Lay Floor Or Paint First

While either order can work when done right mb jessee recommends installing flooring first for several reasons.

Lay floor or paint first.

Removing and replacing flooring or carpeting is dirty work. Homeowners often wonder when refreshing or updating a whole room whether to install new flooring or to repaint the walls and trim first. But it only makes your job more difficult plus it gums up the sandpaper. If you paint before doing a flooring project you ll avoid the hassle of paint drips or spills ladder scuffs or other hazards to the new floor.

If you paint the walls first some homeowners may think that it is possible to paint with relative abandon then sand out your paint drips. This allows caulking trim base to the walls before final painting is completed and after new tile flooring is laid. Dripping paint on kitchen flooring such as textured or linen look porcelain tile can be disastrous because it s difficult to remove. If you start with a hardwood flooring project and follow with painting you ll avoid the dusty mess from sanding.

There are two main problems that can easily occur if flooring is installed after painting. From there you should rip up the floors. If you paint first and then do floors there is a good chance that a lot of dirt dust sawdust or tile stone dust will end up on your freshly painted walls and trim. For many people their instinct tells them to paint the walls first so they can eliminate the fear of dripping globs of paint on their gorgeous new floors.

The reason for that is that this can damage the floors. Paint before floor installation. The ideal is to first do any prep work to the walls e g ripping up wall paper sanding and patching walls etc. However if you want painted baseboards again paint last.

If you re replacing carpet first before painting it will be easier for the flooring company. Also it s often better to paint the ceilings first especially given that the ladders will rest on the floors. There is a possibility that the walls or trim may be damaged by the installation of the flooring. Paint that has dripped and hardened on a sealed surface will come off floor sanding.

Though you can more easily remove a paint drip on pre finished wood it will be difficult if it lands in a seam or if the paint pigment stains the wood. It isn t critical whether you install flooring or paint the walls first in an empty gutted room but there are a few reasons why installing the flooring first might eliminate potential problems.