Painting cathedral ceilings

[firefighterjunkie]

My husband and I are trying to buy a short sale home (and the bank has finally approved us!). The house is pretty big - 2,500 sq ft and the foyer opens up into a cathedral ceiling-ed room with a large picture window and vaulted ceiling.

The entire house is currently stark white and if we get into it, I'd like to eventually paint the walls AND ceiling a nice warm neutral color to make the place seem cozier and more inviting. I'm thinking that a job of that size would probably be best left to a professional - since I believe the top of the ceiling must be at least 25' (possibly higher?). My dad keeps telling me we can just rent scaffolding, buy a bunch of extension rollers, etc and get it done ourselves. I think he's nuts I'd like to do it right the first time and then be done with it.

Has anyone here painted something that high by themselves? Would you just pay a professional to do the big high rooms and leave the rest for us to do?

[dunhamjr]

a couple of rooms in my house are at 14 and 17 feet, but nothing up to 25 ft.
we have painted all the walls in the rooms at one point or another.

depending on how adventurous you are, you really could do it yourself with a tall ladder.

even with purchasing a big ladder and all the tools, i have got to assume you are going to come out cheaper then paying a pro. plus then you have a huge ladder so that you can send James up on the roof, to clean gutters, etc.

that said. we have popcorn ceilings in most of the house. and before i moved in i DID pay a pro to come in and spray all the popcorn ceilings for me.

it was very nice just to have it all done in like 2-3 days and only have to write a check.

if i had to do it over again though, i would have paid even more to have a pro come in and pull all the popcorn down.

[HI SPEED]

I recently blew out the ceiling in my living room. At the peak it was around 20 ft. I was able to paint it with just 2 ladders with 2x6 run between them, and 8 foot extensions. It was less of a pita then I thought.

Your other option is to purchase a sprayer. I have a rental that has cathedral ceilings over a staircase. It was going to be way to dangerous to paint on ladders. I was able to reach areas about 8 feet away with the sprayer.

Well worth saving about $3000. The sprayer was around $300 at Home Depot.

Just one word of advise. Try just painting the walls color first. Generally having a ceiling painted any color besides white can get overwhelming. Also ceiling white pAint hides imperfection like nothing else.

Good lick

[dunhamjr]

Just one word of advise. Try just painting the walls color first. Generally having a ceiling painted any color besides white can get overwhelming. Also ceiling white pAint hides imperfection like nothing else.

i kind of lean this way as well.

both in my house and in my rental, the ceilings are 'ceiling paint white' with no tint at all, and the walls are whatever color we paint them.

[barry2952]

My house is all one color. It looks fine. Scaffolding is better than ladders.

I'd bet that your ceiling is no more than 20 feet. Most homes have 8 foot ceilings on the first floor and 7 1/2 foot ceilings on the second floor. Unless you have a really steep roof the peak is usually no more than 20-21 feet.

A simple way to tell is using electrical conduit that comes in 10-foot lengths. Using a steel set-screw coupling put two pieces together for a 20-foot length. Touch it to the highest point and measure the gap to the floor. Then you'll know for sure what your needs are.

[dunhamjr]

My house is all one color. It looks fine.

this definitely works well, especially with your wall color choice.

but when you want something more obvious or vibrant it doesnt work as well.

we have blood red in our dining room, having that color on the ceiling as well would kill a lot of light and the look of the room with red walls/white ceilings.

same thing would happen in the hawaii blue room, or the drab green room, or the ikea blue/yellow room.

[barry2952]

this definitely works well, especially with your wall color choice.

but when you want something more obvious or vibrant it doesnt work as well.

we have blood red in our dining room, having that color on the ceiling as well would kill a lot of light and the look of the room with red walls/white ceilings.

same thing would happen in the hawaii blue room, or the drab green room, or the ikea blue/yellow room.

Couldn't agree more. We wanted our house to be the display space for a lot of art we've accumulated over 40 years and didn't want the backdrop to overpower the art. If I get tired of the art I move it. It's a little tougher when you get tired of a pronounced color.

[dunhamjr]

Couldn't agree more. We wanted our house to be the display space for a lot of art we've accumulated over 40 years and didn't want the backdrop to overpower the art. If I get tired of the art I move it. It's a little tougher when you get tired of a pronounced color.

i agree.

i am getting very ready to paint all the walls cream/tan/light brown.
now to just convince the wife to start painting.

[joeslob]

scaffolding is much better than ladders. You can rent it fairly cheap as well. Get some with wheels and full platforms and you're good to go!

Also, if you're afraid of heights, "box" yourself into the top level and you'll feel more secure.

