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Hello. After getting pricing ideas for painting the interior of my house, I'd like to try it myself ! The main concern is the two story foyer. I know I can get an extended handled roller, but how do you do the prep work, the taping and all from the floor level? I don't see myself up on a scaffold . How do people typically do this? A super high ladder? If so, how much do those run - a couple of hundred bucks? Thanks!
You can rent really tall ladders and Home Depot but using them is pretty hairy. I rented one to change light bulbs on a chandelier in a two story foyer. I was nervous as hell being up there.
It's not possible to do it from floor level unless you have go-go-gadget arms. You have to use scaffolding or else ladders. One of these ladders in an A-configuration can probably get you up high enough and they are sturdy so you shouldn't feel too unsafe. Obviously you can't lean a ladder up against the wall while you are trying to paint.
In the A-Frame configuration though those will never get high enough, so you do have to open it all the way and lean it against the wall. I generally just paint from the top down so that the ladder isn't leaning against the fresh paint, and lower it as I get near the ladder level. It is annoying to paint from that height because you can't reach very far with the ladder, so lots of climbing up and down and repositioning the ladder an arms length over and repeating.
I had to paint our high foyer, stairway, and cathedral ceilings this way (18-20ft)
I did my 2-story stairwell with the 22' ladder in the A configuration. I had to stand on the very top rungs to be able to reach up and cut in with a brush. But I could go down a rung or two when it came time to roll since my roller was on an extension. The 17' ladder would probably not be tall enough as an A.
I use a 24' ladder regularly and find using a ladder stand-off sometimes adds both stability and distance into the room to allow some tasks like replacing a ceiling fan, cleaning a large high chandelier. The tall ladder is used to clean high windows and gutters.
I bought the ladder over ten years ago for a project and have found it has been useful regularly.
One of my houses has 17' ceilings. I enjoy painting and am comfortable painting at that height. If you are not, then hire it done.
If you are, you may want to list a few things, such as the actual height, and how open or closed the foyer is, and if there are steps involved. All these things may make a difference.
In a closed foyer it may be difficult to use an extension pole, and then scaffolding whould be the better choice. If you have the room, then a ladder would suffice.
First, clean the walls, corners and ceiling. If there is any patching, prime those patches by stippling. Then do all cutting in around the ceiling first. Then roll the ceiling. If you need to paint around a center light fixture, you may need scaffolding, dependent on how high, what type of ladders you have, etc.
After the ceiling is done, cut around the walls, corners, above the base molding, etc. Then roll the walls. Check to see if you need to redo the cutting in. Then roll again if needed.
Paint usually looks better after priming, dependent on coverage, color, etc. Don't buy cheap paint. Labor is the most costly part of painting...and better paint means less labor and a better finish after.
If there are any windows, ceiling fans, etc, clean them first while you have the equipment to do so. Enjoy!
This is a job I would totally hire out. After buying/renting tools, ladders, etc. you might as well have spent the money on a pro to knock it out in short time. What would be worse is buying/renting all that crap and then realizing you can't/don't want to do it afterall.
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! The main concern is the two story foyer. I know I can get an extended handled roller, but how do you do the prep work, the taping and all from the floor level? I don't see myself up on a scaffold 
. How do people typically do this? A super high ladder? If so, how much do those run - a couple of hundred bucks? Thanks!
