Find a Decorator you can trust in South Brent.

Hiring a decorator for your project always seem easy until you get started. With a wide range of decorators available today, it can be quite tricky separating the boys from the men and selecting the right tradesman for your unique project. There are a number of things to put into consideration, questions to ask and lots more to ensure your decorating job is awarded to the right tradesman. In this post, we’re going to give you an insight on some of the essential questions to ask to make sure the prospective decorator is a good match. Let’s take a look!

• What qualifications do you possess? With the pool of decorators around in the industry today, qualifications are needed to help you determine the true specialists. A qualified decorator gives you an assurance (to some extent) that a quality work would be done to your requirements. Decorators, generally, can earn a degree which includes course work in architecture and are also licensed.
• How do you help me identify and communicate my style to you? If you have an idea and know what you want for your space, a good decorator should be able to get it out of you by showing you pictures and asking questions which can vary widely.
• Do you have examples of previous work that are similar to my project in style, scope as well as budget? A decorator that answers yes to this question is a good indicator that they can handle your project. If they don’t, you can ask for pictures of projects they feel is quite similar to yours

How To Paint A Radiator

First thing you should know about painting a radiator is that normal paints can’t be used to do the job, however that doesn’t mean it’s not cheap, easy and fun - it definitely is and even more so, when you do it the right way. With a few radiator painting hints here, it’s only a matter of time before you start painting your radiators every colour of the rainbow delightfully.

Painting a radiator is not one of the most common tasks on most people’s to do list, so we’ve created this article as an encouraging nudge to allow more people let their creativity manifest through a brush. However, this is not to say that this is a task for everyone though as you won’t like to make a mess of your radiator. If you know you can’t pick up a brush or bend a knee or your back here and there, then you probably shouldn’t. In such cases, hiring a professional painter would be your best bet to get the best results while also saving yourself some time and money.

To paint a radiator, you’ll need a paint brush, suitable radiator paint, dust sheet and a radiator paint brush (optional).

✓ Turn off the radiator and leave it to cool off. Once it’s cold, simply wipe out all dust, dirt or grease from the radiator.

✓ Protect the flooring under the radiator from any paint splatter with a by spreading out a dust cloth.

✓ Use a suitable radiator paint to brush out well and lay off evenly in a direction. Leave it to dry overnight. Then apply paint on the radiator in direction of the grooves with the help of a top quality brush.

✓ Paint in sections and move across the radiator slightly overlapping until you get to the end. The move to paint the other areas.

✓ Leave the paint to dry as instructed in the manufacturer’s instructions, then apply a second coat if necessary.

How To Paint Exterior Window Sills And Frames?

Painting your exterior window sills and frames can be a very joyful and fun-filled activity if you know what you’re doing. It’s a task that can be completed in little time by an experienced DIYer, however if you do not have the confidence to pull off this project, then you’d be better off calling in a professional for help to avoid costly mistakes. In this guide, we’ll take you through the exterior window sills and frames painting process.

✓ Prepare the window sills and frames. This includes, brushing the surfaces with warm water and gentle soap, scrubbing the windows to ensure all the edges and cracks are free from all forms of dirt, rinsing it with water and use a soft, clean cloth to wipe off any excess liquid and finally, drying it off with a towel or leaving it to dry off by itself before you start to paint.

✓ Remove any signs of moulds and moss, fill in the cracks between frame and glass using a multi-purpose filler, sand the frame and wipe out any dirt or dust on or around it using a vacuum cleaner, a clean cloth or soft brush. Once done, you can then apply a coat of water-based primer and let it dry off before painting.

✓ Painting. Firstly, you’ll have to sand your primed windows to make an even, smooth surface and apply an undercoat evenly to the surface. Once completed, you can then apply at least 2 coats of paint using a quality brush. Make sure you sand the first layer carefully before you apply the second to get a great finish.

✓ Once dried, you can the finish with a top coat (make sure you go for a weather proof paint for the exterior). For the window sills, you’ll have to apply the exterior paint gently with masking tape around the edges to protect the walls from the dripping paint.

Your painter and decorator will carry out most of the preparation work for your project. You can help them by ensuring that the area is clean and tidy. Also, remove as many personal items and pieces of furniture from the area as possible and make sure all your internal doors are firmly closed just in case of dust from rubbing down.

