Masking and Protecting Landscaping Around a Torrance Home

Masking tape does one job: it holds a clean edge where wet paint would otherwise creep, and for a painting job in Torrance, CA the work booked through torrance painters chemistry times starts with the yard, because a garden in the South Bay is as exposed to overspray as the wall itself. Roses, lemon trees and jasmine do not forgive a splash of enamel.

Plants get covered, not pulled

Large shrubs are tied back with soft twine and pulled away from the wall, and a lightweight canvas drop cloth goes over anything that cannot be moved. Plastic sheeting is a poor choice in the sun, because it traps heat and cooks leaves by noon. Canvas breathes, so a hedge can stay under it through a full day of work. Small beds along the foundation are covered with cloth held down by bricks, and the cloth comes off the moment the crew stops for the day.

Irrigation lines and sprinkler heads

Drip lines run close to the wall in most yards here, and a crew can easily step on one or send paint across it. Heads get capped with a plastic cup or a taped paper cone, and the crew asks that the timer be switched off while work is under way, since a sprinkler that comes on at six in the morning can soak a freshly rolled wall. Near the Palos Verdes Peninsula and on the hillier lots, runoff matters too, and the crew keeps rinse water away from storm drains.

Windows, fixtures and hardware

Glass is masked with paper and a low-tack tape that comes off clean even after a day in the sun. Light fixtures, house numbers, hose bibs and door hardware are either removed or wrapped. The tape line is pressed down firmly with a putty knife, then the crew cuts in along the edge with a brush. Pulling the tape at a shallow angle while the paint is still slightly tacky gives a sharp line, and waiting until it has fully cured can tear the film.

Walkways and the driveway

Paths get a canvas runner, and paint buckets sit on a tray with a rim, never straight on concrete. A tipped five-gallon pail of latex can stain a driveway permanently, so the roller trays, the sprayer and the ladders all stay on cloth. When an airless sprayer is in use, the crew sets a tall shield between the wall and the car, and moves vehicles to the street if the breeze picks up.

A walk through before the first coat

With everything covered, the crew walks the perimeter once more and looks for gaps: a bare patch of grass near the wall, a flower pot too close to the edge. Five minutes of looking saves an afternoon of cleaning leaves with solvent afterward.