DIY Basics: Part 3 - Painting essentials

Every homeowner should be equipped with a basic level of DIY know-how - saving you hundreds, if not thousands of dollars on simple maintenance jobs.

While you are more likely to need a professional's assistance with painting an entire a house, anyone can accomplish a smaller-scale assignment, such as touching up surfaces, the odd wall and window ledges.

If you plan on painting an entire room or wall, you will find using a roller faster and more efficient. And if you want to make the job easier still, a power roller eliminates the need for paint trays, which makes clean-up simpler.

Always start at the highest point when painting and work your way down with even strokes - hiring trestles and ladders from your local Kennards store will assist you with reaching hard to reach spots.

For smaller paint jobs, using brushes will be the easiest tool to work with - depending on the task, you may find it helpful to have a few different sizes on standby.

When painting window frames or sills, use a good quality masking tape to border the edges and prevent any excess getting on the glass or neighbouring surfaces.

Whenever painting anything it is important to cover your furnishings and any other surfaces with drop sheets.