What does painting preparation involve in a Calgary home?

Complete interior painting preparation includes: furniture and fixture protection (move furniture, cover what cannot be moved, remove switch plates and outlet covers), wall washing (remove grease and surface contamination — particularly important in Calgary kitchens where cooking residue on walls prevents paint adhesion), patch and fill (fill nail holes, small dings, and cracks with spackling compound or lightweight filler; larger holes require drywall compound and may need texture matching), sand (sand all patches smooth and feather the edges; sand glossy areas in the room to allow adhesion), caulk (caulk any gaps at trim-to-wall joints or corners with gaps wider than a hairline), prime (prime patched areas and any bare drywall spots — unpainted patches show through finish coats), and cut-in edges before rolling.

Why do Calgary walls need washing before painting?

Walls accumulate grease, body oils, and airborne cooking residue that are not visible but prevent paint adhesion. In Calgary homes, kitchen walls and the walls adjacent to cooking areas are most affected. Additionally, Alberta's furnace-heated air is dry in winter — dust and fine particles deposit on wall surfaces through static attraction. Paint applied over contaminated walls has inadequate adhesion and may peel or chip within 2 to 3 years. The correct prep wash for kitchen walls and heavily contaminated areas is TSP (trisodium phosphate) or a TSP substitute, rinsed and allowed to dry completely before painting. General walls: a light wash with a damp cloth and mild detergent is sufficient.

Do Calgary walls need primer before repainting?

For a colour-on-colour repaint where the existing paint is in good condition and the new colour is similar (light to light, medium to medium): primer is generally not required over the full wall. Prime: (1) any patched spots with bare drywall compound or plaster exposed — these absorb paint differently and show through if not primed; (2) if making a dramatic colour change (dark to light or vice versa — a common situation in Calgary renovations where the previous owner chose bold colours); (3) if the existing paint has a sheen above flat and the new paint is flat — a bonding primer improves adhesion between finishes.

How do I match texture when patching Calgary walls before painting?

Calgary homes built from the 1980s through 2000s typically have orange peel texture (a fine bumpy spray-applied texture). Homes from the 1960s and 1970s often have skip trowel (hand-applied irregular texture). New Calgary homes often have smooth or very fine orange peel. After patching: apply texture to the patch area to match the surrounding wall. Orange peel can be replicated with aerosol orange peel texture spray (adjust distance and air pressure to match coarseness of existing). Skip trowel requires hand application with a trowel. The texture should be slightly over-applied and then lightly sanded to blend the edges — a sharp boundary between textured and smooth looks worse than a blended transition.

How much more does a properly prepped paint job cost in Calgary?

Proper painting preparation (protection, wash, patch, sand, caulk, spot prime) typically adds 25 to 40% to the painting labour time compared to a wash-and-roll approach. On a typical Calgary living room or bedroom (35 to 50 sq m of wall area): proper prep adds $85 to $175 in labour cost compared to a minimal-prep approach. The trade-off: a properly prepped interior paint job in a Calgary home lasts 8 to 12 years before needing re-paint. A poorly prepped job on contaminated or unpatched walls typically shows peeling and adhesion failure in 3 to 5 years, requiring full re-paint earlier.

Interior Painting Prep Calgary

The complete prep sequence

Step	What it involves	What skipping it causes
Protection	Furniture moved/covered, plates removed, floor covered	Paint splatter on floors and furniture
Wall wash	TSP or degreaser on kitchen/contaminated walls	Adhesion failure, early peeling
Patch + fill	Holes, dings, cracks filled with compound	Visible defects through paint
Sand	Patches feathered; glossy areas dulled	Paint adhesion failure over patches
Caulk	Trim-to-wall gaps sealed	Visible gaps, moisture infiltration
Spot prime	Bare patches and colour-change areas primed	Visible hot spots through finish coat
Cut-in	Edges by hand before rolling field	Ragged edges, roller spray at trim

Calgary-specific: why the wall wash matters more here

In a Calgary kitchen or dining area, cooking residue (grease, steam, smoke) deposits on wall surfaces that appear clean to the eye. Calgary's dry air causes this residue to adhere as a dry film rather than staying viscous. Paint applied over this film looks fine on day one but loses adhesion within months — the paint bonds to the film, not the wall.

TSP (trisodium phosphate) solution cuts through this film effectively. For a Calgary kitchen: mix 250ml TSP in a bucket of warm water, wash with a sponge, rinse with clean water, allow 24 hours to dry before painting. In non-kitchen rooms in good condition, a wipe with a damp cloth and a mild detergent is sufficient.

Texture matching on Calgary walls

Calgary homes from 1985 to 2005 are predominantly orange peel texture — a spray-applied texture resembling the surface of an orange. This texture cannot be simply painted over when patching: the patch must receive texture before paint, or the patched area is visible as a smooth spot in the textured field.

For patches under 10cm: aerosol orange peel spray (Homax, available at Canadian Tire) matches standard orange peel when applied at the correct distance (30 to 45cm) and pressure. Practice on cardboard before applying to the wall — the coarseness of the texture depends on distance. Lightly sand after the texture dries to feather the edges, then prime and paint.

Paint sheen selection for Calgary rooms

Sheen	Where to use in Calgary	Trade-off
Flat/matte	Living rooms, bedrooms, ceilings	Hides imperfections; harder to clean
Eggshell	Main floor living areas, dining rooms	Balance of cleanability and low sheen
Satin	Hallways, family rooms, kids rooms	Washable; shows wall imperfections
Semi-gloss	Kitchens, bathrooms, trim	Most washable; shows every defect
Gloss	Trim and doors only	Maximum durability and sheen

Interior painting in Calgary

We include full prep — wash, patch, caulk, prime — in all painting quotes. No prep shortcuts, no peeling in year two.

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