The choice of finishing for the interior of your apartment mainly consists of two options that are most common and economical - wallpaper and painting. Other options - tiles, wood paneling - are more expensive, and in the latter case, it also requires special conditions, if you count on long-term service.
Most often, the walls of living quarters are decorated with wallpaper - multi-colored, striped, in a large or small flower, or with an inconspicuous ornament - in general, the range is wide in color, material, and price. But trends are changing. The fashion for painting walls is more and more proving its worth not only in terms of costs, but also in many other parameters. So, why is interior paint better than wallpaper?
Question No. 1 - price
There are many parameters by which interior paint is divided. The price in this case directly depends on them. So, the important features of paints:
- gloss level (from deep matte to semi-matte);
- basis ( interior acrylic , water based, water dispersible paints ).
In addition, it is important to consider:
- staining method (roller, brush);
- texture of paint for walls;
- number of components;
- the presence of odor.
Taking into account all the parameters, prices start from 38-45 rubles per kilogram of paint and above. The consumption of the material depends on its basis and even color. A kilogram of oil paint, depending on the color, is enough for an area of 5 to 20 square meters. A liter of water-dispersion paint (base - acrylic) is enough for 6-7 square meters. m, and emulsion - at 7-11, sometimes at 14-18 square meters. m, depending on the absorbency of the wall surface.
So, if you need to paint a 4x3 room with a ceiling height of 2.5 m, you should calculate how much paint is needed for the walls. It turns out that the staining area is 30 square meters. m (you need to subtract the area of windows and doors). If you take acrylic paint, then it will need 5 liters. Depending on the manufacturer, this can cost 300 rubles or more.
It remains to calculate the quadrature of the room that is being repaired, ask the price of existing offers in the market of your region and choose the most suitable option.
Question No. 2 - application and auxiliary means
What can interior paint require in relation to itself? Consider the auxiliary tools:
- Means of application - brushes or rollers. If you have a spray gun for coloring, you will save a lot of time, and the coating will be uniform. If there is no such device in the household and there is no one to borrow it for repair, this is an additional item of expenditure that exceeds tens of times the cost of rollers and brushes. The latter are better suited for painting small surfaces or inaccessible places. Rollers are convenient to handle large areas. For smooth walls, the minimum pile length is suitable, the more roughness and unevenness, the longer it should be.
- Thinner - for different types of paint, either white spirit or water (everything is indicated on the package, so read the instructions that the interior paint is provided with).
- Gloves and special clothes (or old things that are not a pity), a mask, and also additional means for paint: a tape to protect adjacent coatings, a paint tray (if you work with a roller).
Question number 3 - care and repair
If it happens that the walls become dirty (by accident, or simply with time, moisture and dust will show themselves in all their glory), all that needs to be done is to wash them with a sponge or a rag with ordinary detergent or soap. If mechanical damage appears and the paint splits, repairing such a defect is also easier than in the case of wallpaper.
To begin with, you will still need to find exactly the kind of wallpaper that you picked up, while the tones of the colors do not disappear. And the correction of the walls during painting will be localized, at the place of damage. And in the case of wallpaper, you will need to change the entire strip, which you can’t buy in the store, so you have to take a whole roll (if glued end-to-end, and removing one strip will not pull all the wallpaper on the wall; otherwise, re-stick it all).
Significant unpleasant moment
The only drawback that interior paint has is the smell. Some species are less "flavorful", some more. But there is only one outcome - during the drying of the paint it will be impossible to stay in the room for a long time (without a protective mask). If the doors do not close tightly, then the "aroma" risks spreading throughout the house.