Interior painting · NH & ME
Interior Painting Contractor
Walls, ceilings, trim, doors and cabinets — prepped properly, cut by hand, and finished in two coats.
What does interior painting by J&B Drywall & Paint include?
J&B Drywall & Paint paints interiors across New Hampshire and Maine: walls, ceilings, stairwells, trim, doors and kitchen cabinetry, in occupied and empty homes. Every job includes filling and sanding, caulking, spot priming, two full finish coats, hand-cut lines at ceilings and trim, and a three month workmanship warranty.
Most of the money in a good paint job is spent before the first finish coat goes on. Filling nail holes, sanding old runs and brush marks flat, caulking the gaps where trim meets wall, spot-priming patches and stains, and masking what should not get painted — that is what makes the difference between a room that looks new and a room that just looks freshly coated. We do the prep whether or not anyone will ever know it happened.
Because we hang and finish drywall as well as paint, we can handle the surface problems most painters have to work around. Cracked corners, popped nails, a wavy patch left by someone else, a ceiling seam that is telegraphing — those get repaired properly as part of the job instead of being buried under a thicker coat of paint.
We paint whole-house interiors, single rooms, ceilings, stairwells and hallways, trim and doors, kitchen and bathroom cabinetry, and turnovers between tenants. We work in occupied homes and in empty ones. In an occupied home we work room by room so you keep a place to live, cover and move what we can, and put the room back to usable at the end of each day.
On product, we use quality acrylic latex from the major manufacturers and choose the sheen for the room rather than using one sheen everywhere. Flat or matte on ceilings, eggshell or matte on most walls, satin in bathrooms, kitchens and mudrooms where surfaces get wiped, and a waterborne enamel on trim, doors and cabinets so it levels out hard without yellowing the way old oil enamels do. If you have a brand or product you want, we will use it.
Color is worth slowing down for. Paint changes character noticeably between north- and south-facing rooms and between daylight and lamp light, and a chip in a store never tells you that. We recommend sampling on the actual wall and looking at it morning and evening before committing, and we are happy to give an opinion on whether the sheen you picked will show every roller lap on a long hallway wall.
We do not spray your walls while your furniture is in the room. Walls and ceilings are rolled and cut by hand, which gives a straighter line at the ceiling and against trim than tape does. Doors, cabinet doors and trim we can spray off-site or in a contained area when the finish calls for it.
How the work is done
How does an interior painting job actually run day to day?
J&B Drywall & Paint protects the room, repairs and sands the surfaces, caulks and spot primes, paints ceilings before walls, applies two full finish coats, and enamels trim and doors last before reinstalling hardware. In an occupied home the crew works room by room so each space is usable again at the end of the day.
- 01
Protect the room
Floors covered wall to wall, furniture moved to the center or out, fixtures and hardware removed or masked, and doorways sealed to the rooms we are not painting.
- 02
Repair and sand
Nail holes and dents filled, cracks taped where needed, glossy or previously enameled surfaces scuff-sanded so the new coat can grip, and old drips and brush ridges sanded flat.
- 03
Caulk and spot-prime
Gaps at trim, casing and baseboard get caulked so there is no shadow line, then patches, stains, bare wood and any color change get spot-primed. Water stains get a stain-blocking primer, not just another coat of white.
- 04
Ceilings first, then walls
Ceilings go on before walls so any spatter is covered by the wall coats. Cut lines are brushed by hand where wall meets ceiling and trim.
- 05
Two finish coats
Two full coats, with the first fully dry before the second. Deep colors and big color changes may need three, and we tell you that at the estimate rather than after we start.
- 06
Trim, then walk the job
Trim, doors and casings get enameled last so nothing gets marked afterward. Then we reinstall hardware, clean up, and walk the rooms with you in daylight and under lamp light.
What is included in an interior painting price, and what is not?
The price from J&B Drywall & Paint includes all paint and materials, filling nail holes and dents, minor drywall repairs, scuff sanding, caulking, spot priming, two finish coats, hand-cut lines and daily cleanup. Wallpaper removal, plaster restoration, lead and asbestos abatement, flooring, trim carpentry and specialty finishes are not included.