[firefighterjunkie]

a couple of rooms in my house are at 14 and 17 feet, but nothing up to 25 ft.
we have painted all the walls in the rooms at one point or another.

depending on how adventurous you are, you really could do it yourself with a tall ladder.

even with purchasing a big ladder and all the tools, i have got to assume you are going to come out cheaper then paying a pro. plus then you have a huge ladder so that you can send James up on the roof, to clean gutters, etc.

that said. we have popcorn ceilings in most of the house. and before i moved in i DID pay a pro to come in and spray all the popcorn ceilings for me.

it was very nice just to have it all done in like 2-3 days and only have to write a check.

if i had to do it over again though, i would have paid even more to have a pro come in and pull all the popcorn down.

James isn't afraid of heights like I am, so he'd probably end up doing all of the "high" work anyway. And it is true - we will need a ladder, so it wouldn't be a bad investment. On the flipside, part of me thinks it would be so much easier to just pay someone to come in in a day and then be done. Plus, if it drips or there's any issues, they have to fix it...not me.

I recently blew out the ceiling in my living room. At the peak it was around 20 ft. I was able to paint it with just 2 ladders with 2x6 run between them, and 8 foot extensions. It was less of a pita then I thought.

Your other option is to purchase a sprayer. I have a rental that has cathedral ceilings over a staircase. It was going to be way to dangerous to paint on ladders. I was able to reach areas about 8 feet away with the sprayer.

Well worth saving about $3000. The sprayer was around $300 at Home Depot.

Just one word of advise. Try just painting the walls color first. Generally having a ceiling painted any color besides white can get overwhelming. Also ceiling white pAint hides imperfection like nothing else.

Good lick

I've never spray painted anything...not sure I want my first time to be on a house that I'm responsible for.

i kind of lean this way as well.

both in my house and in my rental, the ceilings are 'ceiling paint white' with no tint at all, and the walls are whatever color we paint them.

I've seen it done both ways and both can look good. I just think that sometimes it looks like "Hey, I am too lazy to paint the ceiling, so I just taped it off and painted the walls"

My house is all one color. It looks fine. Scaffolding is better than ladders.

I'd bet that your ceiling is no more than 20 feet. Most homes have 8 foot ceilings on the first floor and 7 1/2 foot ceilings on the second floor. Unless you have a really steep roof the peak is usually no more than 20-21 feet.

A simple way to tell is using electrical conduit that comes in 10-foot lengths. Using a steel set-screw coupling put two pieces together for a 20-foot length. Touch it to the highest point and measure the gap to the floor. Then you'll know for sure what your needs are.

I'm a woman, so reading the last part is like reading another language You're probably right about the ceiling height...but it sure feels super high when you stand in the foyer and look straight up.

I'm guessing that if we do it ourselves, it's still going to end up pretty pricey, huh? Buying a ladder, renting scaffolding, borrowing my dads truck and buying paint and materials will probably be a good chunk of change.

This is the type of color that I was thinking of:

[barry2952]

Even our window and door casings are the same color. I know some here don't like flat paint, but it hides everything. If you have kids it's not so good for clean-up.

[baryyknowseverything]

My house is all one color. It looks fine. Scaffolding is better than ladders.

I'd bet that your ceiling is no more than 20 feet. Most homes have 8 foot ceilings on the first floor and 7 1/2 foot ceilings on the second floor. Unless you have a really steep roof the peak is usually no more than 20-21 feet.

A simple way to tell is using electrical conduit that comes in 10-foot lengths. Using a steel set-screw coupling put two pieces together for a 20-foot length. Touch it to the highest point and measure the gap to the floor. Then you'll know for sure what your needs are.

Couldn't agree more. We wanted our house to be the display space for a lot of art we've accumulated over 40 years and didn't want the backdrop to overpower the art. If I get tired of the art I move it. It's a little tougher when you get tired of a pronounced color.

Even our window and door casings are the same color. I know some here don't like flat paint, but it hides everything. If you have kids it's not so good for clean-up.

[HI SPEED]

Just take a tape measure and extend it until you hit the ceiling.

[dunhamjr]

Just take a tape measure and extend it until you hit the ceiling.

this can work, but typically by the time you push 20ft up, the tape wants to fall over.

[barry2952]

I've done it by putting the tape measure through a piece of conduit, both PVC and metal. Using the tube adds a huge amount of stability. Typically you can hold it with the bottom at 5 feet, leaving the conduit at 15 feet, easily reaching 25 feet.

[Burnoutx]

When we did our house, I rented scaffolding from Home Depot for a few days and just hammered it out. I painted both ceiling and walls. Even with the scaffolding, it was a little unnerving to be up that high painting; however, I don't know how I would not have made a bigger mess dealing w/ a extension and roller instead.

It wasn't too hard to put together, just really need someone to help set it up and break the scaffolding down; however, it was well worth it.


shot from the 2nd floor landing of the slope:


after:

[PoorHouse]

You probably already have everything figured out, but if not.

Be prepared professional painting is expensive, if you just spent your money buying the house
you're going to be doing this yourself.

Our old house had a 20' cathedral living room, we did the whole interior except the master suite and
other baths 1 color, similar to Barry's. Trim was white.

