I finally caved and timed my 'quick' living room paint job

I told my wife I'd touch up the living room in one Saturday. Started at 9 AM. By 11 I was still moving furniture. Prepping the walls took me 4 hours alone because I had to patch 14 nail holes and sand everything. Then the first coat revealed I bought the wrong shade. Had to drive 30 minutes back to the hardware store. By the time I finished the second coat it was 9 PM. So that 'quick' 8 hour job actually took 12 hours and 3 trips total. Anyone else seriously underestimate how long home projects take?

3 comments

3 Comments

alicemurphy1mo ago

Oh I kinda see it the other way... your mistake wasn't underestimating the time, it was skipping the prep work the night before. I always move furniture and patch holes the day before I paint, that way Saturday morning I'm already putting down drop cloths and taping by 8 AM. Plus you never buy paint the same day you're going to use it, you bring a sample home a week early and test it in different light first. My last bathroom took me three weekends because I kept finding mold and bad caulk, but that's just how it goes when you own a house...

thomas_sanchez1mo ago

Man you're right @alicemurphy, I always thought prepping the night before was overkill but I see it now... definitely gonna try that sample-in-different-light thing too.

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phoenix5731mo ago

Yeah the "bring samples home a week early" thing is huge. I did that with my kitchen and it saved me from picking the wrong color twice because it looked totally different under the fluorescents at the store versus my warm living room lights. The thing about prepping the night before though, that only works if you actually know what you're getting into. My last project I thought I'd just patch a couple holes and ended up finding a crack in the drywall behind the furniture that took all evening to fix right. So sometimes even the prep night turns into a whole other job.