Trim, doors and stairs
The parts of a room people touch
Trim, doors and railings get the wear, so they get the longest prep. Gloss is sanded off, gaps are caulked, bare wood is primed, and two coats of a hard-wearing finish go on. A freshly painted door or baseboard changes a room more than most people expect.
Baseboards, casings and crown molding
Interior doors, edges included
Stair railings, spindles and wainscot
Built-in shelves and window seats
What we paint
Trim and doors in the order we do them
Baseboards and casings
Sanded, caulked at the wall, primed where bare and painted in two coats.
Interior doors
Taken off the hinges when it helps, painted on all edges, and hung back dry.
Stairs and railings
Spindles one by one, with the stairway left usable overnight.
Built-ins and wainscot
Shelves, window seats and paneling, cut in tight at the wall.
Prep checklist
Why trim takes more than a coat
Sand
A scuff sand on old gloss gives the new paint something to hold.
Caulk
A bead along the wall closes the gap that shows once the paint is on.
Prime
Bare wood and repairs get primer so the finish dries evenly.
Two coats
Semi-gloss or satin, with a full dry between coats.
Not on this list
What we send elsewhere
Cabinets, exterior doors and siding take different prep and a different shop. We'll tell you who we'd call.
Kitchen and bath cabinets
Sprayed finishes and a drying space we don't have.
Exterior siding and decks
Weather, scaffolds and a different crew.
Wallpaper removal
Priced as its own line if it's on the walls we're painting.
Questions
Questions about trim and doors
How many coats, and which sheen?
Two coats of finish on walls and ceilings, with primer first where the wall needs it. Flat or matte for ceilings, eggshell for most walls, satin or semi-gloss for trim and doors. The estimate names the sheen for each surface.
What prep is included?
Covering floors and furniture, filling holes, patching cracks, caulking trim and priming where needed. Bigger repairs, like a section of plaster or a water-stained ceiling, are their own line so you can see what they cost to fix.
How do I pay?
A deposit holds your dates, and each later payment is tied to a stage of the work, as set out on the estimate. Nothing is due for a stage we haven't reached.
Do you paint exteriors or cabinets?
No. We paint the inside of houses: walls, ceilings, trim, doors and stairways. For siding or cabinets, you'll want a painter who does that every day, and we'll say so.
Ask for an estimate that lists every door
Doors, trim and stairs are lines on the estimate, counted by room.