How to prepare your home for painters
Dario’s PaintingSep 30, 20267 min readLast updated: Sep 30, 2026
Your list is short, because Dario’s crew moves furniture, covers floors and masks edges. What is left for you: small valuables, anything hanging on the walls, a clear path and parking, and a plan for pets and kids. If your neighborhood reviews exterior colors, get approval before the start day. This guide gives you the checklist for each stage, from the walkthrough to the first month after the job. Booking a job? See how a job goes and interior painting in Memphis.
What the Crew Handles
Start with what you can skip. Here is what Dario’s crew handles on an interior job:
- Moves furniture and wraps it: they move what they can and cover the rest.
- Covers the floors and masks every edge before a can is opened.
- Patches, sands, caulks and primes holes and cracks.
- Packs tools out and puts the room back each evening, not on the last day.
- Walks the finished job with you and fixes whatever you point at before it is called done.
Your short list, in order
- 1 Walkthrough
- 2 Colors and approvals
- 3 Small valuables
- 4 Day one
- 5 Final walkthrough
- 6 Let it cure
Before the Walkthrough
The free walkthrough is where the written estimate starts. A few minutes of homework helps.
- Decide which surfaces you want painted: walls, ceilings, trim, doors. The estimate lists each one separately, so you choose what is included.
- Note the problems: cracks, stains, peeling spots, old patches. Dario checks for them at the visit, and any repair is written into the estimate.
- Stain from a leak? Get the leak fixed first. Sherwin-Williams says to find and repair the source of the water before sealing a stain with primer. See drywall repair.
- Know when the house was built, and mention it if it was before 1978. Older paint can contain lead, and our checklist of questions to ask a painter covers lead-safe work.
- Gather color ideas and photos. Want to use paint you already own? Say so at the walkthrough and the quote is priced that way.
- Think about timing: when you can let the crew in, and when they should finish each day. The BBB suggests settling that up front.
The Week Before
- Confirm the start day and end day on your quote. Weather is the only thing that moves an exterior, and you hear it from us first.
- Settle every color and sheen. Ask at the walkthrough how a change after day one would be handled.
- Get HOA approval now if your neighborhood reviews exterior colors. See the HOA section below.
- Sort out access: which door the crew uses, where they park, gate codes or alarm settings.
- Decide where the pets and kids will be during the work.
The Day Before
- Put away small valuables: jewelry, electronics, papers, collections. Move anything breakable off shelves, mantels and tables.
- Take down what hangs on the walls being painted: pictures, mirrors, shelves, curtain rods. Or ask at the walkthrough whether the crew will. The BBB says painters may ask you to remove wall décor, switch plates and outlet covers.
- Clear a path from the door to the rooms being painted.
- Painting outside? Move patio furniture, grills and planters away from the walls, and ask about cutting back shrubs that press against the house. Planting close to the walls takes more setup.
- Move your cars if the crew needs the driveway or garage, and ask where they should park.
- Skip the drop cloths. The crew covers floors and wraps furniture.
The Day of the Job
- Be there to let the crew in, or leave clear instructions. Show them the rooms, the surfaces that are in and out, and the repairs you pointed out at the visit.
- Agree on the basics: which bathroom they use, where the trash goes, who to call with questions.
- Keep pets and kids out of the work area (see the next section).
- Stay out of freshly painted rooms. Benjamin Moore says most wall paint is dry within one to two hours, but it keeps hardening for about 30 days.
- Expect the room back each evening, with tools packed out. If something worries you, say so that day. The final walkthrough is the formal check, but early is easier.
Pets, Kids and Fumes
Pets
Pets are curious. The Pet Poison Helpline says they may walk through fresh paint and swallow small amounts while grooming, and that all paints can release fumes that irritate eyes and airways in poorly ventilated areas. Keep pets in a closed, ventilated room away from the work, or out of the house. Tell the crew about them before day one so the doors stay shut.
Kids
Keep children out of the work area. Ladders, tools, open cans and wet surfaces are not for small hands. EPA says paints contain organic solvents, so provide plenty of fresh air, follow label precautions and keep products out of reach of children and pets.
Built before 1978?
EPA’s advice for work on older homes: occupants should not be in the work area while work happens, and pets need a safe place because they can be poisoned by lead and track dust through the house. Lead is especially dangerous to children under six, and pregnant women can pass it to their fetuses. Ask your painter how they handle lead.
