Everything you Need to Paint Your Ceiling like a Professional

While most of us would feel perfectly confident about painting a wall in our home, for some reason when it comes to a painting a ceiling most of us would want to call in a professional. Maybe it’s the fact that your ceiling is higher than you feel you can manage, the large size of the space you need to paint, or the odd angle that your head and neck need to be at in order to concentrate on what you’re doing – whatever it is, there certainly seems to be something off-putting about painting one of your ceilings yourself. Here’s the thing; you can definitely do it yourself – you just need the right equipment.

From large-scale construction items that you should rent, to smaller bits and pieces you can pick up in the supermarket, follow our ultimate guide to the equipment you’ll need for a perfectly painted ceiling and you delete that professional painter’s number from your phonebook.

Paint rollers

It seems obvious, but the easiest way to tackle the large space of a ceiling is with a paint roller. You need to strike the perfect balance when it comes to size; It needs to be large enough to cover a good amount of ceiling each time, but also not so heavy that it will weigh down your arm as you’re trying to paint. An extendable handle is also really useful, for getting to hard to reach areas, and to ensure you don’t have to wear your arm muscles out by stretching too far!

Paint brushes

For the corners of your ceiling, a more delicate touch is needed, to achieve a precise and careful finish that perfectly aligns with the paint on the wall. For this, a paint roller is far too bulky. You will need to get up close and personal with a smaller paint brush, possibly with the assistance of some masking tape to make sure those edges are pristine.

A Secured Ladder

The main issue people seem to have with painting a ceiling is the fact that it’s high up – especially if you live in an old house where the ceilings can be very high. Obviously, safety comes first when you’re doing any home improvements, so we wouldn’t recommend wobbling away on an old ladder – you need something a little bit sturdier. A combination or extension ladder (like these from Lakeside Hire) can be altered to be the perfect height for you, and secured so there’s no chance of them moving, shaking or falling while you’re at the top.

Plastic Sheeting

If you value the cleanliness of your flooring, furniture and the clothes you’re wearing, plastic sheeting is irreplaceable! We advise that you never begin any kind of DIY job without laying it down to protect the surrounding area, and this is extra true in the case of painting a ceiling. The potential of dripping paint, wielding a large roller drenched in paint and standing up a ladder could be a recipe for disaster – at least getting the plastic sheeting down will ward off most paint related accidents!

With all of this equipment, you’ll be safe, your room will be protected from errant paintbrushes, and in no time at all you’ll have achieved the goal you’ve always been nervous of; a perfectly painted ceiling, completed entirely by you!