You’ve booked your painters, picked your colours, and the start date is coming up. What now? A little preparation before the crew arrives makes the job faster, protects your belongings, and often saves you money — because painters who aren’t moving furniture are painters who are painting.
After 20+ years painting Perth homes, here’s the exact preparation checklist we give Auzz Painting Service customers before every job.
The Week Before: Decisions and Logistics
1. Lock in your colours
Colour changes mid-job cost time and sometimes an extra coat. Finalise your palette at least a few days before the start date — test sample pots on your actual walls and check them in morning and evening light. Perth’s bright natural light makes colours read lighter and cooler indoors than they look on a swatch. If you’re stuck, ask us — colour consultation is part of what we do.
2. Confirm the scope in writing
Re-read your quote. Does it include ceilings? Skirting boards? The laundry? If you’ve thought of extra areas since the quote, tell your painter now — adding a room on day one is manageable; adding it on the last day usually means a second visit.
3. Plan around the work
Interior painting means rooms out of action for a day or two. If bedrooms are being painted, plan where you’ll sleep. Strong smells are minimal with the low-VOC paints we use, but sensitive people, babies, and pets appreciate a night away from freshly painted rooms.
The Day Before: Room by Room
4. Move small and precious things
Painters move the big furniture — that’s part of the service. What slows a job down is the small stuff: ornaments, photo frames, lamps, plants, electronics, and anything on shelves. Box these up and move them to a room that isn’t being painted.
5. Take down wall items
Remove pictures, mirrors, clocks and floating shelves. Leave the hooks and nails in place if the same items are going back — tell your painter, and we’ll paint around or refit them. If you want holes patched and gone, say so before the job starts; it’s quick for us to fill and sand them during prep.
6. Clear a path and a work zone
Painters need to carry ladders, drop sheets and 15-litre paint tins through your home. Clear hallways, move shoes from entryways, and if possible free up a garage corner or outdoor area as a staging zone for equipment.
7. Think about pets and kids
Wet paint and curious hands (or tails) are a bad mix. Plan for pets to be outside, at daycare, or confined to unpainted rooms. Painted surfaces need a few hours before they’re safe to brush past.
Exterior Jobs: Your Checklist
- Clear the perimeter — move outdoor furniture, pot plants, BBQs and vehicles at least 2 metres from the walls being painted
- Trim plants touching the walls — painters can work around gardens, but branches pressed against a wall mean unpainted patches
- Unlock side gates — access all the way around the house saves ladder-shuffling time
- Mention the sprinklers — reticulation that fires at 6am onto fresh paint is a genuinely Perth problem; switch it off for the painting days
- Secure dogs — even friendly ones. Ladders, open gates and wet paint don’t mix with excited pets
What You DON’T Need to Do
A good painting crew handles the rest. With Auzz Painting Service, the job includes:
- Moving and covering large furniture
- All surface preparation — filling cracks and holes, sanding, sugar-soaping walls
- Drop sheets and masking for floors, windows, and fixtures
- Daily tidy-up and full clean-up at completion, including removing all masking and returning furniture
You don’t need to wash walls, sand anything, or buy any materials — our residential painting service includes preparation and premium Dulux or Solver paint in the quoted price.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need to move furniture before painters arrive?
Only small and fragile items. Professional painters move and cover large furniture as part of the job — but boxing up ornaments, electronics and wall art before the crew arrives keeps the job moving quickly.
Should I clean the walls before painting?
No — proper wall cleaning (sugar soaping) is part of professional surface preparation. If your painter’s quote doesn’t include prep, that’s a red flag, not a to-do for you.
Can I stay home while the house is painted?
Absolutely, and most customers do. For interior jobs we work room by room so you always have usable space. Modern low-VOC paints have minimal odour.
What about picture hooks and shelf brackets?
Decide before the job: keep them (we paint carefully around or refit) or remove them (we fill and sand the holes during prep so they disappear). Either is fine — just tell us on day one.
How long before I can hang things back on the walls?
Wait 24–48 hours before re-hanging pictures. Paint feels dry in hours but takes longer to cure to full hardness — see our guide on how long paint takes to dry.
Booked Your Painter Yet?
If you’re still comparing quotes, we’d love to be one of them. Book a free, fixed-price quote with Baqir and the team — 140+ five-star reviews, fully licensed and insured, and we’ll walk you through exactly how to get ready. Call 0474 157 273.