Interior painting in Baltimore.
Walls, ceilings, trim, doors and stairs, with the repairs and the prep done before any color goes on.
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What does interior painting in Baltimore cover?
Interior painting in Baltimore is the preparation and painting of a home's inside surfaces, from walls, ceilings, trim and baseboards to doors and frames, stairs and railings, with the patching, sanding, caulking and primer done before any color.
Rise and Prime Painting offers residential painting services in Baltimore City, Baltimore County and the surrounding areas, for a single room, a whole floor or a full house. Older homes in the area often mix plaster walls with drywall, and each needs its own kind of repair before it's painted. Stairwells and two-story foyers take longer than their floor area suggests, because the walls run higher than a stepladder reaches.
Patching, sanding and priming take longer than the color coats, and they decide how a wall looks when a lamp lights it from the side. Exterior work, kitchen cabinet refinishing, commercial jobs and our other painting services in the same area are on our page for Baltimore painters. What to move and what to clear before the crew arrives is covered in our room-by-room checklist for painting day.
- Walls, ceilings and trim
- Drywall and plaster repaired first
- Furniture and floors protected
- Free written estimate
Text us a photo of the rooms.
Photograph each room you want painted and any cracks or stains up close, so we can see how big the rooms are and what shape the walls are in, because both change the price.
Or request the free estimate onlineWhat an interior repaint can include.
Not every room needs all six. It depends on the condition of the walls and how much you want changed.
Walls
The biggest surface in the room.
Walls are washed where they need it, holes and cracks are filled, and the patches are sanded and spot-primed so they don't show through. Then the edges are cut in by brush and the walls are rolled. A dark color going lighter usually needs primer first, so the old color doesn't shadow through the fresh coat of paint.
Ceilings
Painted before the walls.
Ceilings go first, so any spatter lands on walls that haven't been painted yet. A flat finish is the usual choice, because it hides the small flaws that light picks up when it runs across a ceiling.
Trim and baseboards
Caulked, sanded, painted.
Gaps along trim and baseboards are caulked, the old finish is scuffed so the new paint grips, and trim is usually painted in a semi-gloss or satin that stands up to cleaning.
Doors and frames
Handled more than any other surface.
Doors and frames get touched every day, so they take a hard-wearing finish. Hardware is removed or masked, and panel doors are painted in an order that keeps the brush marks running with the grain.
Stairs and railings
Spindles, risers and handrails.
Stairwells are slow work. Spindles, risers, stringers and handrails are painted by hand, and a tall stairwell wall needs ladders or planks set up safely over the steps.
Drywall and plaster repair
Fixed before any color.
Drywall repair covers cracks, nail pops, dents and water stains, and it's done before any primer. Plaster walls in older homes crack differently from drywall, and they're patched with materials made for plaster.
How do you get a home ready for interior painting?
A little preparation on your side means the first morning goes on the walls and not on the furniture.
- Flat or matte: no shine, used on ceilings
- Eggshell: a faint sheen, used on most walls
- Satin: a soft sheen, also used on most walls
- Semi-gloss: the most shine, used on trim and doors
The same color at four sheens, from the least shine to the most.
Clear the walls
Take down pictures, mirrors, curtains and anything else hanging up, and move small items off shelves and tables near the walls. Anything fragile is safer packed away, and a wall-mounted TV or shelf is worth asking about at the estimate.
Make room around the edges
Pull furniture toward the middle of the room where you can. Heavy pieces can usually stay and be covered, but they need space around them so the walls behind can be reached. If a room can't be cleared, say so at the estimate so the time to move things is planned in.
Settle colors and sheen
Choose colors before the start date, and decide on sheen as well: flat or matte for ceilings, eggshell or satin for most walls, and semi-gloss for trim and doors. Try samples on more than one wall, because the same color reads differently in morning and evening light.