What is included
- All paint, primer, caulk, filler, tape, plastic and drop cloths
- Filling nail holes and dents, plus minor drywall repairs
- Scuff sanding, caulking and spot priming as needed
- Two finish coats on walls and ceilings
- Hand-cut lines at ceilings, trim and corners
- Removing and reinstalling switch plates and simple hardware
- Daily cleanup, and furniture and fixtures put back at the end
- Three month warranty on our workmanship
What is not included
- Wallpaper removal, unless quoted separately
- Major drywall replacement or plaster restoration, quoted separately
- Asbestos or lead testing and abatement in pre-1980 homes
- Moving pianos, appliances, gun safes and mounted electronics
- Floor refinishing, tile work and trim carpentry
- Exterior surfaces, decks and garages, which fall under exterior painting
- Specialty finishes such as venetian plaster and faux glazing
Typical timeline
How long does it take to paint a room or a whole house?
One bedroom with walls and ceiling takes 1 to 2 working days, a kitchen or living room with trim takes 2 to 3 days, a full three bedroom interior takes 1 to 2 weeks, and refinishing an average kitchen's cabinets takes 4 to 6 days. Written estimates arrive within 24 hours of the site visit.
- One bedroom, walls and ceiling
- 1 to 2 days
- Kitchen or living room with trim
- 2 to 3 days
- Whole interior, 3 bedrooms
- 1 to 2 weeks
- Cabinet refinishing, average kitchen
- 4 to 6 days
- Estimate turnaround
- Within 24 hours of the site visit
Pricing
How much does interior painting cost in New Hampshire and Maine?
J&B Drywall & Paint prices interior painting on the surface area to be coated plus the prep and cut-in work involved, not a flat per-room rate, so two identical rooms can price differently. Estimates are free and written, list rooms, surfaces, coats and products, and payment is 50% to schedule and 50% on completion.
Interior painting is priced on the surface area to be coated and the amount of prep and cut-in work involved, not on a flat per-room rate. Two rooms of identical size can be very different jobs.
What raises the price: ceilings above nine feet and stairwells, a lot of trim, doors and window casings, heavy patching or old damage, painting over dark colors or bare drywall, a deep or saturated new color that needs a third coat, and cabinetry.
What lowers it: an empty or cleared room, keeping the ceilings as they are, staying in the same color family, and doing several rooms in one visit rather than one at a time.
The written estimate lists the rooms, the surfaces included, the number of coats and the products. If you add a room or change to a color that needs an extra coat, we re-price it in writing before doing the work.
Our work
Interior jobs across NH and ME
The photos below are interior painting jobs finished by J&B Drywall & Paint in New Hampshire and Maine — vaulted living rooms, kitchens, sunrooms and bedrooms. Every image is our own work photographed on the day the job was completed, not stock photography. Select any photo to view it full size.
Questions we get
Common questions about interior painting
Homeowners most often ask J&B Drywall & Paint whether furniture has to be moved, how many coats are applied, whether they can stay in the house during the work, whether kitchen cabinets can be refinished, and which paint brands and sheens are used in each room.
Do I need to move my furniture before you arrive?
Small items, electronics and anything fragile or irreplaceable, yes — please clear those. We will move and cover the rest, including sofas, beds and tables. We do not move pianos, safes, appliances or wall-mounted televisions.
How many coats do you apply?
Two full finish coats on walls and ceilings as standard. Going from a dark color to a light one, from bare drywall, or into a deep saturated color can need a primer plus three coats, and we state that in the estimate before starting so it is not a surprise.
Can I stay in the house while you paint?
Yes, and most of our customers do. We work room by room, keep pathways clear, seal off the areas we are not in, and use low-VOC products so the smell is manageable. Bedrooms are usually usable the same night they are painted.
Do you paint kitchen cabinets?
We do. Doors and drawer fronts come off, get degreased, sanded and sprayed with a waterborne enamel, and boxes are done in place. It takes roughly four to six days for an average kitchen because the enamel needs cure time between coats, and it should not be rushed.
What paint brands do you use?
Quality acrylic latex lines from the major manufacturers, matched to the room — flat on ceilings, eggshell or matte on walls, satin in kitchens and bathrooms, and waterborne enamel on trim and doors. If you have a preferred brand, product or color already picked, we will use it.
Free estimate
How do I get a written estimate?
Send the job details through this form and J&B Drywall & Paint replies the same day, then provides a free written estimate within 24 hours of the site visit. Payment is 50% to schedule the work and 50% on completion. Call (978) 805-8654 if it is urgent.