Painted Apartment, San Francisco, CA, May 2022

Not every job is a showpiece. This San Francisco apartment was painted for a property management company, a standard repaint between tenants. Straightforward work, but straightforward isn’t the same as careless. A clean paint job is what makes a unit show well and rent quickly, and the difference between a fresh apartment and a rushed one is almost entirely in the preparation.

Preparation

The painting is the short part. Most of the job happens before a roller touches the wall:

• Holes, dings, and anchor marks patched with spackle and sanded smooth
• Switch plates, outlet covers, and phone and cable jack plates removed, so paint goes behind them rather than around them
• Painter’s tape along every edge, at ceilings, trim, and floors, so the lines stay crisp
• Fixtures that can’t be removed taped off and protected
• Primer wherever the color change is substantial, so the new color comes out true instead of fighting what’s underneath
• At least one full finish coat, more if the color or wall calls for it

As is typical, walls got a matte finish and trim stayed white.

Drying and handoff

While the paint dried, the unit was kept clear and ventilated, which is easy in a vacant apartment and worth doing right. Paint that cures without dust or traffic lasts longer and cleans better. Once dry, the tape came off, the plates went back on, and the unit was ready to show.

Why property managers call us

For a property manager, a turnover is a clock. Every day a unit sits empty costs rent. We work one job at a time and stay until it’s finished, so a repaint doesn’t stretch across a week of partial visits. The unit is done when we say it will be, and done cleanly, so the next tenant walks into a place that feels cared for.

Managing rentals in San Francisco or the East Bay? See how we keep projects stress-free, or send photos for an estimate.