Painting tipsfor ceilings

Start by clearing the room as much as possible and protecting the floor (unless you're replacing it) and any furniture that remains. Only paint ceilings in good natural light, otherwise you may get a poor finish.

Make sure you wear goggles to protect your eyes and a shower cap for your hair, as well as old clothes you don't mind getting paint on.

Using a roller with a long handle makes the job easier - apart from the edges - but it does stop you from seeing the bits you've missed and where the roller has left ridges of paint, etc. Standing on a stepladder to paint is more awkward, but enables you to spot - and rectify - any problems as they happen.

If your ceiling has hairline cracks, try one of the specialist paints designed to cover them and stop them from reappearing. Alternatively, try flexible filler, although it's hard to get a neat repair on ceilings with this because it's too rubbery to sand. If there's a floor above the ceiling, you may have to be resigned to having hairline cracks because of people walking on the floor.

The easiest emulsions to use are semi-solid ones designed especially for ceilings, which reduce drips and splashes, but are only available in a limited range of colours.

If you want a different colour, you can use normal emulsion, but don't overload your roller because it will splatter paint everywhere.

Drips on the walls and skirting boards should be wiped off when wet, but if you miss any, simply sand or scrape them off later.

Once the ceiling is done, you're ready to paint the rest of the room, starting with the coving or cornicing and working down from there.