Find a Decorator you can trust in North West.

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 Remove Old Exterior Paint

When the paint of your house is starting to peel, there’s the need to take a swift action. While some homeowners opt to cover it with vinyl siding or replace it with fibre cement siding, there’s no reason why you would want to hide the exterior of your house if it still looks great. When you don’t want to hide the beauty of your exterior, the only other option you’ve got is stripping or removing of the old paint. So how do you remove old exterior paint without much hassle? Let’s take a look!

✓ Propane blowtorch. Due to its affordability and effectiveness, this blowtorch has been one of the most popular means of removing old exterior paint amongst homeowners for quite some time. It makes use of high heat to soften the acrylic-latex paint which makes it easy to peel off with a putty knife. However, it can also be very risky to use as it’s always a dangerous game when it comes to open flames. What’s more? Applying an open flame to lead-based paint may release toxic lead fumes, therefore you’d have to be very careful if you wish to use this method.

✓ Electric sanders. Belt sanders are a great option to removing old exterior paint as they’re able to strip off the paint quickly. However, this must be done gently and carefully as you’d risk gouging the wood if you lay into the sander too hard. The problem with this method is also lead-based paint as the sander tends to convert everything to dust and direct them straight to your face, hair and lungs.

✓ Scrapping. This involves using a sharp, rigid putty knife or blade designed for painting scraping to strip the exterior paint. This method also involves dust but you’d have a better control over it than the sander.

How To Paint Exterior Walls

Painting of exterior walls is a value adding task which can be done by any competent DIYer. So if you’re confident enough to pick up a brush and roller, then all you need to do is to follow the instruction in this step by step guide and you’d be glad you did. Painting your exterior walls yourself can save you lots of money that would rather have been spent on hiring the services of a professional painter and decorator. However, if you don’t feel confident enough to pull this off, then it’s advisable to call in a reliable painting specialist who can guarantee the best results for help. Here, we’ll take you through the needed steps to complete the painting of your exterior walls.

✓ Surface Preparation. This involves protecting all fencing and exterior wall component that’s not to be painted with a drop cloth or masking tape. You’ll also need to completely wipe out any dust before you start to paint a plaster surface. If it’s a previously painted wall, you’ll also need degrease it and remove or scrape off any loose areas of the plaster.

✓ Priming. This involves preparing the primer as instructed in the manufacturer’s guide. Then start to prime the surface by using a brush or a small paint roller to prime the corners, little items as well as all surfaces that are difficult to reach. Once done, then you can tackle the larger surfaces using a larger paint roller.

✓ Painting. To start painting your exterior walls, you’d have to prepare the product first by missing it thoroughly as instructed in the manual. Once done, you can repeat the same process as given in the priming stage above using your paint this time. Once done, you can decide to apply a second layer within a minimum of 4 hours after applying the first layer.

The quick and simple answer to this question is yes, you can definitely spray upvc windows. The upvc looks incredibly great when new and still got that fresh look and smell to it, but like every other thing, with time it begins to fade and look dull. And once it starts to look scruffy there’s no going back no matter how much you cleaned or maintained it. Now instead of going for a replacement upvc windows which can be very costly, you can spend just a fraction of the replacement cost by spraying the upvc windows. The only instance where you’d not be able to paint your upvc window is if the upvc is new or just fitted. This is largely due to the fact that a special type of upvc paint is required. The upvc paint, generally, forms a type of seal and bonds itself to the upvc window. However, it has great difficulty binding to a new upvc but as a large extent of the upvc in the UK is established rather than new, this shouldn’t be a headache for most home and property owners.

Another common reason why people decide to update their upvc with painting is due to the sheer number of colours you can incorporate in the painting. With the wide range of available colours, home owners are spoilt for choices and would opt for the colour that’ll add further accent and style to their homes. What’s more? If you don’t find the specific colour you want in your provider’s catalogue, you can always ask for a mixed colour.

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.

