Paint Hallway above stairs

[spiidey]

I am looking to paint the hallway, which takes in two floors and a set of stairs.

I can manage almost all of it with a pair of step ladders, but where the stairs are, part of the walls are unreachable from the stairs. What is the best way to paint these bits?

I've attached 2 pictures which hopefully explain what I mean - the areas in question are:-

Pic 1:- right hand side, the most shaded part;
Pic 1:- the ceiling directly above the stairs;
Pic 2:- the wall above the ledge that is directly in front of the picture;
Pic 2:- left hand (similar to pic 1) + right hand walls.

http://imageshack.us/f/194/stairs1.jpg/
http://imageshack.us/f/64/stairs2k.jpg/

 

[StephenW]

Are you rollering? Most paint roller handles are hollow to take a handle extender or a broom handle. Cutting in the edges is a bit trickier. Have you got a ladder that you can put the feet of into the back of the stair tread and leant against the wall in pic. 2.
Given appropriate safety precautions you can put a platform between the ladder and the landing.

 

[misterhelpful]

As StephenW says, a roller on a pole is the safest/easiest option if you dont have a combination ladder to help. Cutting in with a pole can be tricky but you can buy brush holders for an extension pole which are useful, providing you have strong arms and a steady hand.

BRUSH HOLDER

 

[spiidey]

I'm going to be doing two colours, alternating across the full length of the wall in a vertical stripe pattern, therefore I need to be able to get up to put frog tape on the wall to give a clean edge between each colour.

I could use a roller but that wouldn't give me a clean edge against the ceiling, and given that I need to be able to get up to put the frog tape on I'm going to need some sort of ladder/platform combination.

I have a pair of ladders that I can rest against the back of a stair and against the ledge in pic 2. If I were to go that, I would be able to get access to the furthest away part of the walls in pic 2 but not most of the visible walls in pic 1.

I think I'd therefore need to lay a platform. StephenW, what safety precautions should I be looking at when doing that? (probably a stupid question ...)

 

[TheDec]

Access and cutting in here appear to be your two major concerns, I am often very reluctant to offer advice to a diy'er with regard to to the setting up of any form working platform. Extentable roller poles are both readily available and well worth purchase, yet if you can't with ease cut in the awkward areas then the results can often become a disaster.

Dec

 

[misterhelpful]

Here is a vid giving you the most basic example of a platorm but make sure you have a solid scaffold board or even a couple of lengths of 3"x2" on end with some ply or similar screwed to it. A centre support across a long span is also a wise precaution.

 

[StephenW]

My "Given appropriate safety precautions" comment was the equivalent of a disclaimer on my part!

 

[TheDec]

Yes and I dont doubt that that approach could well be of assistance to the op yet I have often found that the offering of advice regarding the working at height is foolhardy.

Dec

 

[misterhelpful]

I'm sure the OP will appreciate your concern but it doesn't really help him to complete a job that is carried out daily, in a similar manner, by thousands of DIYers.

 

[TheDec]

Perhaps yet I am still not convinced that it is good practice to offer it.

Dec

 

[spiidey]

Many thanks for all the previous replies.

In particular, thanks for the video link; I now understand how to do this together with the risks involved.

I'm going to give this a go - I've checked the measurements and the gap between:-

• the top of the last step of the stairs; and
  the wall at the opposite side of the stairwell (as seen in pic 2)

is precisely 8 feet 6 inches.

I presume therefore I'm going to need at least a 9 feet plank; probably 9 feet 6 inches or maybe even 10 feet if I'm going to put stepladders at the top of the stairs.

A few questions:-

(a) Previous posts mention a "solid scaffold board" - what is this and where can I purchase it (B&Q? Local timber shop?);
(b) The video mentions anything beyond 8 feet requiring a vertical support. If the gap is 9 feet, is there a stronger "scaffold board" that will be sufficient for this without requiring a vertical brace?
(c) If the answer to (b) is "there isn't one", where can I get a vertical brace that will work for this purpose and what is the cost of this?
(d) In the video, a clamp is used to secure the scaffold plank to the stepladders. What kind of clamp is this and where can I get one (even better if someone could provide a link to an inexpensive one)

Many thanks once again for all the replies.

 

[misterhelpful]

You won't find a scaffold board, as such, for sale in the DIY stores but you can buy something similar from a timber yard. Depending on the width of your ladders you could use a length of 8"x2" or preferably wider but the price of timber that size is pretty high. Scaffold boards can be hired for as little as £5 per week, depending on length and type, or scaffolding companies often sell old boards fairly cheaply. You can get aluminium scaffold boards for longer spans but these will be more expensive.

http://www.hss.com/g/83501/1.html

Another alternative is to use an aluminium ladder laid flat between your other 2 ladders with a board laying across the rungs. This is where I agree with Dec, that offering advice on various set-ups can be risky and only experience can tell you if something is safe.


A centre support/brace can be made by basically screwing together 3 pieces of 4"x2" in an elongated I shape, with bottom end resting on the stairs and the top screwed to the scaffold board for security. This is where safety is most important, and if the 'I' needs to be long, it should also be supported from the sides with diagonal braces.

The video shows the use of a G clamp, which are fairly inexpensive, but you can fix a timber offcut to the underside of each end of the scaffold board which will act as a hook to stop the board slipping. (Just be aware that screwing into a hired scaffold board could lose you your deposit.)

Just ensure that, however you set up your access platform, it is completely solid before using it.

 

[spiidey]

You won't find a scaffold board, as such, for sale in the DIY stores but you can buy something similar from a timber yard. Depending on the width of your ladders you could use a length of 8"x2" or preferably wider but the price of timber that size is pretty high. Scaffold boards can be hired for as little as £5 per week, depending on length and type, or scaffolding companies often sell old boards fairly cheaply. You can get aluminium scaffold boards for longer spans but these will be more expensive.

http://www.hss.com/g/83501/1.html

Another alternative is to use an aluminium ladder laid flat between your other 2 ladders with a board laying across the rungs. This is where I agree with Dec, that offering advice on various set-ups can be risky and only experience can tell you if something is safe.


A centre support/brace can be made by basically screwing together 3 pieces of 4"x2" in an elongated I shape, with bottom end resting on the stairs and the top screwed to the scaffold board for security. This is where safety is most important, and if the 'I' needs to be long, it should also be supported from the sides with diagonal braces.

The video shows the use of a G clamp, which are fairly inexpensive, but you can fix a timber offcut to the underside of each end of the scaffold board which will act as a hook to stop the board slipping. (Just be aware that screwing into a hired scaffold board could lose you your deposit.)

Just ensure that, however you set up your access platform, it is completely solid before using it.

Thanks for that.

On the link you provided, I'll probably need the 3.0 metre length (possibly even 4.0 metres, I'll need to double check that).

What is the difference between code 83610 and code 83630 (i.e. what does the "grp" stand for?).

Also, what is the width of these boards (so I can be sure they'll fit between the width of the ladder/stepladder)?

 

[misterhelpful]

GRP (glassfibre reinforced plastic) are basically plastic and are lighter and easier to move (possibly stronger but can't be sure as I've not used them). You will have to check the width with the supplier and the numbers are just the suppliers product codes, AFAIK.

A bit more info here:
http://www.brandontoolhire.co.uk/directory/prodView.asp?idproduct=55

 

[ElBlanco]

I built something similar to a one of these:

http://www.mattandshari.com/large-projects/ladder-platform-for-stairs.html

when i decorated my hallways, worked a treat . . .