A pole will help you reach high areas safely and easily.
Painting vaulted ceilings, stairwells and multistory walls requires special tools. For large areas and heights more than two stories, renting a scaffold kit or mechanical lift is your best option if ladders aren't adequate for your needs. For smaller areas such as stairwells or second-story exterior painting, you have a few different options. Extension poles are the simplest method for painting high-up areas, but you will lose some control over your paintbrush or roller due to flexibility in the pole. Walkboard and ladder combinations can help you reach stairwell areas more easily, giving you control for painting around light fixtures or other detail areas.
Instructions
Extension Pole Method
1. Tape a paintbrush to the end of an extension pole (available from home improvement stores). Use high-quality cloth tape if possible, as it is the strongest type of tape that will not leave a sticky residue. Duct tape will also work, but it may leave adhesive on your pole.
2. Pour your paint into a paint roller tray and set it approximately the same distance away from you as the surface you want to paint. For example, if you are painting a 15-foot-high ceiling, set the roller tray 10 to 15 feet away. This will allow you to reach the paint without moving or changing your grip on the pole extensively.
3. Extend the pole as far as you need to reach your surface comfortably.
4. Dip the brush in the paint, and then wipe the excess off on the roller tray so you do not drip as you swing the pole up to the surface you are painting. Use a brush to paint any corners or detail areas, such as the ceiling around light fixtures.
5. Remove the tape and paintbrush when you finish the detail areas.
6. Screw a roller frame onto the end of the pole, which should be threaded for this purpose.
7. Paint the large areas with your roller in the same manner you used with the brush, taking care to roll off the excess paint before you lift the roller to the ceiling.
Walkboard Method
8. Place an extension ladder on one of the lower steps in a stairwell if you need to paint the upper walls or ceiling and don't have room to swing an extension pole.
9. Lean the upper portion of the ladder against the wall above the base of the stairs so the ladder angles in the opposite direction of the staircase.
10. Slide a 1-inch-thick wooden board through one of the openings in the ladder rungs so it rests on a rung at one end and one of the upper stairs at the other end.
11. Climb carefully onto the board and use it as a platform from which you can paint. You may need to use a short extension pole or broom handle to reach the ceiling, but it will offer you more control than a long extension pole.
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