Painting
Interior Painting in Oshkosh, WI
Interior work is judged up close, in daylight, every day. That puts the whole job on the parts nobody photographs: the patching, the caulk line at the trim, and how straight the ceiling cut is.
01The walls get fixed before they get painted
Nail pops, screw dimples, hairline cracks, old anchor holes and the dents that furniture leaves all get filled, sanded flush and spot-primed. Paint hides none of it. A fresh coat in a light color makes surface defects stand out more, because it strips away the visual noise that was covering them.
The older homes in Fond du Lac, Oshkosh and Neenah are largely plaster rather than drywall, and plaster fails differently: it cracks along lath lines and it separates from the lath in patches that sound hollow. Skimming over a section that has come loose gets you a crack back in a year. Those areas need re-securing first.
02Containment
Floors get covered wall to wall, not a runner down the middle. Furniture moves to the center and gets sheeted. Doorways to rooms we are not working in get closed off, because sanding dust travels further through a house than you would expect.
We clean up at the end of each day. You should be able to use your house in the evening.
03Color changes that are harder than they look
Going light over a saturated color is the one that catches people out. The bathroom in our gallery had maroon walls and a maroon ceiling; getting that to a clean white without the red ghosting through takes a tinted primer and the right number of coats, not more coats of the finish color.
Deep reds, dark blues and strong yellows all do this. So does covering water staining, which needs a stain-blocking primer or it will bleed through anything.
04Fumes and finish
Modern low-VOC and zero-VOC paints have got good. In an occupied house, with kids or pets or anyone sensitive to fumes, they are what we default to.
We use 100% acrylic, water-based paint throughout. On sheen: flat is non-reflective and hides surface imperfection best, but cleans worst, so it belongs on ceilings and low-traffic rooms. Satin is the sensible middle for most walls. Semi-gloss is washable and belongs on trim, and in bathrooms and kitchens where moisture and scrubbing are part of life. High-gloss is the hardest of the lot and suits millwork and high-contact surfaces. We will talk it through room by room rather than doing the whole house in one sheen out of habit.
Our work
Interior Painting we've done
Before
AfterUpstairs hall and landing
Patched, sanded and primed first. The yellow blocks are old repairs showing through primer. Then finished in a warm off-white.
Stairwell and balustrade
Plaster walls repaired and the original spindles, newel post and cap cut in by hand.
Entry and staircase
Floors covered, trim masked, walls and ceiling rolled. The stair treads and handrail were left original.
Before
AfterBathroom refresh
Wallpaper border stripped, walls and ceiling repainted white, trim and doors sprayed. New fixtures by the homeowner.
Questions
Straight answers.
Anything not covered here, call Reily on (715) 293-3046. That’s the painting line.
- Do I need to move my own furniture?
- No. We will move it to the center of the room and cover it. If something is fragile or valuable, we would rather you moved it yourself.
- How long does a room take?
- A typical bedroom with walls, ceiling and trim is a day to a day and a half including patching. Rooms with a lot of trim, or plaster that needs real repair, take longer.
- Can we stay in the house?
- Yes, almost always. We work room by room and clean up nightly.
- Do you do ceilings and trim, or just walls?
- All of it: walls, ceilings, trim, doors, closets and stairwells. Stairwells and tall entries need staging most homeowners cannot rig safely, and they are some of the best work we do.
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Free estimates on every job, roofing or painting. Call either of us, or send the details and we'll get back to you.