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11-03-2009 at 8:33 PM
12/08/07So...
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Which comes first...

...the chicken or the egg? (just kidding)

We close on our first home on Friday and are having a debate about which task comes first... do we refinish the hardwood floors first and then paint or do we paint first and then refinish the hardwood floors?

 If we paint first and then refinish the floors we don't have to worry about getting paint on the floors BUT we might get dust form the sander all over the newly painted walls.

On the other hand, if we refinish the floors and then paint we might risk getting paint on the refinished floors BUT we wouldn't worry about getting dust on our freshly painted walls.   Side note: Of course we would use floor coverings while painting but you never know- it could drip right?

Any advice on this one? TIA
 
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11-03-2009 at 8:35 PM
Beth&Derek
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I would paint the walls first. If you give them a decent amount of time to dry (a day or more) then getting dust on the walls won't be an issue; you'll just have to clean them when you're done.
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11-03-2009 at 8:38 PM
mbgreenwal...
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DH installs flooring and he always recommends putting the floor in first.  They usually cause some dings and scuffs to the walls during install that would need to be touched up.

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11-03-2009 at 8:40 PM
Jennybeeb
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A question for you first....Will you be painting trim?

If Yes...Then my personal opinion as far as order is this:  Refinish the floor, then paint the walls, then paint the trim.

If not, then I think it probably doesn't matter a whole lot which order you do.  I would personally do the walls first regardless...If you're using latex paint on the walls, it's relatively easy to get up off the floors... ;)
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11-03-2009 at 8:42 PM
teg
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I'd paint first.
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11-03-2009 at 8:52 PM
jess!ca
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When we did our kitchen, we painted the walls before the hardwood floors were installed and finished.  By the time the floors were done, there was a LOT of touching up to do to repair some damage caused by the floor installation.  I would def. prime and paint a coat or two before the floors are in, esp. if you need to do the ceiling so you don't drip on the floors, but I would expect to have to do some wall repairs and paint touch ups after the floors. 
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11-03-2009 at 8:56 PM
littlwing
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We totally redid our first floor last year and luckily we did the floors first, then painted, then installed the floor molding. Just use drop clothes when you paint and clean up any mess right away and it shouldn't impact the floors.
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11-03-2009 at 8:58 PM
littlwing
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On another note, def try to have the floors done with a dust containment system. It makes an incredible difference. We didn't have this when our 2nd level floors were installed... what a miserable mess.
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11-03-2009 at 9:09 PM
12/08/07So...
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12/08/07Soon2BeMrsE is not online. Last active: 03-21-2010, 9:43 PMBronze

Yes we are painting the trim.  I guess I should have mentioned that we only have experienced help this weekend.  My parents and DH's parents are coming in town for the weekend to help us start the D&R process. 

Luckily for us, FIL and my Dad both have experience refinishing hardwood floors.  We know we need at least one full day (ideally a day and a half) for the floors between the sanding, staining, and poly but then they need to fully dry for a couple days before walking on them.

We close at 12 on Friday so if we start priming and painting by 2PM and let the paint dry overnight will that be enough time?  We would have to start sanding the floors Saturday morning, then stain them and let that dry (ideally overnight) before we apply the polyurethane and let it fully dry for a couple days.    

FYI- Our lease isn't up until the 21st so we do have some other time to paint but don't necessarily have the help of the Dad's to help work on the floors (although FIL plans to drive up every weekend until our house is completely finished). 

 
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11-03-2009 at 9:10 PM
WA1215
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We painted first....then had someone refinish the hardwood floors.  We were told that if any drips happened on the floors, the sander would remove them but we still covered them while painting just to be safe. :)

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11-03-2009 at 9:15 PM
12/08/07So...
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12/08/07Soon2BeMrsE is not online. Last active: 03-21-2010, 9:43 PMBronze

jess!ca:
When we did our kitchen, we painted the walls before the hardwood floors were installed and finished.  By the time the floors were done, there was a LOT of touching up to do to repair some damage caused by the floor installation.  I would def. prime and paint a coat or two before the floors are in, esp. if you need to do the ceiling so you don't drip on the floors, but I would expect to have to do some wall repairs and paint touch ups after the floors. 

Good point!  Maybe we can paint the ceilings, prime the walls, and pull up the downstairs carpet on Friday and then start the floors Saturday.  We plan to paint everything from the ceilings to the walls to the trim and even install crown molding.  Looks like I might spend more time on this board than I expected :)  Thank you all for all of your help! 

 
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11-03-2009 at 9:22 PM
crows1920
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we painted first and then just ran a damp rag over the walls after the floors were done.
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11-03-2009 at 10:37 PM
Lisa07033
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paint first .... been there done that.  no question.
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11-04-2009 at 7:41 AM
seaspray58...
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I'd paint the walls first.  As long as the paint's dry before you sand, the worst that can happen is that you have to wipe the walls down with a damp cloth.  If you go the other way, the worst that can happen is that you're sanding out a paint drip on the floor.  Definitely worse.
 
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11-04-2009 at 9:04 AM
sjgrillot
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We haven't refinished floors before, so you may not be able to do this, but couldn't you sand the floors, paint, then finish the floors?  That way the sanding is done and the dust is out prior to painting, then finishing the floors after the paint has dried.
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