Any professional painters out there? - Totally NDR

[Bill McAdam]

We just put a contract on a home in Crestview, FL. About 20 miles form the Gulf. And, of course, it's not without problems. The previous homeowners were smokers and did so indoors. Coat of tar/nicotine on everything. We're planning on scrubbing the walls/floors/counters/appliances with some sort of detergent and then sealing the walls with a primer/sealer before painting. Having the carpeting professionally cleaned and will ultimately replace it. Question is what detergent to use and what primer/sealer? We're thinking TSP on the painted surfaces, some sort of citrus based concentrated detergent on the floors, counters and appliances. Is the original formulation of Kilz the best sealer/primer to use? I understand something that's VOC based as opposed to water based is best, is that right?

Thanks in advance.

 

[s stocker]

Good luck. Had a similar situation. Painted the walls and the yellow bled through.

 

[milburn]

You are not going to have any free time for a while......................

 

[Pete McMiller]

If it were me I'd call a company who's business is getting rid of smoke odor in homes. The one that comes to mind is Service Master. They do that sort of thing everyday and are apparently really good at it.

 

[greg setter]

You might want to check out a primer called Killz.

 

[Andrew L.]

Bill,

When we paint at the apartment complex after smokers it takes a number of things to get rid of the stench. Unless the carpet appears absolutely spotless it is an automatic replacement. No matter how much we paint it never seems to leave if the carpet, mainly the pad underneath is saturated with the stench. If it the carpet is nearly new we do get a company to come in with an air purifer and run it, for a few days at minimum, and that seems to help along with the painting.

We also prime and paint everything (walls, ceilings, crown moldings, casings, door jambs window sills and trim). I am not sure of the base of our primer but I am sure it is not a water base. The ceilings seem to be the biggest problem because they are an absolute pain to paint and the residue is thickest here often meaning a second coat of paint.

Also put some air fresheners in with the furnace filter immediately to begin to clean and freshen the air system, they make special ones for this use only.

Hope this helps, good luck.

 

[Bill McAdam]

Thanks everyone. We found a service to scrub walls, counters & floor . My wife and I will pull up the carpeting in the LR & foyer & replace it with laminate flooring. We'll have a service clean the BR carpeting for now, but, eventually, we'll replace it, too.