You know you want to paint the inside of your home. The walls are chipped, scratched, cracked and stained. You are aware of all the many benefits of repainting your home and you are ready for a change - so why is it not done?

Probably because you know it is a bigger job than it seems. Many people believe painting their home is an easy do-it-yourself project. All you need is to buy some paint and brushes, put down a cloth and off you go. Of course, this is not the case, and unless you have the right answers to the following questions, you should reconsider whether or not painting your home is a 'do it yourself' project:

Do you have the time? - or, What is your time worth to you? If you could paint your home quickly on your own, you would have it done by now. It is a time consuming process and, if you hurry it up, it will show in the finished product. You might need to take time off from work or from other activities.

Are you prepared for the inconvenience? - Your home and lifestyle are affected for the duration of the project. Entire rooms may be out of commission for days or weeks. Furniture needs to be moved and pictures put away. Each time you stop painting, you need to clean and put away equipment and materials - and get everything back out when you start again.

Do you have the right tools? This makes a huge difference to the finished job. You can't cut with a piece of cardboard. Using the right tools can make the difference between loving your new walls or wanting to do the entire project again. You will need a variety of brushes, rollers; edgers; cleaning materials; drop sheets, plaster; ladders and/or scaffold; brush handle extensions; gloves; tape; paint trays; expendable clothing; mixing trays - the list goes on an on.

Can you protect carpets, floors and furniture? Keeping your belongings free of damage is not as simple as throwing a sheet over them. Furniture should be removed from the room and floors with covers to make sure there is no damage. During painting, care must be taken to not touch or step in unseen wet paint as you could damage unprotected areas elsewhere in your home.

Can you properly prepare surfaces? Without good preparation, you may need to use extra paint or the finished surface may crack and/or peel. Wallpaper and its glue residue need to be removed thoroughly. Holes and cracks in the wall or wood need to be sanded and filled. Surfaces need to be washed with the right cleaning agent and primer used on bare walls - all this before you start to paint.

If you answered "yes" to all of the above questions - off you go - the sooner you start the sooner you'll have nice new paint on your walls.

However, if you answered "no" to any of the questions, you should consider hiring a professional painter to do the work for you. It makes so much sense that the only thing that might stop anyone from hiring a professional is cost - or should we say perceived cost. When you look at everything involved in a 'do it yourself' paint project versus the relatively low cost, convenience and peace of mind of using a professional painting service, you might wonder which method really costs you more.