Advice On Potential Job

72chevy4x4

I have a real estate contact who wants a bid on a bit of fixup work on a property where the new owner (through will) lives many states away. The walls look as if they have not been washed in 30 years-no joke! The paint seems to match the old Fridgidair 50's style range along with galvanized pipe that needs removing. Back to the walls-they could easily be sprayed b/c the carpets will come out (green shag in one room!).

Does anyone have experience in coming into a situation where the walls were in horrible condition? What would you recommend to make them suitable for accepting paint? If you have any other recommendations, I would love to hear them.

farrellpainting

Clean them!

ron schenker

Powerwash them

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Don't worry, the baseboard will hide it!

farrellpainting

Yeah what ron said, LOL

When your done, come back and ask how much $/sqft !

Brushslingers

Heh, little TSP in a pumpup.

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Benn

farrellpainting

Sorry Chevy, It's just that I've never heard of a HI contractor that didn't know how to clean a wall?

Joewho

Well, what exactly is on the walls? smoke? grease? just plain old schmootz from sitting for so long?

The kitchen will undoubtdly have grease and oils. Around the stove you might have to actually scrape off a layer of grease and then wash with a de-greaser, like tsp etc.

The bathrooms will have soaps, aresols and other bathroom products. That needs to be washed down carefully, since some of those products act like silicone and show through he paint.

The rest of the house, you might get away with sanding the walls down and priming with water based primer. I would get a couple of cans of spray kilz for inks, crayons and other marks that paint won't cover.

The kitchen and bath should be primed with a solvent based primer after washing.

skyhook

Seriously, I hired a painter and told him to wash the walls with TSP. He refused and sanded the walls. Made a huge mess and after 3 coats the yellow was still showing through. I paid him to date and sent him down the road.

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farrellpainting

Clean&rinse, sand if glossy finish, prime if color is drastically different, and then top coat with finish accordingly! If you don't know that and your doing business as a contractor, well then you should probably go work for a REAL painting contractor to at least learn the ropes first, before you go out on your own!My 2c!

Frankawitz

I would take a 5 gallon bucket of HOT water dump a box of TSP into it take a pole sander put a 3M scrubbie pad on it and mop the walls and ceiling then take a sqweegie and then mop the floors, you could also put some of TSP in a garden sprayer. spray the ceilings and walls. Good Luck

farrellpainting

Dump a box of TSP in it?Are you out of your f@#$ing mind?LOL!

slickshift

You could wash with TSP...or anything at this point...lestoil, simple green...doesn't really matter with that much dirt/grease/gunk

You just need to find out if that stuff is coming off, or if it's tar/nic from a smoker
That's another issue

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Quote:

Originally Posted by ModernStyle I have never used this crap before and I pray to the paint gods that I never have to use it again, I would rather use Behr

MakDeco

Hey 72 why don't you get a job w/ Farrell he sounds like he'd be great boss!

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MAK Deco

Chippewabuilt

if real bad you can drywall over with 3/8 drywall as long as it ant moldy

72chevy4x4

Thanks for the tips Ferrel. From your previous posts, it seems you have a bit of growing up to do. You've got a whole year in the business-congradulations

For the serious guys out there, scrubbing every single square inch of surface area is a daunting task and I'm hoping to find an easier method. While a power washer would do the trick, hardwood floors are under the carpet. Some walls have layers of dirt, others have residue from a smoker. The worst seems to be a large bedroom which seems to have spots on the wall which I've seen in more humid environments-although I'm not sure if that is the source (shaded lot w/ lots of trees and a humid area though).

Thanks for the pole sander tip Frankowitz, I like that one. A tree/weed sprayer may speed up the process too.

slickshift

Unfortunately scrubbing every square inch would be part of the solution
If it's too hideous, or time consuming, I sub out the cleaning to a pro cleaner and build that into the bid
It's really got to be as clean as you can get it

It sounds like it's gonna have to be oil-primed too
Zinsser's Cover Stain (or similar) for those nic/unsub stains

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Signature Quote

Quote:

Originally Posted by ModernStyle I have never used this crap before and I pray to the paint gods that I never have to use it again, I would rather use Behr

JNLP

rocco

It sounds like a very old house from your description. Don't forget to check to see if it is lead paint. Good luck.

Joewho

I'm not a big fan of water running down my arms either. What I posted would be typical for a really bad apartment. A sealing primer will help avoid washing every square inch. Especially the ceilings. Most stains on walls aren't as bad as they look. Anything that looks oily will be a problem. Everything else will usually cover with primer after pole sanding.