Saturday, January 5, 2013

How to Paint a Checkerboard Floor Parts 2 & 3

Hopefully my first video of this series made sense.  I apologize for my lack of photo editing skills, and the abrupt ending.  If I ever record tutorials again, I will shoot shorter films so they don't have to be chopped up. In the meantime, keep in mind I am a decorative artist, and not a film editor!!

Below are videos 2 and 3:





































When doing a floor, or anything with math, it's always better to double check your numbers.  I always use a calculator, and double check our first 2 snapped lines to ensure that they are in the center of the room.  If you are working with an assistant, as I strongly recommend, check on their work as well. Make sure you are both using the same type of ruler, marking off in the same spots. If someone has a fatter pencil, their marks and lines will be bigger and that can add up over time.  When you are drawing in your squares with your ruler and pencil, it's very important to draw light lines. They won't show up through the stain, and you always want to tape the squares off so that the pencil lines are inside the taped area. This will let the stain bury the pencil lines.


This is how our floor looks taped off, the brown squares appear larger then the white due to the tape
being on the white area. They are all equal in size.


I also wanted to mention, do not use a wet rag to wipe off your floor chalk lines. We usually just use a dry towel, or our feet.  Yep, our socks work great. We always wear socks when working on a floor, and usually have cushions with us to keep our knees and bottoms comfortable.

Another good use for your square template, is it will be used for your work surface later. We usually put our stain on top, and all our other tools and drag it on the floor.  I also forgot to mention that the square template comes in handy when you need to bend it around a door, or into a small closet where your ruler can't fit. You can hold down part of it, and trace your square. Works great!

The next 2 videos will follow shortly.

1 comment:

  1. Great videos with lots of "trade secrets." So good of you to share with the rest of us!

    ReplyDelete