Should you paint or install floors first? If you are renovating your home, you will need to decide which comes first: painting or installing new floors. Most people think that painting should be done first to prevent any spills from marring brand-new flooring. However, experts agree that new flooring should always be installed and/or refinishing before you have any interior painting done.
Why Is it Better to Install Flooring Before Painting?
It’s a natural assumption that painting should take place before installing flooring. However, the opposite is true, and we’re going to tell you why.
There are several tasks that must be undertaken before laying new flooring in a room. Many of these jobs can cause damage to walls, meaning repairs are necessary.
Among the steps you’ll need to follow before installing flooring include:
1. Removing the old flooring or carpet
Tearing up old carpet or flooring is a very messy job. When removing the old flooring, you’ll likely unearth a vast amount of debris, dust, and dirt. If you choose to paint first, these particles can land in your fresh coat of paint, marring the finish.
When the flooring is newly installed; often, some damage to the walls can occur. This can leave your newly painted walls with unsightly marks and blemishes. When this happens, you’ll need to repair your walls and apply touch-up paint. These additional steps cost you both time and money, making it clear why flooring before painting is the best idea.
2. Replacing or repainting trim
Depending on the type of flooring you’ve purchased, removing your baseboards and trim is usually necessary. Once you’ve removed these items, they may require repainting and some repair. When the trim has been reattached to the walls, the nail holes will need to be filled and touchup painting is done.
By choosing to install flooring before painting, you give yourself the opportunity to do all of your painting in one shot. This is much more efficient and cuts down on the amount of mess involved in the project.
Some trim and baseboards will need to be installed slightly higher than what was previously in place. If you’ve decided to do your painting first, you may find yourself with an area that still bears the old paint. This would mean a second application of paint is necessary to ensure the entire surface is covered.
3. Preparing the walls before installing flooring
Depending on what the condition of the walls are, it is a good idea to do all preparatory work before the flooring is installed. This includes any patching, sanding, or wallpaper removal that can be messy and leave behind dirt or debris.
4. Masking
Once the new flooring has been installed, you’ll be able to protect the surface through the use of painter’s special tape and drop cloths. These two items are valuable tools that keep mess to a minimum and protect your floors.
Most professionals consider painting to be finish work. As a result, they prefer leaving it until the end of the job. With the right precautions in place, installing flooring before painting poses no risk of damage.
Does the Type of Flooring Make a Difference?
Different precautions must be taken for each type of flooring installed in your home. However, this does not change the fact that when it comes to painting first or flooring first, flooring takes the top position.
Though some types of flooring such as finished hardwood can simply be installed as-is, unfinished hardwood will need to be stained then sanded. Stain can easily splash on walls, ruining a fresh coat of paint. If the correct amount of drying time has not been allotted, dust and wood shavings can get into the paint on your walls, ruining the finish.
If your home renovation project includes refinishing existing hardwood floors, it becomes that much more important that your flooring takes top priority over overpainting. Refinishing hardwood involves a lot of sanding and buffing, two jobs that make a lot of mess.
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