Painting Pole March 25, 2007
Posted by admin in : Painting Tips, Painting Tools , 1 comment so far
One of the tools I consider essential for a good paint job is the painting pole. For some reasons, many opt not to use it and choose to use a ladder instead.
Well technically you can, but it requires you to climb up and down the ladder umpteen times just to get one wall painted. A painting pole saves you lots of energy and time. What types of poles are available? In the local (Singapore) market, there are basically 2 main types of poles available. The cheaper wooden ’stick’ and the more professional aluminium extension pole. The wooden ones are generally available in 3 different lengths - 5-feet, 6-feet and 8-feet. The aluminium ones also come in various lengths. The most common are - 1m extended to 2m and 2m extended to 4m. These are telescopic type (works like a telescope) and the extended portion can be locked at any lengths ie. you can effectively adjust the pole to any length between 1m - 2m for the shorter one or between 2m to 4m for the longer one. Prices? The wooden sticks are inexpensive. Refer to the price reference page for the latest prices for both the wooden stick and the aluminium telescopic poles.
Which should I use? In most cases, a 6-ft wooden stick would do if you are going for the cheaper disposable option. This is the most popular not only because it is suitable for most ceilings, but also for the very practical reason that it can fit into most cars. If you drive a Mini Cooper or a VW Beetle, this will not do. You may just have to go for the 1m telescopic pole. The 6-footer is good for ceilings up to 10 feet high. The 8-footer is for ceilings up to 12 feet high. Any higher you would need the longer 2m-extend-to-4m telescopic pole. Having said that, I particularly like to use the aluminium telescopic pole and I go for the 1m unextended, 2m fully extended type. If you work in small rooms like our HDB rooms and most rooms in private condominiums, a full length 6ft wooden stick may be fine for the ceiling, but manoeuvring around in a small space is not easy. If you have 2 persons working together, you tend to get into each other’s way. With the telescopic type, I can extend and retract the pole ‘on the go’. Whenever I find myself
working in a tight spot, I would shorten the pole to allow better manoeuvrability. To paint higher up the walls, I extend the pole longer and shorten it to paint the lower portions. Love it! Most rollers have handles that fit into these extension poles. Try it out at the paint shop before purchasing. If it is loose, you may need to stuff a bit of paper to fit it snugly. You want it tight but not permanent. There is usually a hole on the roller handle for hammering a nail in. Do not nail it in as you would want to still be able to remove the attachment and use it for lower areas and also for cleaning. I will discuss the method to fix a brush onto a wooden pole in next week’s post. If you have that requirement, watch out for that post, or come back to this post again next week for the link.
