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if no one winds up in the hospital, I will consider it a success

Filed Under everyday life on January 4, 2008

I know that some of you are big DIY people; I am not. I’m more the type of person who has the interior decorator’s cell number on speed dial (shut up). But I need some DIY advice, because my home improvements have suddenly crossed into dangerous territory and I am a little afraid someone is going to wind up dead if we’re not careful.

The someone won’t be me, by the way. Hell no.

You know how we spent all last weekend painting? And the house looks SO GREAT now?

We’re not done. In fact, the painting we did LAST weekend — living room, dining room, breakfast bar, foyer — was the EASY part. This weekend, we need to deal with the stairwell.

This is the view up the stairs, from the foyer, right in front of the wall in that last picture, the one that is all nicely painted and finished. The one that is a normal height and only requires a step stool for the detail painting right at the top. THAT wall.

THIS wall, on the other hand, extends from the turn of the stairs all the way to the second floor. How the hell are we going to paint THAT, I ask you?!?

Or this! Because I have this INSANE idea that the walls need to be painted ALL THE WAY TO THE CEILING! I know, what am I THINKING? Sheesh.

Wade has some crazy plan to just LEAN A LADDER against the walls and paint, you know, with the ladder balanced ON THE STAIRS and the paint I don’t even KNOW where because he will need an EXTENSION LADDER which doesn’t have the little shelf-y thing at the top, which means that he will have to CLIMB UP AND DOWN THE LADDER every time he needs to reload the roller with paint.

(Wade + extension ladder + paint + stairs = guaranteed trip to to hospital)

I have already said that I am NOT climbing the ladder, which means that he will also have to do the trim painting, which is usually my job. I HAVE, however, offered to HIRE A PAINTER and PAY HIM MYSELF. But Wade thinks the ladder will work.

What say you, DIY Internet? Is there some kind of strategy for painting the stairwell without having to take my husband to the ER with a broken neck? Or should I be making sure that all of our life insurance is in order before he climbs the ladder to start the painting?

Also, please note just how UGLY the light in my stairwell is. So very ugly! I will be using the life insurance money to replace the light, in case you’re wondering.

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um. diy-ahstpify. that would translate to do it yourself and hire hire someone to paint it for you.

ladder - stairs? seriously?!

I don’t have any helpful suggestions for you. Sorry! I give you my moral support because I am wondering the very same thing, so I’m hoping someone has the perfect answer for you. Also, approx. how much would it be to have a painter do this? Anyone?

My husband did the painting on our stairs, not quite as tall, but he used a roller on an extension pole and you can get a pad that goes on a pole and pivots now. It gives a pretty smooth line and likely people won’t be looking that closely at your ceiling anyway. (the hard part on our stairs was removing the wall paper for which we begged our very tall friend to do).

You need to either rent a scaffold and paint it yourself, SAFELY, or hire a professional who already owns a scaffold.

$30 an hour should get you a top level painter in the midwest who will do a perfect job. Half that will get you someone with the right tools who will do a pretty good job, but may need to be called back to fix a spot or two - in my experience. Ask for recommendations and business cards at local paint stores.

My husband bought a new ladder before Christmas and announced “now we will be able to paint up the stairs”. Our’s isn’t quite as high as yours but it’s close. I didn’t break it to him that he’s crazy. We WILL NOT be using that ladder on the stairs to paint above the stairs. Hire someone!!!

Painting is scary! A wish of good luck is all I have to offer. I’m with you- I’d glady pay someone. Luckily, my husband is even less of a DIYer than I am.

That looks to me like it would require scaffolding. Which also equates a trip to the ER.

I vote for hiring someone.

Don’t they make extender thingies for paint rollers? I’m pretty sure no one has ever BEEN KILLED by one of those. Unlike ladders balanced on stairs.

My husband bought one of these a few years ago:
http://www.littlegiantladder.com/?source=lglaffiliate&PID=1577778

It works great on stairs, etc. A bit spendy, yes, but we use it alot.

Oh, and get an extending pole for painting, too.

I am afraid of heights and I am scared just thinking about the ladder and the stairs business! I’d suggest a paint roller with a telescoping extender or hiring a nice painter to do it for you!

