How to Paint a Checkerboard Floor, Parts 4 & 5

Back for more? You have made it to the end!! I am hoping the tutorial is easy to understand.  I do hope if anyone has any questions that you email or call me.  I will try my best to answer them!

My floor layout.

The supplies. Go to Faux Effects Stain

This is how your tape should look in the points that they meet.1

Divide your template through the corners and you will get your measurements.

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.

How to Paint a Checkerboard Floor, Part 1

I first started doing painted floors about six years ago. Thinking back I can't remember what floor was my first, but I remember stressing out about it.  My husband and I put rosen paper down on our driveway to practice how I could measure this out. I looked online for help and found very few directions ... maybe now its different.

I learned that you make your marks along the outside walls and snap lines. Well, I tried that. Thankfully it was a tiny hallway, because by the time I got half way down, the squares grew by an inch.

I wanted to share some helpful videos on how I measure out the room and make my squares.  Below is the first video in the series.  Please allow time for "buffering."

Keep in mind, I don't have Hollywood lighting, or a makeup artist, and I am in my studio ... it's late at night, and I am a bit forgetful. And I am also the cameraman! But hopefully this will help someone out. Oh, and it's a 5 part series ... so I will post the next part later.

Quick Notes on What you Will Need:
1. An Assistant
2. Patience
3. Measuring Tape
4. Pencils
5. Chalk Line
6. 3M Safe Release orange core tape
7. Straight razor blades
8. Illustration board or Polystyrene board

Check back for Part 2