How To Paint A Ceiling

If you’re a bit hesitant to take on the seemingly awkward task of painting your ceiling, you’re definitely not alone. However, there are ways in which you can make ceiling painting tasks one of the less strenuous tasks you’ll find around the house as they’ll help you get rid of most drips and also assist you to easily determine whether or not you’re covering the whole ceiling. In several cases, painting a ceiling simply means painting it white again and most same colour painting jobs are way easier than painting with a new colour entirely. When you have the right size of nap controller as well as the appropriate length of an extension pole, painting over your head will be a lot easier. Here’s how to paint a ceiling.

✓ Prepare the room. This include removing as many furniture and objects from the room as possible while also laying down plastic sheets on the remaining ones. And also cover the floor with paper or canvas drop cloths.

✓ Remove obstructions. Detach or remove everything that can make your work harder like light fixtures or smoke detectors.

✓ Protect surfaces. This includes protecting vertical surfaces like the windows and doors from ceiling paint.

✓ Prepare the ceiling. This involves vacuuming the ceiling to get rid of any dust or dirt, sanding any rough spots on the ceiling with a sandpaper and filling any small holes or cracks in the ceiling (optional).

✓ Prime the ceiling. Use an angled brush or paint edging tool or primer to cut in edges of the ceiling.

✓ Paint the edges of the ceiling. When the primer has dried, simply paint the edges of the ceiling to create a frame in which you can easily work in.

✓ Paint the ceiling in grids.

If you happen to possess a upvc door, then you’re likely to notice two main things about about it. Firstly, it’s built to last and will most likely work perfectly well for several more years to come. Lastly, after just a couple of years, it’ll start showing signs of ageing - it starts to fade and becomes dull or discolour which is a problem that’s commonly identified with white plastic after some time and even more so when exposed to the sun and rain year in year out. Unlike back in the days where you’d have to replace your old upvc door due to discolouration, now you’d only have to repaint it which will only cost just a fraction of the price that would have been expended to get a replacement upvc door. By painting your upvc door, you’ll have it looking its best again while also adding to the curb appeal of your home.

Now painting of a upvc door is a very tricky and dangerous affair as it requires a lot of practice and any if proper care is not taken, you can easily inject yourself with paint. As a result, if you lack the skill or confidence required to carry out this task, then we’d strongly recommend you get in touch with a professional who can guarantee the best results the first time. If you wish to paint your upvc door, here are the four simple steps to it:

1. Remove any door furniture
2. Prepare the upvc door for the painting
3. Select a paint that’ll work on upvc doors
4. Decide on the finishing touches

How To Prepare Exterior Walls For Painting?

For a great and smooth exterior finish, preparing the walls before painting is crucial. A great painting job melts the heart and even more so if its done by you. This is a relatively easy task that can be completed without much hassle by an expert DIYer. However if you lack the needed confidence to pull off your exterior wall painting preparation task, then hiring the services of a reliable professional who can guarantee the best result would be your best bet. In this step by step, we aim to take you through the steps involved in preparing exterior walls for painting.

Before you get started, you need to make sure you have the necessary tools in place. These includes a filler and filling knife, sandpaper, soap, sponge, wide paint brush, masking tape as well as drop sheets.

✓ Ensure a smooth surface with a filer and sanding. This includes removing and replacing any rotten or decaying timer, proper sanding as needed, scraping off of peeling areas with sanding and filling of cracking areas with the help of exterior grade filler. Once the above is completed, you can then proceed to filling any holes or cracks in your exterior surface with a top quality exterior filler ( the application should be done with a putty knife).

✓ Cleaning. With the help of a quality and soft brush, clear out the dirt and cobwebs on the exterior’s surface. Then wash the walls with a good detergent to remove any remaining dirt and grease. You can use a bristled brush and a high pressure cleaner to make the process easier.

✓ Mask the area. This involves using a top quality masking tape along the edges you do not wish to paint and pushing the tape’s edges down firmly in such a way to get straight edges.