Been there, with almost the identical stairwell. I’m a big DIY person with no money, but the problems here are: #1 the line at the ceiling/wall, and #2 the height. I hired inexpensive painters with spray guns. It didn’t cost much, they did a fine job, and we all lived through it.

In our house, I was the one who insisted we could paint the family room walls (about 20′ at the highest point) ourselves. After about two minutes on the ladder and two swipes with the roller (yes, I only managed two swipes in two minutes because I was hanging on for dear life) I decided that it was totally worth it to hire someone, regardless of the cost. When it was time to deal with the stairs, we hired someone right off the bat.

The other thing about that light fixture? It will make painting that area extremely HOT. But perhaps you could talk the painter into replacing it. You know, since he’ll already be up there and all.

Yes, you COULD buy the fancy ladder that works on stairs, and you COULD buy the extension for the paint roller, but if you factor in the cost of those, The cost of dropcloths and masking supplies, the cost of your husband’s time, and the risk and frustration factors, it might actually be CHEAPER to hire painters.

Unless you want your kids to learn new curse words…

I painted my own stairwell once. Standing on a ladder, reaching up towards the skylight on my tippytoes, holding my breath… I really don’t recommend it. Particularly as it looks like you might have the same triangle-step landing that we had.
The issue is that the wall you are leaning the ladder on can be painted - but then there are the side walls that you can’t lean a ladder on because of the steps. So you REACH way over from your ladder and you can imagine how fun that is.
I say go with the extension poles (which our professional painters used in this house) or hire pros.

My neighbor insisted on doing it himself just last month, and he ended up riding the ladder as it fell down. I kid you not. They did go to the ER, and had to hire somebody to finish the job. Please, hire take our advice and hire somebody. Everyone is right, for that particular tricky starwell, it would be more cost-effective to just pay a licensed and bonder painter to do the job.

I was typing one-handed with a baby in the other arm…sorry for the weird typos before. I meant licensed and bonded, of course. Not really sure what a bonder painter might do, but it could be fun.

Are you crazy babe?

Ok. Here’s what you need to do:

Replace the decorator’s number on your speeddial with the hospital number where Wade will be, um, visiting.

Then, tie a cordless phone to the ladder. (so he can call 911 when he’s dangling from the ladder)

Then, send the cuties (the young ones) away to a sympathetic neighbour, friend, family member for some extended sitting. Maybe even overnight. Send a bottle of wine, chocolate, whatever it takes.

Then, go to the pub.

Well, as you know, I think you should hire someone. BUT, you could also rent scaffolding. More importantly, though, WWJD? (Jeanne, that is)

Forget DIY, pay someone to do this for you, unless you are looking for a life insurance payout.

Give him benadryl or some nyquil and have the painters come in while he’s passed out? It’d almost fall under the DIY category, right?

my husband wanted to, and did, the exact same thing as Wade is planning. And my strategy got us through it–painted stairwwell and no hospital trips. What was it, you say? Not to watch.

As a DIY-o-holic (I will start laying tiles in the bathroom I just demo’d moments after posting this comment, now that the concrete backer board is down and the mortar mixed), HIRE SOMEONE.

Seriously, there are only three things we’ve hired out. 1. New windows 2. New Roof 3. Crazy tall stairwell.

In my experience, anything but scaffolding will result in not so perfect results (be it broken limbs/necks or trim lines…)

i agree with aisha. it was what i was going to suggest until i saw what she had written. why you ask?

we are sisters.

How to get your husband to hire a professional.

1. call and get price of rental of scaffolding by the day and week(the only safe way to paint that stairway IMHO)
2. Add cost of materials, rollers, tape etc.
3. Get estimate from competent painter to paint hall
4. Show Husband said figures and add in cost of ER deductible
5. Plan fun outing for him while painters are painting. (Does he play golf? it is going to be in the 60s this weekend…)

Hire a painter! Hire a painter! Hire a painter!

Hire someone. ‘Nough said.

A bricklayer working nearby once offered to dig up our uneven and very dangerous brick sidewalk, knock the dried mortar off the bricks, and then replace them– on a smooth slab of cement– for $500. My husband said he could do it himself for the cost of a $30 back of Quickrete.

