apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

When I painted my 15' walls I got a trimming pad that swivels. Attached to a 6' extension pole, it gave me a pretty good reach to cut in at the ceiling. It meant less up and down on the ladder.

Rent a rolling scaffold platform.

Preferably before you put your floor down.

Extension poles.

Ladders.

BIG drop cloths.

I'll second using a trimming pad with extendables! That's when we used when I helped a friend with her high-celinged rooms.

Art - do you know off hand approximately how much is it to rent a rolling scaffold?

kefuoe - what make did you get for the trimming pad that swivels?

And I second the extension pole....a MUST

Um, do you have good health insurance coverage for emergency room visits? This really seems like a job for professionals, who'd probably construct a solid platform to stand on, not just a ladder.

P.S. Grace -- a 36-pack of beer with a double height ladder? Really?

I just painted an apartment with 13 foot ceilings, and it just took a long time, no bones about it. A scaffolding would have been nice, but for me 12 foot ladder also did the trick. We also got one of those rollers that stores paint in the long handle. It doesn't extend nearly long enough to forego the ladder, but it still saved a lot of time and energy not having to constantly go back to the tin to fill up the roller. I feel your pain. Good luck!

We have the same problem but our ceilings are on top of 2 staircases (narrow and steep, might I add). We thought maybe a scaffolding but where can you put them in a narrow space?

My friend who has an old church did her 25 foot ceilings and walls using scaffolding and rollers. You can rent it at your local rent-all and it might save you some serious neckache...
For the staircase, i have used one of those Bob Vila infomercial ladders- they really do work!!!

when i was a kid my ma painted a stairway where the ceiling was 2-stories high, but the ground was the first floor. since it was above stairs she couldn't use a ladder or scaffolding. that's when she met mr. long arm - http://www.mrlongarm.com/ (safe for work).

I recently successfully bartered web design service with a painter for a similar situation. I had a small sunroom with a cathedral ceiling. I found the painter on craigslist. Your area might have a similar listing, and you might have something relatively useful and easy to barter with. Also, he used 18" rollers as opposed to the standard 9" rollers. If you end up doing it yourself, I think the longer rollers will save you a LOT of work.

http://www.funda.nl/WoningAanbod/Koop/Detail/Fotos/?id=3ad11cfe-0673-4239-aaf0-760a05cb09fd&objecttype=DetailKoopObject is a great "knight's apartment". The whole thread at http://forum.fok.nl/topic/1117855/6/50 has the worst interior photos from Funda, which is the major advertising site for real estate in the Netherlands.

@liz,

here's one you can buy for a hundred bucks:

http://www.brandsonsale.com/ht-001460.html

I painted a very tall narrow stairwell with nothing more than an 8' ladder, a 6' extension pole and a roll of duct tape. If it's not the hard way, I don't know how!

@Lisa,

On second thought...you're probably right. 36-pack of beer may have to come later for a job well done. ;)

Thanks art!!