# Painting a two story room



## atn0930 (Jul 5, 2007)

Does anyone have any suggestions for painting a two story room...any experiences would help. I know I can buy some scaffolding, I was just wondering how most of you would tackle the job. I can get to the walls with ladders it's the middle of the ceiling that has me most concerned.

Thanks for the help.

Tony


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## slickshift (Aug 25, 2005)

Hi Tony
Welcome to the forums

Two story walls/ceilings, I usually will recommend a 16 foot (8ft that extends to 16) poles and ladders (a small extension ladder, or a large step ladder) as opposed to scaffolding
Often they will get you where you need to go (w/o seeing this project, I can't say for sure )
I usually don't rent scaffolding or a cherry picker if I can help it
They add a fair amount of labor (and/or cost) the the project

If the ladders won't cut it, if working alone I strongly recommend the small (18') "push-around" cherry picker over scaffolding
The cost to rent (the cherry picker over the scaffolding) is more, but the ease of use saves hours of assembly/disassembly/reassembly/moving and they are much safer
Even if one has help, the cherry picker can still save time and is safer


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## Workaholic (Apr 1, 2007)

I use a 24' extension ladder and a 6' step to do all the cutting in. I then have a 20' extension pole that i use to roll the walls out.
I usualy spray my ceilings. If i did'nt spray them, i have a scoffold that i would use. Rolling 20' ceilings are a workout from the ground.


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## Hamilton (Nov 1, 2006)

I'm with these guys.

If you can get the walls with the ladders, like you said, then I would get the ceiling center with an extension pole & 9" roller.

The technique I use with a long pole is to collapse it all the way, then load the roller, then extend it all the way out, then paint. A bit labor tedious, for sure, but not really when considering the amount of work required to rent/setup scaffolding. Even though I own plenty of scaffolding, I try to think of every possible alternative without having to pull all that out and setting it up. 

Here's my helper prepping for fascia replacement :


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## StevePM (Jul 6, 2007)

I use scaffolding myself for the ceiling and cutting in on the walls. Someone with more coordination and skill could probably have gotten away with just ladders, but I found the scaffolding to be great. It was a big room, though, and I was rolling the ceiling.


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## AtlanticWBConst. (May 12, 2006)

atn0930 said:


> Does anyone have any suggestions for painting a two story room...any experiences would help. I know I can buy some scaffolding, I was just wondering how most of you would tackle the job. I can get to the walls with ladders it's the middle of the ceiling that has me most concerned.
> 
> Thanks for the help.
> 
> Tony


We use Pump Jacks:










http://www.bishopladder.com/pumpjacks.htm

http://www.alumapole.com/product.asp?ID=59&nPage=1
(with safety net kit installed)


I don't expect you to purchase one of these sets, but if you have a friend that uses them and would let you borrow them, and can help you set them up - The work will go *very fast*....


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## Darylh (Jan 2, 2006)

I would just use a 6' and a extension ladder and a extension pole. By the time you have scaffolding set up you could of had the wall painted.


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## joewho (Nov 1, 2006)

Scaffolding is a good solution if the room is open and the ceilings are flat, rather than vaulted or cathedral. There is extra expense to pass on though.

Ladders are more versatile, especially over stairs and upper railings.

Problem is the footing. I stand the extension ladder at a straighter angle than usual on carpet. I can't give advice on how you should do it though.

Wood floors often have invisible dust that will let your ladder slide, I clean the dust and wipe the bottoms of the rubber ladder footings or even give them a very light sanding with 80 grit.


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## AtlanticWBConst. (May 12, 2006)

I didn't want to suggest this since there are so many other advanced and safer means of scaffolding. 
But......we have these, tho rarely use them (since we have other more practical staging that we use):

Ladder Jacks. Example:
http://www.amazon.com/Werner-Aluminum-Ladder-20-Inch-AC10-20-02/dp/B0000224N5

You can set up 2 extension ladders with a ladder jack on each ladder. Then set up an Aluminum Plank (Rigid and Safe) or buy some "staging planks" to use on the ladder jacks ( as opposed to plain old 2 by's which are too flexible and unsafe).

I'd go with the aluminum planks.
Example: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_hi/002-8467854-0498430?initialSearch=1&url=search-alias%3Dtools&field-keywords=Aluminum+plank


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## truckerwoman48 (Jul 7, 2007)

For me, it depends on whether you truly mean 2 story, 20 feet or are we talking about 13 feet? When I have had to do 13 or 14 feet, I have used extenders with good results, pretty quick, scaffolding is a bear. I did the cutting in with one of those little rectangualr plastic dealybobs with the rollers on it. It was extremely touchy and a great deal of patience was needed to go slowly and keep the paint from gooing up the little wheels, but it absolutely worked and I was absolutely in and out in way less time than if I had been fooling around with scaffolding or even moving a tall ladder every 4 feet of cutting.


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## AtlanticWBConst. (May 12, 2006)

Just realized the original post was regarding a two story ROOM, I thought the poster said two story HOME. Forget the pump jack suggestion and go with *pipe staging*....


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## atn0930 (Jul 5, 2007)

Yes, the room is actually about 20 feet tall with a flat ceiling. Some cutting in around a ceiling fan, chandelier, and recessed lights. Also there are stairs in the foyer to deal with.


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## truckerwoman48 (Jul 7, 2007)

sounds like scaffolding or a cherrypicker, but you need to take into account the flooring. Wouldn't want to damage it - back to the tall ladder and a helper to call 911. Eva


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## slickshift (Aug 25, 2005)

Ooph...that's tall

If you have to cut in around stuff up there (brushwork around fixtures) in the middle of the ceiling, that's gonna be tough

It'll have to be with either scaffolding or a push-around cherry picker


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## AtlanticWBConst. (May 12, 2006)

Eva Wild said:


> sounds like scaffolding or a cherrypicker, but you need to take into account the flooring. Wouldn't want to damage it -


Use 2x10 squares are the bottoms of the scaffolding. If you really want to protect the floor: Attach carpet remnants to the bottoms of the 2x10's.


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## Darylh (Jan 2, 2006)

AtlanticWBConst. said:


> Use 2x10 squares are the bottoms of the scaffolding. If you really want to protect the floor: Attach carpet remnants to the bottoms of the 2x10's.


You could also attach a piece of doweling to the block with a screw so it nevwer slides off the block.


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## joewho (Nov 1, 2006)

What are you doing to that beautiful, cedar?




AtlanticWBConst. said:


> We use Pump Jacks:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


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