HOA Color Approval in Germantown and Collierville
If your neighborhood association reviews exterior colors, get the approval before you settle on a start date.
| Where | What to know |
|---|---|
| Germantown | Neighborhoods full of brick homes, where the outside work is often trim, soffits, shutters, doors and garage doors rather than whole walls. If your association reviews exterior colors, bring the approved colors to the walkthrough. |
| Collierville | Older homes near the historic Town Square usually need more scraping and priming on wood trim. Newer subdivisions often have color rules, so have the approved colors in hand. |
- Read your covenants, or ask the association which changes need approval, what to submit and how long a review takes.
- Wait for the approval in writing before any paint goes on.
- Front doors, trim, shutters and garage doors are exterior colors too. Check whether your association reviews them.
Painting trim or doors only? See trim, door and baseboard painting and exterior painting, or check the areas we paint.
After the Job
After the job: use, wash, lean on
- Last day: Final walkthrough.
Point at anything that is not right, in daylight and with the lights on.
- 24 hours: Light use.
Benjamin Moore says the room can be used lightly.
- 2 weeks: Earliest washing.
Sherwin-Williams says wait at least two weeks.
- About 30 days: Fully cured.
Benjamin Moore’s mark, and its advice for washing.
- Walk the finished job with Dario and point at anything that is not right. Look at each wall in daylight and again with the lights on.
- Keep the house at normal temperature and humidity, as Benjamin Moore advises. Memphis is humid for much of the year, so keep the AC running as usual.
- Go easy for a month. Benjamin Moore says the room can be used lightly after 24 hours but the paint is not fully cured for about 30 days. Avoid pushing furniture against the walls for the first seven to ten days, and put felt pads on the legs.
- Wait to wash the walls. Sherwin-Williams says at least two weeks; Benjamin Moore says at least 30 days, with careful spot cleaning only if you must.
- Keep leftover paint and label it with the color, sheen and product. Benjamin Moore suggests touching up with a small artist’s brush or foam roller. Your quote names the paint for each surface, and you can ask Dario for the color names at the walkthrough.
See how a job goes, step by step, from the first call to the final walkthrough.
Got questions?
How do I prepare my house for painters?
Put small valuables and breakables away, take down wall hangings or ask whether the crew will, clear a path and the driveway, and keep pets and kids out of the work area. At Dario’s Painting the crew moves furniture, covers floors and masks edges, so your list is short.
Do I have to move furniture before painters come?
Not with Dario’s Painting. The crew moves what it can, covers the rest and puts the room back each evening. Clear small valuables and wall hangings yourself, or ask at the walkthrough.
What should I do with my pets during a paint job?
Keep them in a closed, ventilated room away from the work, or out of the house. The Pet Poison Helpline says pets may walk through fresh paint and swallow small amounts while grooming. Tell the crew about pets before day one.
Do I need HOA approval before painting in Germantown or Collierville?
If your neighborhood association reviews exterior colors, get approval first and bring the approved colors to the walkthrough. Newer Collierville subdivisions often have color rules. Check your covenants or ask the association.
How long before I can wash the walls or push furniture against them?
Benjamin Moore says to wait seven to ten days before pushing furniture against new walls and at least 30 days before cleaning them. Sherwin-Williams says at least two weeks before washing. Go gently while the paint cures.
Sources
- Better Business Bureau: hiring a painter — what painters may ask you to do; settle access and daily finish times
- Benjamin Moore: how to clean and maintain freshly painted walls and cabinets — dry in one to two hours, cured in about 30 days; furniture, cleaning and touch-ups
- Sherwin-Williams: maintenance frequently asked questions — wait at least two weeks before washing
- Sherwin-Williams: how to fix water, smoke and paint stains — find and repair the source of water first
- U.S. EPA: Renovate Right pamphlet (PDF) — work area off limits to occupants, a safe place for pets, lead risk to young children and pregnant women
- U.S. EPA: Renovation, Repair and Painting Program — homes built before 1978 and lead-based paint
- U.S. EPA: volatile organic compounds’ impact on indoor air quality — paints contain organic solvents; ventilate and follow label precautions
- VCA Animal Hospitals and Pet Poison Helpline: paint and varnish poison alert for dogs and cats — pets in fresh paint; fumes in poorly ventilated areas
Checked September 2026. Prices and product details change; your written estimate has the numbers for your house.
