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Having just had our ensuite and main bathroom redone in a 20 yr old house, the rest of the upstairs looks tired and she who must be obeyed has deemed that we re-carpet and redecorate.
The place hasn't been painted in 6 yrs and we have teenage boys, and some of the carpets are original from when we moved in as a new build, so fair enough.
It will be done while I work from home, in the solace of the spare room/study which is newly refreshed, with a wood floor, so I can hide throughout 🙂
We know a good decorator, and we also know where the carpets will come from. I am hoping we can get the carpet folk to do the lift and strip out, though they will obviously charge for it. So anyway, paint first, or after ???
I guess doing it first saves new carpets but could also lead to untidy skirtings and marks on newly painted walls from carpet strip out. If done after, by professional decorators, maybe better ?
WWSTW do ?
Any element of DIY is out as I'm working 40-50 hrs a week and we can thankfully afford to pay others to do it as a result.
You'd have to be half mental to lay and new carpet and go painting....
Leave carpets down, decorate, Cut 3" off the carpet round the edge of the room so you can do the skirting nicely and without damaging your paintwork when you lift the carpets.
I lifted ours myself, was easy one trip to the tip. Check if the underlay is worth using, make sure you get all the staples up before new goes down.
What trail_rat said
Thanks all
Leave carpets down, decorate, Cut 3″ off the carpet round the edge of the room so you can do the skirting nicely and without damaging your paintwork when you lift the carpets.
Very much this. I’d do the cut out myself before decoration. But I’d let the fitters remove the rest.
As said above.
Cut around all the edges of the carpet and lift that up. Ideally use a new hook bladed Stanley knife, or a few cuts through with a new standard blade will do it.
Then decorator can paint everything properly, he'll probably even take the strip of carpet up for you if you suggest it's going to be thrown away.
Tell decorator you intended to replace carpets soon enough and you want the paint to be able to take a few scuffs and hits, I also use Dulux diamond eggshell on woodwork on all my projects. Survives carpet fitting well
If you can give it a week or two between the woodwork being painted and carpets fitted, let’s the paint harden as carpet fitters are generally not known for being delicate with stuff...
How are your floorboards, any squeaky bits or sagging if chipboard? If they aren’t perfect then getting someone to lift the carpets first before decorating gives you time to have them fixed or any water/electric work done.
My house is much older though, meant I used cardboard temporary flooring as a stop gap whilst decorating and getting the bits sorted ahead of carpeting. Made it really easy to clean up and stopped dirt/dust being tracked to the rest of the house.
https://www.toolstation.com/x-board-recyclable-surface-protection/p20471
It's a bit like asking whether you should get dressed then have a shower or shower first. 😊