Q: How do I safely paint a tall ceiling over stairs?
A: First, it’s important to recognize that some ceilings over stairs are just so high or complicated to reach that a painter needs to work on scaffolding. Calling in a professional with the right equipment is the way to get those ceilings painted safely. That said, many homeowners do paint high ceilings and walls successfully and safely. Foam Roller Paint Brush
The safest method involves no use of a ladder. Instead, use an extendible pole with screw threads for attaching painting tools. One caveat is that when painting a tall stairwell without using a ladder, you can’t paint only the ceiling. You’d need to mask off the walls to protect them from paint drips, and the only way to tape plastic over walls or even to apply a band of painter’s tape close to the ceiling is with a ladder. So plan on painting both the ceiling and the walls, or just the walls. A second caveat is that painting with a long pole takes more effort than painting with handheld tools. If you don’t have good upper-body strength, this job might not be for you. Or you might need to paint only one surface at a time, with breaks in between. Wrap any tools and paint trays in plastic between sessions to avoid having to clean them numerous times.
For ladder-free stairwell painting, in addition to an extendible pole, get a regular paint roller with a handle that screws into the pole. Use this roller to paint the main expanses. For what painters call “cutting in” — the process of painting a band two or three inches wide at all edges to ensure a crisp paint line between the ceiling and the walls and around any trim — you have a few options for tools that also attach to the pole.
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One is an adjustable brush holder, such as the Wooster lock jaw ($8.90 at Home Depot), which holds a brush at an angle that allows you to paint a straight line. For best results, use this type of attachment with an angled brush 1½ to 2½ inches wide and adjust the angle to match the way you’d use the brush if it were directly in your hand. Professional painters are most likely to use this option.
A second option, and one friendlier to people who have a hard time painting a straight line with a brush, is an edging paint pad, which has little wheels that glide along the surface you are trying to keep free of paint. (The Mr. Long Arm trim smart paint edger is $14.06 on Amazon.) Avoid drips by adding only a small amount of paint to the pad. You can use a brush to dab on a small amount. Wipe off the wheels at the first sign that they have picked up paint.
A third edging option, also designed for people who don’t use a paintbrush every day, is an attachment that couples a small roller with a shield that keeps paint on the roller from getting onto the adjoining surface. The Accubrush XT pole mountable paint edger, which comes in a kit with a handheld edger and four rollers and four brushes, is $109.95 on Amazon).
If you have decided to paint the walls and ceiling, start with the ceiling so you can paint over any smears or drips when you tackle the walls. You may still need to do a little cutting in — for example, around edges of a ceiling light fixture and in corners where a roller won’t fit. Ceiling paint is usually matte because the lack of gloss helps make surface irregularities barely noticeable. Matte paint also is more forgiving than glossier paint when fresh and dried paint overlap. On a stairwell ceiling, you can take advantage of this by cutting in after you paint the main expanse. Because you can see where the roller reached, you don’t need the time-consuming cutting in there. Just do it where it’s needed.
To paint the main area, use a standard roller with the extension pole. Roll on the paint in relatively straight lines, or do a zigzag to get paint onto the ceiling and then quickly follow by rolling in straight lines.
Once the ceiling paint dries, cut in the wall edges — around the ceiling and along the skirt board (the trim piece often found at the edges of an enclosed staircase) and any other trim. If you are using glossy paint, work in sections so the cut-in paint is still wet when you paint the main expanse of the wall.
Using a long, extendible pole is not the only option for this task. You can also set up one or more ladders to help you paint the highest surfaces safely.
If there is an overhanging wall on the lower end of the stair, place a straight ladder so the top rests against that wall and the feet are on a tread that allows a safe angle for climbing, which generally means that for every four feet in height, the feet should extend out one foot. Push the feet back on the tread so the riser (the vertical part of the step) keeps them in place. Then you can climb the ladder to paint the hardest-to-reach sections of the ceiling and walls, or use it as part of a support system for an improvised scaffold that gives you easy access to a much wider area. For that, add a second ladder, perhaps a short stepstool, at the top of the stairs or on the landing. Slip a 2-by-10 or a 2-by-12 board through rungs on both ladders and adjust the ladders until the plank is level. Clamp the plank to the ladders to keep it from slipping.
You can also use a multi-position ladder, such as the Little Giant multi ($169 at Lowe’s). Set it up as a stepstool-type A-frame, but with one pair of legs shorter than the other so each pair rests firmly on a tread.
Manufacturers also make leg extenders for ladders. Clip one to the ladder leg that needs to be longer so the ladder rises straight up when set against a side wall in the stairwell. The Ideal Security ladder-aide pro ladder leveler is $144.99 at Ace Hardware. Never improvise a leg leveler by stacking wooden pieces or other things under a ladder foot. The leveler needs to be attached securely to the ladder so nothing slips out of place.
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