Without question, every dad will have a seemingly ordinary DIY project that becomes a nightmare at some point in their lives. It can be the simplest of jobs which snowballs into a project that sees tools thrown across rooms and anger building up like a pressure cooker. 

One area I know it happens all too often in would be the simple task of painting a ceiling. Apart from having to stay balanced for long periods on a ladder and knowing how much paint to use on a roller, painting a ceiling should be easy as pie. Why is it, that when you are two coats in, and the ceiling still doesn’t look right, you want to give up and kick the paint over?

Well, there are some very simple, almost unconscious, mistakes we make which can easily be avoided if we know beforehand. That’s what I want to address for all the dads out there reading this right now. Let’s look at some of the simple measures to take, which can help avoid a DIY disaster.

You are ready. Your ceiling isn’t 

You will usually notice if a wall is dirty or dusty. You would not notice if your ceilings were. You have this one large area in every room that never gets any attention come cleaning time, yet most people will just have at it when it comes to painting. Your ceiling needs a little TLC before you paint. You need to get it….primed accordingly.  

Primer is your best friend when painting a ceiling. Not only will it help paint bind properly, but it will also typically reduce the number of coats needed. If you have to paint a room where the ceiling has had stains or yellowing, get a blocking primer to help prevent the badness bleeding through. For anyone who has a textured ceiling which was previously painted, get 80-100 grain sandpaper, tie it to a brush head (if you don’t have a sand pole) and give the ceiling a quick once over before applying the undercoat.

You lifted a brush of all things 

A dad with a paintbrush for their ceiling is a clueless dad. You never want to paint a ceiling with a brush (there are exceptions which I will get to next). You always want to use a roller or, if you want to go fancy, spray. A roller means you can work from the ground, cover more surface area quickly, and get a better idea of how your coat looks.

You want to box the paint it 

Now, you do also need a brush, but only to use before loading up a roller. Grab a good quality brush to paint around any fittings and awkward angles that your roller won’t be able to move around. You’ll also want to take your brush around all the edges and paint a few inches in. This prevents you from needing to go right to the edge with a roller, which would inevitably hit against the adjoining wall – something you don’t want if the wall is a different colour. 

If you have any imperfections with fittings, like deep scratches or dents from who knows what, get a decent matt emulsion with enough opacity to cover up problems. I recommend something like Johnstone’s Covaplus, which you can find here, as it will always help out in a pinch. 

You want to work in sections 

Never ever paint a ceiling in one quick coat. You want to break it into grids (like noughts and crosses) and paint that way. It will help you determine what coverage needs to be as you move and allow you to blend strokes much better. Also, make sure that your roller moves in both directions (i.e. back and forward, then side to side). This helps blend the coat and avoid strong lines.

You want to wear a hat 

I wear glasses. The last thing I want are flecks of paint all over my lenses and hair. Grab a baseball cap and try to angle yourself, so you’re never looking directly up at the roller. Do it right, and you won’t have to spend a ridiculous amount of time scrubbing pain off in the shower. 

That pretty much sums up what every dad should know about painting a ceiling. Hopefully, you follow this advice, and painting will be a doddle.