Finishing & upkeep
Painting & Decorating
Decorating is judged entirely on preparation. Two coats over a filled-and-sanded, primed, dust-free surface will outlast four coats over a wall that was given a quick rub down. The paint is rarely what fails.
We decorate as a trade in its own right, not as a tidy-up at the end of a build — full preparation, correct primers for the substrate, and a finish that stands up to being looked at closely in daylight.
What this includes
- Full surface preparation — filling, sanding, caulking and stabilising
- Correct primers and undercoats for each substrate
- Interior walls, ceilings and woodwork
- Period joinery, cornicing, ceiling roses and panelling
- Wallpaper hanging, including lining paper and feature walls
- Spray finishing where the space allows
Preparation weighted properly
Filling, sanding, caulking and priming take the majority of the hours on any room we decorate.
The right primer
Bare plaster, previously oil-painted joinery, bare timber and stained ceilings all need different products. Using one primer for everything is why paint peels.
Clean working
Floors and furniture protected, dust extraction on sanders, and the room left clean at the end of every day.
Scope of works
What a full job covers.
- Full surface preparation — filling, sanding, caulking and stabilising
- Correct primers and undercoats for each substrate
- Interior walls, ceilings and woodwork
- Period joinery, cornicing, ceiling roses and panelling
- Wallpaper hanging, including lining paper and feature walls
- Spray finishing where the space allows
- Exterior masonry, render and pebbledash
- Exterior timber — fascias, soffits, bargeboards, windows and doors
- Metalwork, railings and gates
- Minor repairs to plaster and joinery before decoration
Programme
How the job runs, stage by stage.
- 01
Survey and colour
2–4 days
Site visit, substrate assessment, and a written quotation. Sample pots applied where colour is undecided.
- 02
Preparation
40–60% of the job
Protection, stripping, filling, sanding, caulking and priming.
- 03
Finishing coats
30–40% of the job
Undercoat and topcoats applied, with proper drying time between them.
- 04
Inspection
1 day
Joint walk-round in daylight, touching in anything picked up before we leave.
What drives the price
Why two similar jobs quote differently.
We do not publish fixed prices, because a number without a survey behind it is a guess that somebody has to pay for later. What we can tell you is exactly which variables move the figure.
Bring these to the survey and the quotation will be far more accurate.
- 01Condition of the existing surfaces, which drives the preparation time
- 02Whether previously oil-painted woodwork needs full stripping
- 03Ceiling height and whether scaffold towers or exterior scaffold are needed
- 04Paint specification — trade emulsion against premium or specialist finishes
- 05Wallpaper stripping and the state of the plaster underneath it
- 06Number of colours and cut-in lines, which add time rather than material
Painting & Decorating — questions
What people ask us.
Do you supply the paint?
Can you decorate while we are living in the house?
What time of year is best for exterior work?
Often combined with