First, it took eight (8) $30 bags of Quickrete. Then, it cost $800 to pay the tree surgeon to take down the 53-year-old sugar maple my husband killed with a pickaxe when he hacked through a root trying to make the ground level. Then, when he threw his back out, the MRI cost $1,000 out of pocket, plus 20 percent of $140 a pop every time he went to the physical therapist (3x wk for 3 months) thereafter. There was a CT scan in there somewhere, plus various physicians’ fees.

I’ve never done the math, but you can. And then show the tally to Wade.

Hire a painter.

Hire someone. They will not know how not to injure themselves and they will do a better job and do it more quickly.

In one day they will be in and gone and life will go back to normal just with more colourful walls.

I hired a great painter in September and I swear we are never painting another “complicated” space again.

Just correcting myself… a professional will KNOW how not to injure themselves and they will do a better job and do it more quickly.

And as an aside my husband has spent the better part of his two week holiday prepping, painting and installing paneling and moldings in our downstairs bathroom… he is at it still right now. So even when the DIY husband does it well and doesn’t injure themselves… they take so long… so very long….

Yikes! Stairs. Well…

I would only buy the fancy ladder (from Costco, it’s way cheaper than a Little Giant. I think the brand is ClimbTek and it costs $150+) if I would USE the fancy ladder for more than this project. We actually own the Costco ladder and I love it, but I also love weird things like Sawzalls, electric planers, etc.

If I was only going to use the ladder for this one project, I would hire a painter. And I would make sure that he or she would protect the h*ll out of that rug.

Ah, and kids change the equation also.

DIY painting difficult stairwall

+ husband w/o stairwell experience

= so much more time than you are able to spend keeping kids off of stairs during painting

therefore,

hire someone.

Seeing as it’s the first of the year, your insurance deductible is just starting over! Just compare that price to the price of hiring someone ELSE to do it and you’ll have your answer- HIRE IT OUT!

I have the same situation and when we last painted 10 years ago, my husband devised some sort of scaffolding, ladder situation that scared the hell out of me. He’s 10 years older now and I’m hiring a painter.

Unless you know an avid DIY-er who already has the appropriate equipment and is willing to lend a hand, this is one situation in which it’s appropriate to hire it out. Acquiring or even renting the equipment you will need is likely to run you more than the cost of a professional job, so it’s not one to do yourself unless it’s something you’re just burning to do.

If there were ever a job to hire out, this would be it.

Your guy is crazy. I ditto everybody else. Hire somebody. We need to paint the walls in our stairway too. It’s not as high as yours, but I’m still going to hire somebody. My husband about fell off the ladder putting up the drop ceiling in our basement. And that was only about seven feet up. Men + Ladders = ER for sure.

Can’t help with the ladder thing, except to say I would hire someone to paint this since it is a stairwell.

The lighting I can help with. Go here: http://www.homedecoratorsoutlet.com/Lighting/Chandeliers/

Maybe you won’t have to wait for the life insurance payout to get it.

Shash

or here too. Sorry for the double post.

http://www.homedecoratorsoutlet.com/Lighting/Ceiling_Fixtures/Pendant_Lighting/

Shash

Hire. Pour Wade a drink, sit him down, soothe his male “I. Do. Myself.” ego, tell him you’ll do nasty things to him with delicious ice cream toppings if he’ll allow you to consult Angie’s List for an A-rated painter in your area. Under no circumstances should the father of your children do this job.

Well, as I am in the middle of painting our rental property, and can honestly say the novelty is wearing off, I would be all for hiring this particular job out. In fact, I have some painting I need done in my “real” house as well, so if you find a good local painter, shoot me an e-mail and share his name, ok? Because I don’t intend to crawl up a ladder again anytime soon. Unless there’s a big pitcher of amaretto at the top.

Wait until Wade is at work and have the painter come then- Then you can surprise him with a present of a paint job!

This is the thing where I would volunteer my dad to do it if my mom were painting her house (mainly because it’s HILARIOUS to see him almost get hurt). But if you love your husband…I have no idea what to tell you. Spiderman would probably do it.

[…] the walls in the stairwell. I am actually considering letting Wade get up on a ladder because dude those walls look like crap. Plus he’s not planning to be here for my party […]

I WANT STAIRS! looking to get a bigger house (hopefully within the next 2 years) and the dream is a double-storey one. wish i had your problem… =)

but i would definitely have someone else do it. hubby is handy, but he knoweth the extent of his powers!

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