How to Prepare Your Home Before the Painters Arrive

A paint job goes faster, cleaner and cheaper when the house is ready for us. None of this is essential — we can do it all ourselves — but a bit of prep from you saves time (and time is where the cost is). Here’s a simple checklist we give our Wollongong customers before we start.

Clear the rooms as much as you can. Move smaller furniture, ornaments, and anything breakable out of the way. We’ll shift and cover the big pieces, but the more clear space we have, the quicker we work and the less risk to your things.

Take down what’s on the walls. Pictures, mirrors, shelves, curtains and blinds if you can. Also pull off anything stuck to walls or doors. It lets us get a clean, even finish right to the edges instead of cutting around obstacles.

Give us a quick heads-up on problem spots. If you know about a leak, a patch of damp, flaking paint, cracks that keep coming back, or a repair that was done before — tell us. It changes how we prep that area, and dealing with it properly up front is what stops the new paint failing later.

Think about colours before day one. If you’re still deciding, we’re happy to help — but the best approach is to test a sample on the actual wall and look at it across the day, because colours look completely different under our strong coastal light than they do on a chip in the shop. Locking colours in before we arrive keeps the job moving.

Plan for pets and parking. Let us know if you’ve got pets so we can keep gates shut and doors managed while we’re in and out. And if there’s a spot we can park close for gear and ladders, that helps — especially on exterior jobs.

Kids, access and keys. Sort out how we’ll get access each day and which areas need to stay usable. We work around your household — after-hours or in stages if needed — but a quick chat about it up front avoids surprises.

Don’t stress about the prep we handle. Washing down, sanding, filling, patching and priming are our job, and they’re the part that makes the finish last — so we’d never expect you to do those. This checklist is just the household side that helps us get in, do a tidy job, and get out.

Do these few things and the whole job runs smoother. If you’ve got questions before we start, just ask — we’d rather sort it early than mid-job.

Colourland Painting is a local, second-generation team serving Wollongong and the Illawarra, with 35+ years of combined experience. See colourlandpainting.com.au.