Which Order to Complete a Gutted Room: Wall or Floor First?
It’s not crucial if you install flooring or paint the walls in an empty gutted space, but there are a couple reasons why installing the flooring might eliminate potential issues. But if you install the flooring to begin with, before you work on the walls, you will want to cover it with painter’s tarps or plastic sheeting. The sequence in is dependent upon the conditions of the job.
Delicate Wall Surface
Install flooring before you work on your walls since it’s easy to damage paint and other wall stuff. Carpet rolls are bulky and long so that you risk scratching and scratching your newly painted, stained or wallpapered walls as you lay the rug. Wood, laminate, vinyl, tile and linoleum flooring installation require you to use tools, such as trowels or hammers, and bump your materials up against the wall. It’s simple scratch to ding or get adhesives. Fresh paint is susceptible to unsightly nicks since it takes several days to cure completely.
Baseboard Height Variations
Work on your own floors in case your gutted room has baseboards that are set up. There’s a high probability that your new flooring won’t exactly match the height of your old flooring and you’ll have to replace or replace you baseboards. By way of example, new hardwood floors might be shorter than your old carpet, or your new tile flooring might be thinner compared to your previous hardwood floors. Should you paint before you install your floors and also the baseboard height does not match, you’ll wind up with an unsightly strip of unpainted wall between the reinstalled baseboards along with the bottom of your newly painted wall.
Installation Debris
Elect for floor installation first since it’s often a messy process. A gutted room removes much of the dirt and dirt related to removing old carpet, wood or tile flooring. But, replacement flooring frequently requires some cutting and sawing which may result in sawdust, tile/stone loose or dust carpet fibers that may attach to freshly painted walls. Wiping down recently painted walls to remove dust particles could result in unwanted streaks, smears or residue, particularly if your wall paint hasn’t healed entirely or includes a nonwashable finish.
Easier to Protect Floors
Begin with your floors since it’s much easier to cover your floors with protective coverings than to attempt to attach plastic sheeting or painter’s fabrics to the walls in the entire room. Sheeting or painter’s fabrics might rub up against newly painted walls, leading to tiny blemishes. Additionally, sheeting might follow the walls if they have not cured completely. There’s no risk in covering recently installed floors with painter’s fabrics or sheeting, provided that the coverings are smooth and free of splinters or other tiny abrasives. Make sure the protective coverings go all of the way to the wall to avoid mishaps, such as paint polishes or wallpaper adhesive onto the floor.