How Much For A Painter To Paint A Room?

If you’re looking to have your room painted, it’s only normal to get an idea of how much it’s going to cost so you can set a budget and start planning. As you would have expected, the cost of having a room painted is dependent on a wide array of influencing factors such as the size of your room, the type of paint to be used, your location and many more. As a result, providing a single and accurate answer to this question is almost impossible.

Generally, a regular 4 metres by 3 metres room will take just a couple of days to be fully painted including both the coving and woodwork. Outside London, most painters and decorators would charge within the range of £150 to £200 per day meaning that you’ll have a total labour cost within the range of £300 to £400. What’s more? You’d also have to consider the price of the paint to be used which is usually around £50. If you add all the costs together you’ll get an average cost of about £400 to £500.

Unfortunately, paint does not last an eternity. Therefore, there’ll come a time where you’d have to consider painting your room all over again. It may seem unwise to employ the services of a professional painter and decorator especially if you’re on a budget. However, in truth, calling in a professional can go a long way to save you time, stress and money. In other words, even if you’re worried about the cost, a professional painter is still your best bet in the long run as they know exactly what to do to ensure you derive maximum benefits from your painting project.

This will depend on your property, but commonly painted areas include rendered walls, guttering, soffits and fascias, and window frames. Generally you can paint what you want but on older or listed buildings, you may be restricted. An experienced painter will tell you what is possible.

How To Paint Skirting Boards

In the exact same way a room isn’t complete unless it has all the right finishing touches here and there, your skirting boards also just wouldn’t be right leaving it without a paint. As you can imagine, skirting board can quickly gather dust, dirt and scuffed over time can affect the appearance of the entire room. But you don’t have to wait for this to happen before painting your skirting boards. Good news is, painting of skirting boards is relatively easy and straightforward especially when you follow the guide given in this article. It should, however, be said that if you’re not so confident about holding a brush and doing the task yourself, then getting a professional painter to complete the project will be a great option to achieve the best result while you can focus on other important things.

Painting your skirting board will help provide your room with the much needed perfect frame. Now let’s take a closer look!

✓ Prepare your skirting boards. Treat your wood skirting board with a knotting solution and wood primer. But if they’re already painted or varnished, simply wipe clean use a wet and dry paper with a mild detergent to abrade the surface. Once done, you can then run a strip of masking tape along the floor.

✓ Start Painting. For the decorative coat, you can use any paint designed for wood and metal like satin, gloss etc. Once selected, you can then start to paint across the top with the help of a 2 inch brush. Then move to the flat side. Work in easy to manage sections and when starting the next section, start at the far side and brush into the section you’ve just painted so as to make for an even finish. Finally, remove the masking tape used before the paint dries off.

Can You Paint Over A Wallpaper?

According to some painting and decoration experts, painting over a wallpaper can never produce a result that’ll be as good as painting on a blank or naked wall. However in the event whereby there’s a pressing need to quickly beautify a room, it’ll be totally understandable if you don’t want to go through the hassle of the time consuming old wallpaper removal process.

Therefore, the short and simple answer to this question is yes, it’s absolutely possible to paint over a wallpaper and get a good outcome so far you don’t rush the process. To ensure your success if you want to paint over a wallpaper, there’s also the need to use the right tools and techniques. And just like any other DIY project, proper preparation before commencement is key.

If you’re going to paint over a wallpaper, many of the tools you’ll need to acquire are the standard painting and decorating products. This means that they can be easily procured at many DIY stores. To paint over a wallpaper, you’ll need a paint roller, top quality paint brushes, joint compound ( you’ll only need this in situations whereby your wallpaper is damaged or peeling), oil based primer, tape, sandpaper, paint ( can be water, solvent or oil based paints) as well as drop clothes ( for the protection of your furnitures).

As a rule of thumb, if you can easily remove the existing wallpaper, then you probably should before you start to paint the walls. However, if removing the wallpaper seems to be a pain or can significantly damage your wall, then it’ll be smart to simply paint over it. But before you proceed, you must also note that painting over the wallpaper will make it even harder to remove later in the future.