Salinas homes run from plaster-walled houses near Oldtown to textured drywall in the North Salinas tracts, and each takes its own prep. We repair, sand and prime before two coats, and we cover floors and furniture first. Damp, foggy days need a little more drying time, which we plan for.
The inside of a Salinas house depends a lot on when it was built. Homes near Oldtown and in Maple Park often have lath and plaster, picture rails and old wood trim. Postwar houses in South Salinas and the Alisal have early drywall or plaster with smooth or lightly textured walls. The newer tracts in North Salinas have drywall with a sprayed texture and rounded corners. Each kind takes a different amount of repair, so we look at the walls before we give a price.
We begin by moving furniture to the middle of the room and covering it, then masking floors, counters and fixtures. Holes and dents are filled, cracks are opened and repaired, and patches are sanded and spot primed. Water marks get a stain-blocking primer so they do not come back. Walls then receive two coats, brushed along the edges and rolled across the rest. Doors, baseboards and window trim are sanded and painted in a harder enamel that can be wiped clean.
You will have a written quote that lists each room, what is painted in it and how many coats. Our mild weather helps, because windows can be open for much of the year while the paint dries. On foggy days the air is damp and paint takes longer to set, so we allow more time between coats. Rooms are usually back in use the same evening. If the house dates from before 1978, please say so, since old painted trim has to be sanded with lead-safe methods.
Interior painting in Salinas: common questions
Do we have to move out while you paint?
No. Families in Salinas nearly always stay home during interior painting. We finish one or two rooms at a time and put them back in order before moving on, so the kitchen and at least one bedroom stay usable.
There is mildew on my bathroom ceiling. Will paint cover it?
Not on its own. Our damp, foggy air makes bathroom mildew common here. We clean and treat the growth, let the surface dry, prime with a stain-blocking primer and use a moisture-resistant paint. A working fan is what stops it from returning.
My house has old plaster walls. Can you paint them?
Yes. Plaster takes paint very well once it is sound. We repair cracks and loose areas first, sand the repairs and prime them. Hollow or crumbling plaster has to be fixed properly before painting, and we point that out at the estimate.
How it works
- Free estimate: Call, text or book online. We walk the job and measure.
- Written quote: Prep, paint and price in writing.
- Prep & protect: We cover floors and furniture, repair and prime surfaces.
- Paint & walk-through: Two coats, clean lines, full clean-up and a final walk-through.