Safety Not Guaranteed: How best to paint my bathroom corners
March 17, 2021 6:03 PM Subscribe
After many months I've gotten a need to finish painting our bathrooms after we had all the pipes redone. The repipe crew patched and replaced their holes but now I need to sand, clean and paint. Problem: the bathtub (built in cast iron) fills one side of the room and I am short.
I tried to clean and sand the wall and ceiling above the bathtub but because of the size of the space (a bathtub's worth), the size of my 8' ladder and my 5' height I'm not able to safely place a ladder and also reach the corners over the bathtub. It's something like this set up [not my photo], only I can't take the bathtub out like this guy did.
The lip on the wall side of the tub is also very narrow so there's not much to grab onto on the other side, making the simple answer of "put a board across and hope" is not work. Also, I'm short and standing on the edge of the tub doesn't put me up high enough.
I did a little research on the internet about what other people have done and it sounds like being a tall person and having no care for safety is SOP but someone must have an better idea. Drywall stilts? Multi-purpose ladder? Tiny custom built scaffold?
The ceiling is 10ft at it's highest, but I can reach over there just fine. It's more like 9 to 9 1/2 ft over the bathtub. The bathtub opening is around 25" across and 52" long. It angles down for comfort on one side and the other has the showerhead. Similar to this one.
I tried to clean and sand the wall and ceiling above the bathtub but because of the size of the space (a bathtub's worth), the size of my 8' ladder and my 5' height I'm not able to safely place a ladder and also reach the corners over the bathtub. It's something like this set up [not my photo], only I can't take the bathtub out like this guy did.
The lip on the wall side of the tub is also very narrow so there's not much to grab onto on the other side, making the simple answer of "put a board across and hope" is not work. Also, I'm short and standing on the edge of the tub doesn't put me up high enough.
I did a little research on the internet about what other people have done and it sounds like being a tall person and having no care for safety is SOP but someone must have an better idea. Drywall stilts? Multi-purpose ladder? Tiny custom built scaffold?
The ceiling is 10ft at it's highest, but I can reach over there just fine. It's more like 9 to 9 1/2 ft over the bathtub. The bathtub opening is around 25" across and 52" long. It angles down for comfort on one side and the other has the showerhead. Similar to this one.
Can you put a (closed) step ladder inside the tub, with the feet pulled towards the open side and the top leaned against the wall?
posted by jon1270 at 6:30 PM on March 17, 2021
posted by jon1270 at 6:30 PM on March 17, 2021
Best answer: You get a pole and attach stuff to it. Roller and corner tool will just thread on. They have sander thingies that do, too.
posted by Huffy Puffy at 6:33 PM on March 17, 2021 [5 favorites]
posted by Huffy Puffy at 6:33 PM on March 17, 2021 [5 favorites]
Would a stepstool, something like this work? You could put the whole thing in the tub. I'm not sure if that will be enough height, but since you could get closer to the wall, it might make using an extension pole easier.
posted by Sparky Buttons at 10:18 PM on March 17, 2021
posted by Sparky Buttons at 10:18 PM on March 17, 2021
Cut and Put a piece of 1/2" or 3/4" plywood 27" x 51 7/8" for over the tub. Place a heavy blanket, rug, or drop cloth on the tub, place the plywood over that. The rug will hold the plywood in place as well as prevent it from scratching the porcelain. Then you can place a stepstool on the plywood for extra height.
posted by Nanukthedog at 2:45 AM on March 18, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by Nanukthedog at 2:45 AM on March 18, 2021 [1 favorite]
Best answer: Unscrew your broom from its pole. Screw on a roller or corner edge painter in its place. Or get a regular paintbrush and duct tape it to the end of the pole.
You can find lots of info about this by googling “how to paint a stairwell ceiling without a ladder”.
posted by MexicanYenta at 6:34 AM on March 18, 2021
You can find lots of info about this by googling “how to paint a stairwell ceiling without a ladder”.
posted by MexicanYenta at 6:34 AM on March 18, 2021
Can you put a (closed) step ladder inside the tub, with the feet pulled towards the open side and the top leaned against the wall?
We did this, and it put a dent in the (admittedly shitty) drywall.
posted by oneirodynia at 4:34 PM on March 18, 2021
We did this, and it put a dent in the (admittedly shitty) drywall.
posted by oneirodynia at 4:34 PM on March 18, 2021
Best answer:
Can you put a (closed) step ladder inside the tub, with the feet pulled towards the open side and the top leaned against the wall?
For a ladder or step ladder in the tub:
An old towel folded inside the tub, so the feet don't scratch.
A board two or three feet long between the top of the ladder and the wall to spread out the load. Even some cardboard box layers stacked up and glued together would probably work. From the hardware store, a cheap pine board with a smaller 1x2 glued or screwed to the top side would help keep it from slipping. I'd probably put a towel between the board and the wall too.
An 8 foot ladder might be too tall for that narrow base, with too vertical of an angle. You could try it, though.
posted by jjj606 at 5:50 PM on March 18, 2021
Can you put a (closed) step ladder inside the tub, with the feet pulled towards the open side and the top leaned against the wall?
For a ladder or step ladder in the tub:
An old towel folded inside the tub, so the feet don't scratch.
A board two or three feet long between the top of the ladder and the wall to spread out the load. Even some cardboard box layers stacked up and glued together would probably work. From the hardware store, a cheap pine board with a smaller 1x2 glued or screwed to the top side would help keep it from slipping. I'd probably put a towel between the board and the wall too.
An 8 foot ladder might be too tall for that narrow base, with too vertical of an angle. You could try it, though.
posted by jjj606 at 5:50 PM on March 18, 2021
Response by poster: The unexpected solution was "have a taller person do the edging" but I also ended up using a narrow 4-step stool and a broom handle to attach the roller to. I also tried an extension pole but it was toooo long for the space; the broom handle was just right.
posted by fiercekitten at 7:55 AM on April 2, 2021 [2 favorites]
posted by fiercekitten at 7:55 AM on April 2, 2021 [2 favorites]
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by kate4914 at 6:29 PM on March 17, 2021 [3 favorites]