Sorry this is a long post but I really need some advice. We are in the process of building a 3000 sq foot house and I will be doing all the interior painting - with a little help from my husband and friends. I love to paint and have entirely repainted our current home so although it is a big project I am excited about it. I've been debating on the what order I should tackle the project. Since it is new construction I have a little more flexability. When we built an addition a few years ago, we sprayed primer everywhere and then painted the walls with rollers before trim and carpet was installed. We painted the trim white before it was installed and touched up afterwards. That worked great and I am considering doing that again. However I know that is not how professional painters do new construction so does anyone have a good reason why I shouldn't do what is easier for us? I know the walls will get marked up when carpet is installed and the trim will have nail holes that will need filled and painted but the touch up later still seems a lot quicker and easier than taping or carefully painting around the trim if we wait until it is installed. I can see pluses and minuses either way. Would it be easier to have the trim in place and spray paint primer on everything, spray the trim and then paint the final coat? There are so many different ways we could tackle this and I am hoping someone will have some advice. Although I love to paint I am not that great at keeping a clean crisp edge around trim and I hate to clean up:) Also, does trim look better if it is sprayed or brushed? Most of the contractors around here spray the primer and trim and roll the walls. Thanks for your help.

Who says pros don't do it that way? There's no 'one' perfect way to do it; it's a process of what works best for a given finish and for a given crew.

When I built houses, I sprayed EVERYTHING....primer, paint, trim, install trim, fill and touch up.

Spraying, rolling and brushing can be very close in appearance when done by a professional, using high quality paints. If you are a good spray painter, everything can be sprayed. A house interior that is sprayed should have the same even coverage of paint. Sprayed paint should never be stretched. Keep it at 350-400 sf per gallon. If you like some slight stipple on the walls, then lightly backroll with a 1/4" wool nap roller.

I recommend high build primer over the new drywall. It will hide a lot of flaws and it sands well when needed.

Paint the trim and install over the painted walls.

Your plan sounds like a good one.

Michael