Getting your home ready before the crew arrives makes the whole job faster, tidier and less disruptive to your week. Most of what we ask is simple, and a bit of preparation on your end means more time for the painters to focus on the finish rather than working around furniture and clutter.
Inside the House: What to Clear Before We Start
Start with anything on the walls. Photos, mirrors, shelving and wall-mounted decor should come down and be stored somewhere safe, especially in rooms getting a full repaint. Move furniture away from the walls and toward the centre of the room where possible, and if you can shift smaller pieces out entirely, even better.
Curtains and blinds are worth removing from any window in a room being painted, both to protect them and to give the painters clear access to trims and frames. It’s also a good time to clear the top of any shelving or cupboards near the ceiling line, since these often get missed until the day itself.
If you’d like a proper room-by-room breakdown, Dulux’s guide to preparing interior surfaces covers the finer details on things like patching and sanding, most of which we handle for you, but it’s useful background if you want to understand the process.
Outside the House: Clearing the Way
Exterior jobs need a bit more room to move. Shift pot plants, garden ornaments, hoses and outdoor furniture away from the walls being painted, and if you’ve got climbing plants or shrubs brushing up against the house, a trim back beforehand helps a lot. If the driveway or garage door is part of the job, having cars parked elsewhere for the day keeps things moving.
Gates and side access matter too. Let us know ahead of time if there’s a locked gate or an area we’ll need a key or code for, so nobody’s standing around waiting on the day.
Dulux’s exterior preparation guide is a handy reference if you’re curious about what goes into getting a wall ready for paint, from cleaning through to priming. If your place is due for a wash before we start, our high pressure cleaning service can handle that as a separate step, which often makes sense on homes that haven’t been cleaned in a while. Just keep in mind that surfaces need a day or two to dry out properly after a clean before paint can go on, so it’s worth booking that in ahead of the paint job rather than back to back.
What to Expect on the Day
We’ll usually start with a quick walkthrough so you know which areas we’re working in and roughly how the job will run. From there it’s masking and drop sheets first, then surface prep, before any paint goes on. For bigger jobs that run over a few days, we’ll let you know each morning what’s happening and which rooms or areas will be out of use, so there are no surprises halfway through the week.
If you’re working from home during an interior job, it’s worth planning to be out of the rooms being painted for a good chunk of the day, both for the smell and to give the paint room to dry undisturbed. We’ll always let you know when it’s safe to move furniture back in and hang everything up again.
What We Take Care Of
Once we’re on site, the technical side is on us. That means drop sheets and masking throughout the work area, filling and sanding any cracks or imperfections, priming where needed, and keeping the site tidy as we go rather than leaving a mess until the end. This is where most of the actual value in a paint job sits, and it’s the same standard we apply whether it’s a single room or a full residential repaint.
Pets and Family
If you’ve got pets, it’s worth keeping them contained or out of the house on the day, particularly somewhere quiet and away from ladders, open tins and unfamiliar noise. For occupied homes, we’ll talk through which rooms are being worked on and when, so you can plan around school runs, nap times or working from home without any surprises.
A Quick Pre-Paint Checklist
- Take down photos, mirrors and wall decor
- Move or clear furniture away from the walls
- Remove curtains and blinds in rooms being painted
- Clear garden beds, pot plants and outdoor furniture from exterior walls
- Move cars off the driveway if it’s part of the job
- Let us know about locked gates or restricted access
- Sort out where pets will be on the day
Related Reading
- How Often Should You Repaint Your Home on the Central Coast?, not sure if you’re actually due? Start here
- 2026 Interior Paint Colour Trends for Central Coast Homes, worth a look before you settle on a palette
Questions Before We Start?
Every home is a little different, and if you’re not sure what applies to your job, just ask. Give the team at ECE Paint Crew a call on 0423 526 896 or get in touch through our contact page, and we’ll walk you through exactly what to expect before the first drop sheet goes down.
