause can be found in Recognising damp and mould in your home. In the bathroom, a properly working extractor fan or a window that can open is at least as important as the paint.

Ceilings, old spray texture and asbestos

With ceilings, two questions come together: what condition is the ceiling in and what is on it? A smoothly plastered or previously painted ceiling can usually simply be painted over, after filling small cracks and treating stains. Stains from leaks, nicotine or soot bleed through ordinary wall paint; a painter first seals them with a stain-blocking undercoat.

Things are different with old spray texture, the coarse textured layer found on many ceilings from the 1960s up to and including the 1980s. In homes built or renovated before 1994, such spray texture may contain asbestos. Sanding, scraping off, scratching or drilling into it then releases fibres. If in doubt, first have an asbestos survey or a sample test carried out before the painter does anything other than carefully covering up. A good painter will ask about this themselves. More about the rules and steps can be found in Recognising asbestos when renovating, and about the choice between re-plastering, spraying or a suspended ceiling in Having a ceiling plastered or sprayed.

Even spray texture without asbestos cannot always simply be painted over. A textured layer is very absorbent, and some old layers soften or come loose when they get wet. A painter therefore first tests on a small area how the surface reacts.

Interior woodwork: doors, frames and skirting boards

Doors, interior frames, skirting boards, stair balustrades and window sills are painted not with wall paint but with gloss or satin paint for wood. This is done in a fixed build-up: degreasing, sanding, priming bare spots, possibly an undercoat and finally a top coat in the desired sheen level. For interior work, painters almost always use water-based acrylic paint, which dries quickly, smells little and lets white yellow less than classic solvent-based alkyd paint. On doors and frames that have already been painted with alkyd paint, thorough sanding and a suitable bonding primer are important, otherwise the new coat adheres poorly.

In homes built before the Second World War, the bottom layers of paint on interior woodwork may contain lead. White lead has been banned for interior painting since 1939, but older layers may still be underneath. Sanding such layers releases lead-containing dust; if in doubt, have the painter test first and sand wet or with dust extraction.

Ventilating during and after painting

Even water-based paint releases substances and moisture while drying. During painting and the days afterwards, open windows or trickle vents and run the mechanical ventilation on a higher setting, so the paint dries properly and the air stays clean. Preferably do not sleep in a room that has just been painted, certainly not with young children, and ventilate for extra long if a product containing solvents has been used after all. Do keep an eye on the temperature: wall paint must be applied above a minimum temperature stated by the manufacturer on the packaging, so do not turn the heating off completely in winter.

When should you have interior painting done?

Interior painting does not depend on the weather and can be done all year round. Painters are often busy with exterior work in spring and summer, so they like to schedule interior work in autumn and winter. If you request a quote in that period, you usually have more choice in scheduling. In a renovation, the painter is one of the last to come: after the plasterer, the electrician and the carpenter, and before the floor is laid or after it has been well covered. With new plasterwork, include the drying time in the schedule.

VAT: 9% for painting work in your home

For painting a home that is more than two years old, the reduced VAT rate of 9% applies. According to the Belastingdienst (the Dutch Tax Administration), this applies not only to the labour, but also to the preparation and to the paint and other materials that the painter uses and supplies for the job. Paint that you buy yourself at the DIY store is not covered; it is subject to 21%. If the painter works in a new-build home or a home that has been in use for less than two years, they charge 21%. What else falls under the reduced rate is explained in 9 or 21 percent VAT on renovations.

What the painter does and what belongs in the quote

A good painter first comes to have a look before drawing up a quote. They assess the surface, look for moisture, cracks and old layers, and ask about the desired result. Painters usually charge for interior work per square metre or on the basis of an estimated number of hours plus materials; both are fine, as long as it is clear what is and is not included. Check that these points are in the quote:

• Which rooms and surfaces: walls, ceilings, woodwork, and whether cupboards, radiators and pipes are painted as well.
• Preparation: degreasing, filling, sanding, priming, and how cracks and stains are dealt with.
• Number of coats per surface, and which primer or undercoat is used.
• Brand and type of paint, with sheen level, colour and, if possible, the scrub resistance class.
• Furniture and covering: who moves the furniture, how floors and furnishings are protected, and who tidies up afterwards.
• Extra work: how it is charged if sanding reveals more damage or a worse surface.
• Schedule and VAT: when, how many days, and whether the reduced VAT rate has been applied.

How to compare quotes fairly side by side is explained in Comparing quotes: how to read a building quote.

In summary: have the surface properly prepared, choose a wall paint that suits how intensively the room is used, be careful with old spray texture, ventilate well and ask for a quote that spells out the preparation, coats and type of paint. On VerbouwPro you post your painting job free of charge and painters from your area respond.