1- What sprayer do we rent? Is there a sprayer-roller combination? Should we just roll it on and forget the sprayer? FORGET THE SPRAYER. AN OLD FASHIONED ROLLER IS STILL THE BEST.
2- What primer is best? We are either going with BM or SW BOTH HAVE GOOD PRIMER
3- Color tinited? Should our primer be color tinted? YES. IF YOU TINT THE PRIMER YOU CAN DO ONE COAT PRIMER AND ONE COAT PAINT.
4- Walls or ceiling first- should we spray/roll walls or ceilings first CELING FIRST
5-Best paint type for this large foyer (satin, flat, glossy) for finished color paint. We hope to paint it well and have it last a long long time!~ haha DEPENDS ON THE TEXTURE. THE SMOOTHER THE SURFACE THE FLATTER THE PAINT YOU WANT. FOR SMOOTH WALLS I USE A FLAT ENAMAL.FOR TEXTURED WALLS GENERALLY A SATIN.

1- What sprayer do we rent? Is there a sprayer-roller combination? Should we just roll it on and forget the sprayer?Agree, nix the sprayer and just roll. I use an 18" roller which goes quite a bit faster than the smaller roller setups. It'll run you $15-$35 for a wide pan and another $35 for the roller head assembly. Invest in a good extension pole, it'll be invaluable when you do your ceilings and large foyer. Probably another $35. But that investment will save you hours of time over the course of your work, and give you a better overall job.

2- What primer is best? We are either going with BM or SW Yup, agree, either/or.

3- Color tinted? Should our primer be color tinted? Personally I recommend not tinting. Reason being that I recommend you prime the whole house, room-by-room, all at once, starting in a back bedroom and working your way to the public rooms. You'll figure things out as you go along and your best work will be in the public rooms and the room that will show any flaws...the foyer, with it's tall walls and raking light. If you're trying for a deep red, then tinting the primer for that room can help. Tinting can help with one-coat paints, but in this case I recommend two coats since it's the first time you're painting a whole house, and you want a durable result.

4- Walls or ceiling first- should we spray/roll walls or ceilings first Ceiling first.

5-Best paint type for this large foyer (satin, flat, glossy) for finished color paint. We hope to paint it well and have it last a long long time!~ haha The glossier the paint, the more flaws it will show in both the drywall finish and in your painting technique. But the glossier the paint, the more durable in terms of resisting scuff marks and being able to survive an occasional washing. Your paint shop will be able to guide you through the gloss levels for the paint line (BM or SW) that you choose, and what will look best based upon how likely the paint is to get dinged or dirty, how tall the walls are, and what type of lighting is in the room and how that lighting hits the walls.

Even though some paints allow one-coat coverage, I recommend two. It's your first time painting a whole house, and you want a long-lasting job, and two coats is easier to get good results from than one coat.

All my opinion, no real rights and wrongs here.

Mongo

I had to chime in because we just did this. I would have to disagree and say use a sprayer...it was SO much faster! We primed our 2800sq ft house in about 6 hours. The entire house. We did ceilings first and back rolled them and then the walls. It worked great and was much better than bending down every stroke to fill your roller in the paint pan. We did not tint the primer because we were priming everything including ceilings and trim so since we had white ceilings and trim, it didn't make sense to tint the primer. It may cause you to do more than two coats on some paint though if you have a dark color.
I would also recommend the sprayer for the trim. It gives a very clean even finish without brush strokes.
Just my thoughts! Happy painting!

One tiny note. If rolling, DON'T bend down to the paint tray on the floor! Put the tray on a sturdy table, just at or slightly above knee-height. The adjustable folding-type table does well. Set the tray on a rubberized mat to prevent slippage. Your back will thank you long before you are finished.

re Sprayers: if you decide to use that method, be very careful to protect *everything* that is not to be painted. Sprayers spray, and a sneeze can make a real mess, fast. Do wear eye googles and wear masks rated for fumes protection. Also, practice using the sprayer, say in the basement or garage before taking it into a "good" area. FWIW, they should not drip. Also FWIW, clean all parts immediately after use, do not put it down for lunch or a break unless it is clean.

Common practice here is to spray the primer and if the trims are paint grade, spray/primer them as well,(after filling and caulk). If the walls are going to be a different color than the trims, spray the trims, mask, then spray the color coat on the walls with someone going behind the sprayer and back rolling, usually two coats.

If you have no experience with spraying, then i would take the above advise and grab a brush and roller and get to it!

The filling and caulking is typically done after everything has been primered out here.

WOw! Great advice! I think we may just roll on primer if you feel we can do this with one coat, but if we need two then we will go with sprayer. I love the idea of doing the backrooms first! We would have started with that huge foyer...haha

Anyone use BM paints here? If so what did you use for primer and colors?

We bought a reconditioned Wagner Paint Crew for $100. I found that using the sprayer allowed the use of only one coat of primer and paint. My wife ran the sprayer while I followed close behind backrolling. It turned out great although you must learn to avoid overspray.