How to Paint Floors Before Installing Carpet
- 1). Sweep around the floor's edges with a broom, sweeping all dirt into the room's center. Pick up the dirt with a dustpan. Suck all dirt and debris out of the cracks between the subfloor boards with a vacuum.
- 2). Load a tube of caulk into a caulking gun and cut the tip off with a box knife. Caulk all of the cracks in between the subfloor boards. Run your finger over the bead of caulk to smooth it out and squish it into the crack.
- 3). Pour interior oil or water-based floor primer paint into a paint tray. Dip the bristles of a paintbrush into the primer and paint the floors edges. Paint a four-inch border all the way around the floor's edges.
- 4). Dip a roller equipped with a 1/2-inch nap roller cover into the paint tray until the nap fibers of the roller cover are soaked with paint. Screw an extension pole into the handle of the roller frame. Roll the entire floor with primer paint. Begin at the side of the room furthest from the exit and then roll toward the exit.
- 5). Re-dip the roller into the primer after every roller pass. It doesn't have to be pretty, because the carpet is going to cover it anyway. Wait 24 hours for the primer to dry and then apply the interior oil or water-based floor finish coat of paint. The type of paint must match the type of finish paint. Wait 24 hours before installing the carpet.
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