You want scafolding for the high ceiling. Not much to rent and well worth it for ease of use, plus it will
really help do a quality job, especially if you spray.

If you are painting the trim the same color consider spraying, if not I would probably roll it.

Either way try to do all the painting before you move in. Much easier without furniture in the place.

[firefighterjunkie]

When we did our house, I rented scaffolding from Home Depot for a few days and just hammered it out. I painted both ceiling and walls. Even with the scaffolding, it was a little unnerving to be up that high painting; however, I don't know how I would not have made a bigger mess dealing w/ a extension and roller instead.

It wasn't too hard to put together, just really need someone to help set it up and break the scaffolding down; however, it was well worth it.


shot from the 2nd floor landing of the slope:


after:

Thanks for your input! Our ceiling height and layout is similar to yours...except we have a giant support beam going down the middle of the house that is going to be a HUGE pita to cut around. Love your colors, btw.

You probably already have everything figured out, but if not.

Be prepared professional painting is expensive, if you just spent your money buying the house
you're going to be doing this yourself.

Our old house had a 20' cathedral living room, we did the whole interior except the master suite and
other baths 1 color, similar to Barry's. Trim was white.

You want scafolding for the high ceiling. Not much to rent and well worth it for ease of use, plus it will
really help do a quality job, especially if you spray.

If you are painting the trim the same color consider spraying, if not I would probably roll it.

Either way try to do all the painting before you move in. Much easier without furniture in the place.

Thanks. So, no, I don't have anything figured out. You're probably right that we're going to get stuck doing this ourselves and renting scaffodling, buying a ladder (since we'll probably want one as home owners anyway, etc). We do want the majority of the home to be one color, so that's not an issue.

The trim is just ugly builder grade stained stuff...kind of that medium oak color. Ultimately we would LOVE white trim, but I'm not sure it's worth the hassle of trying to paint the original stuff white since it's only like 2" trim and it's all original (22 years old). I figure we're either going to have to go around it and tape it off or just paint it all (we're wanting a light warm tan, lighter than the picture above) and eventually replace it with nicer stuff. Any thoughts?

My husband is deployed right now and I'm basically buying the house and moving in all by myself, so unfortunately, I'm not going to be able to paint before moving in...but the GOOD news is, that we literally have no furniture that would go into that room. All of out stuff would be in the living room by the fireplace.

I need some better pics, but this is what I have on my computer right now. Looking over the banister from the second floor, down to the foyer and formal living room. If you were to look straight across there is a window, then the ceiling peaks up from there. Don't be jealous of my awesome purple carpet, k?


The front of the house, which is where the cathedral ceiling is - the window above the front entry way is what is visible if you look straight across the second floor banister. Yes, we are putting a new roof on it.

[barry2952]

That trim will look more modern if painted, IMO. You really don't want to think about redoing all your trim. It's a ton of work, but it's your house.

[firefighterjunkie]

I don't want to deal with trim right now...especially because then I have to do window sills, doors, door jams, etc. Blah! Too much to even think about right now.

[Burnoutx]

if you are like me, by the time you are done painting your house, you will loathe painting like i do.

a necessary evil, but each time i have to repaint a room, i start to have flashbacks, cry, and whine like a little kid.

yes, the trim will kill you..b/c if you paint the trim, you should paint your doors, while you paint your doors...etc...etc..etc.

it never ends...till you are standing in that house thinking "you know...maybe it wouldn't be bad if it just burned to the ground now..."

[HI SPEED]

Out of curiosity what are short sale properties going for in your area?

[dunhamjr]

if you are like me, by the time you are done painting your house, you will loathe painting like i do.

a necessary evil, but each time i have to repaint a room, i start to have flashbacks, cry, and whine like a little kid.

yes, the trim will kill you..b/c if you paint the trim, you should paint your doors, while you paint your doors...etc...etc..etc.

it never ends...till you are standing in that house thinking "you know...maybe it wouldn't be bad if it just burned to the ground now..."

If you think all that from a relatively simple repaint then NEVER EVER consider a house that needs major work.

edit:
to hopefully make this seem less harsh... to put it into context.

my first house (and current house) was bought needing $25k in foundation work, $40k in deck replacement, $40k in new siding... will need a new roof in under 10 yrs. and most of the interior was/is still stuck in 1992 (all the flooring, wall textures like stucco, popcorn ceilings, brass everywhere, white 6" tile counters, etc, etc, etc) with some of the original 1979 still hanging on.

so a simple layer of paint. even if you have to every single square inch of wall, ceiling and trim IS a small thing.

[firefighterjunkie]

Hey, I completely agree. We want to replace that ugly purple carpet with laminate...which means that we will need to do a new tile entry way...and while we're doing that, we may as well do new kitchen flooring too. And since everything else is going to be ripped up, we may as well put new tile around the fireplace...

Okay, I'm already exhausted just thinking about it