Find a Decorator you can trust in Markfield.

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

Exterior painters and decorators will prepare the areas to be painted for you. This will involve washing and cleaning the area and making sure that it’s a good quality surface. Cracks or holes should be filled in. In some cases, you may wish to have rendering redone before the painting is done.

How Much Do Painters And Decorators Charge?

If you’re thinking about painting your home or property, then one of the first things that crosses the mind is the amount charged by painter or decorators to carry out the project. However just like any other home improvement projects and as with most tradesmen, the amount charged by a painter and decorator largely varies from job to job depending on a plethora of factors. These factors include your location, the urgency at which you need the job done and whether or not a specialist equipment would be required.

For painters and decorators, one of the biggest influencing factors that determines the price to be charged is the size of the room. For instance, if you have a large room to be painted, it’s definitely going to cost you more than a smaller room. And same applies to multiple rooms when compared to single room. In other words, to get a more accurate cost estimate from your tradesman, you’ll need to have a good idea of the size of your room or rooms. So let’s take a closer look!

✓ Painting a mid-sized room. The question here is, how do you know if your room is medium sized? The room will have a size of about 3.5m by 5m or a room that can conveniently allow up to 6 to 8 people. The price range is between £240 to £410.

✓ Wallpapering a mid-sized room. This uses the logic as painting a mid-sized room but the price can differ due to difference in materials used. The price range here is between £204 to £420.

✓ Painting a large ceiling. Painting a ceiling is very similar to painting a wall but its not as straightforward and will consume more time. The price ranges from £286 to £5476.

How To Choose Exterior House Paint

Painting the exterior of your house is a great way to give your home a new fresh look that improves it’s curb appeal, make it stand out and also increase it’s value. Exterior paints can serve a wide range of purposes, be it to make a statement in the neighbourhood, highlight some architectural features or to complement the nature. Hence, it’s very important to know the purpose of your exterior house painting project before choosing colour and proceeding with the task. In this guide, we aim to help you narrow down the paint colour selection to help you choose the right paint combination for your home’s exterior with relative ease. Let’s take a look!

✓ The neighbourhood’s style. At times, the style of the neighbourhood can help in selecting a house’s paint colours. For example, in the event whereby the neighbourhood is filled with Victorian homes, then a bold colour wouldn’t even be an option. Furthermore, if there are more ranch style homes in the area, an exuberant collection of pastels may not be the most suitable choice.

✓ To complement nature. Sometimes all that’s needed to know the best paint combination for your home is simply to look around at the surrounding landscape to get clues of the colours that’ll be perfect. For instance, different shades of summer green can be incorporated fr the exterior, meanwhile the fall colour combinations of red, brown and golden shades can also go well too.

✓ Look inwards for guidance. The existing fixed colours inside or outside a house can also be a great option to be used in the exterior colour scheme. This can be the colour of the material of the window trim, foundation or even the roof.

How To Prep Walls For Painting

This is exactly the part of a wall painting job that can make or mar the whole project. To ensure that your paint project doesn’t end up being disastrous, the most important place to start is from room preparation which includes cleaning, sanding as well as priming the walls before painting. Not every wall will require to go through all the preparation steps as all walls are unique and some are in better conditions than others. However, it’s advisable to thoroughly inspect the surfaces before you proceed to painting and take the necessary actions where required.

This is a very simple DIY job that should be completed in little time, however it’s also perhaps the most important step of the entire painting project. Hence, if you lack the confidence to pull this off, then we’d recommend employing a painting expert who can guarantee the best results for help. In this guide, we’ll should you how you can prepare your wall for painting.

✓ Cleaning. There is no single best way to properly clean a wall, but most walls will be just fine with a sponge and warm water. For walls that have been stained with oil or grime such as kitchen walls, you can apply grease cutting detergent and water mixture to wash and follow up with warm water to clean the residues and a damp cloth wiping to finish it off. Then leave to dry off properly.

✓ Remove mildrew. Wipe out mildrew using a sponge and solution that’s three to four parts water to one part bleach. Apply this solution and scrub the affected surface with a soft brush.

✓ Sanding. This step is only meant for walls with rough spots on its surface. Dull the uneven spots with a sandpaper, wipe away the dust and leave to dry. Use a fine grit sandpaper to sand the surfaces and let it dry properly.

✓ Priming. Prime the wall to get the most out of your paint. They work to disguise imperfections and create a smooth surface on which you can work on.

Most companies will recommend that exterior painting and decorating is carried out in the summer months. However, advances in paint technology mean that some paints can be applied in low temperatures and even when it’s raining. Check the can for the best conditions in which to apply or ask a professionals advise.

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.

If you’re planning to get a stair lift to be fitted in your home or property, one of the first things you’ll have to consider is whether your staircase is straight or curved as this would be the primary determinant of the stairlift type you’d go for. If you happen to have a curved staircase, you’d need to purchase a curved stairlift as only this can be fitted. Once you’ve identified the type of stair lift you need, then the next step is to determine the price to purchase and install such unit. In this post, we’re going to give you an idea of curved stairlift prices in order to help you make the best informed decisions possible. Let’s take a look!

Unfortunately, a quick and simple answer can’t be provided to this question as there are so many factors that influences the price of a curved stairlift. The bespoke nature of installing the necessary equipment is the main reason why the amount of new curved stairlifts greatly varies in the UK as well as the amount and complexity of the work required. For instance, if you purchase a curved stair lift with an intermediate landing, you’ll have to customize the track of the stair lift to fit your stairs which will make it a lot more expensive than ones without an intermediate landing.

With these in mind, providing an upfront and accurate estimate of a curved stairlift cost would be hard. As a result, this question can only be answered accurately taking into account all relevant factors by an expert after which they pay you a home visit. They’ll take into account whether  any existing fixtures and fitting will have to be removed or perhaps there’s a need for a custom feature to be installed and lots more.