Point out the problems
Show the painter any cracks, stains, peeling spots or water damage at the estimate, so the repairs are in the price from the start. Mention the age of the house too, since old plaster and old paint can change how a wall is prepared.
What happens once the work starts.
Ceilings go before walls and walls before trim, so drips only ever land on surfaces still to be painted.
Walkthrough and estimate
The rooms, surfaces, condition and colors are looked at together, and the scope and price are written down before work starts.
Rooms protected
Floors covered, furniture moved to the middle and wrapped, and outlet covers and switch plates taken off.
Repairs and sanding
Holes, cracks and dents filled, plaster and drywall repaired, then everything sanded smooth and caulked.
Primed and painted
Spot primer on the repairs and on any big color change, then ceilings, walls, trim and doors, in that order.
Clean-up and a final look
Furniture back, covers off, and a walk through the rooms with you to catch any touch-ups before the job is done.
Walls, color and trim from recent interiors.
Finished rooms from recent interior jobs: a bathroom in deep red, a bedroom with a green accent wall and a small room mid-job.
Take it from the people who've hired us.
Interior painting questions.
How much does it cost to paint the interior of a 2,000 sq ft house in Baltimore?
The cost to paint the interior of a 2,000 sq ft house in Baltimore depends on how many rooms, walls and ceilings are included, how much trim and how many doors there are, the condition of the surfaces, and how big the color change is. Floor area alone doesn't set the price, because two houses of the same size can have very different amounts of wall and trim. A free written estimate from someone who has seen the rooms is the number to rely on.
How much would a painter charge to paint a 12x12 room?
What a painter charges to paint a 12x12 room depends on the ceiling height, whether the ceiling, trim and doors are included, the repairs the walls need and how big the color change is. A room with sound drywall and a light color is a smaller job than one with cracked plaster and a dark color to cover. Many painters also have a minimum charge, so one small room can cost more per square foot than a whole floor.
Who are the best painting companies in Baltimore?
The best painting companies in Baltimore are the ones that can show you a Maryland MHIC license number and proof of insurance, explain how they'll prepare your walls, and put the scope and the price in writing. Look the MHIC number up before you sign, since the register is public. It's fair to ask how many years of experience the painters have with plaster walls, too. Rise and Prime Painting is a Baltimore painting company, licensed (MHIC #120401) and fully insured.
Do I need to move my furniture before the painters come?
You don't need to move heavy furniture before the painters come, but clearing small items, pictures and anything breakable out of the rooms helps the work start on time. A professional painting crew will usually move larger pieces to the middle of the room and cover them. Ask at the estimate what's included, so nothing is left to guesswork on the first morning of the painting project.
What paint finish is best for interior walls?
The best paint finish for most interior walls is eggshell or satin, because both wipe clean and hide small flaws better than glossier sheens. Flat or matte suits ceilings and low-traffic rooms, and semi-gloss suits trim, doors and bathrooms, where moisture and handling are highest. The glossier the sheen, the more a wall's flaws show under light.
Do you serve my area?
Rise and Prime offers interior and exterior painting across Baltimore, Maryland, in Baltimore City and Baltimore County, including Towson, Overlea, Rosedale, Parkville, Nottingham, White Marsh, Middle River, Glen Arm and Joppatowne, plus Ellicott City and Harford County. Estimates are free anywhere in that area, for one room or a whole house.
Someone walks the rooms with you.
Tell us which rooms need paint, roughly how big they are and whether ceilings, trim and doors are in, and the scope and the price come back in writing.
- 122 Google reviews, 5.0 average
- EPA Lead-Safe Certified Firm
- Fully insured
- 3-Year Workmanship Warranty
Put the rooms on a written price.
Tell us which rooms, roughly how big they are and what needs repairing. The estimate is free, and the scope and the price come back in writing.
Outside work is exterior painting in Baltimore, and a single free painting estimate can include both. Kitchen and bathroom cabinets take different prep from walls, so cabinet painting in Baltimore is scoped as a job of its own.