Interior painting service: walls, trim, ceilings, and cabinets
Skipped primer, peeling in six months, and a second 'real' paint job that costs more than the first. The prep is the painting. Our LA pros seal, sand, and cut in before the roller ever touches the wall.
What painting covers
DIY vs. hire — which makes sense for your job
When DIY works
Small rooms, flat walls, single color = fine DIY if you have a weekend and are okay with cut-in lines that will be "slightly visible." Painting is one of the most DIY-friendly trades — the skill is in the prep (sand, patch, prime, tape, mask) rather than the paint. If you hate prep, hire.
When to hire
A pro spends 60% of the job on prep: taping, masking, patching nail holes, priming. Cutlines come out crisp because of the prep, not the brush. Most single-room repaints: 6-12 hours including dry time.
Permit, license, and safety
Interior painting does not require a permit or a license. California §7048 covers painting at any residential scope as handyman work if total job cost is under $500; over $500 the homeowner technically needs a CSLB-licensed painter for the full project, though this is loosely enforced on small jobs.
Pre-1978 homes trigger EPA RRP rules: any work that disturbs lead paint (sanding, scraping, removing) must be done by an RRP-certified pro with lead-safe practices (dust containment, HEPA vacuum, proper PPE). We route pre-1978 paint jobs to RRP-certified partners for compliance.
This hub covers painting generally. We serve Los Angeles County — for LA-specific pricing, neighborhood-level detail (pre-1978 homes, earthquake considerations, HOA rules), and typical local sub-contractor routing, see our Los Angeles painting page.
Related reading
A few pieces we wrote for LA homeowners thinking about this category:
- Pre-1978 lead-safe renovation in LA — EPA RRP rules for LA homes built before 1978 — what a painter legally can and cannot scrape.
Related services
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