Find a Decorator you can trust in Wincanton.

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 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.

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.

What Kind Of Paint To Use On Exterior Brick?

If you’re thinking about painting your exterior brick, you’d probably be wondering the kind of paint that’ll be most suitable for the project. If yes, you’re definitely not alone! Bricks are widely known for being notoriously difficult to paint due to their porousness and can also absorb paint. However, if you’re able to purchase the right type of paint and carefully prepare for your home’s brick exterior, you can make the process a whole lot more easier and cleaner while also giving your home a lot more updated look. It’s usually cheap, appealing and even protects your bricks from the elements which makes it even more durable.

The best type of paint to purchase is the elastomeric paint which provides the highest level of longevity. It’s actually more expensive than acrylic paint but it clearly outworks 100% acrylic paint by double in terms of both effectiveness and efficiency. The elastomeric paint is also super resistant to cold, heat as well as sunlight which makes it perfect for outdoor application. What’s more? It’s also dense enough to fill in cracks in the bricks but in such cases you might need to apply two coats. Overall, if you happen to stay in an inclement weather prone region, an elastomeric paint will help protect your home’s brick surface.

However, if you’re on a tight budget you can also consider getting an acrylic latex paint. This is a lot cheaper than elastomeric paint, but it’s also a great painting option for exterior bricks as it permits moisture to leave the bricks’ surface and helps to prevent mildew. Furthermore, you’ll only need to apply just a coat of acrylic paint.

How To Paint Exterior Door?

The front or exterior door is an excellent way to add to your house’s visual appeal. You choose to add a little style, think outside the norm and stand out in a lot of ways.

The front door or exterior door is what your guests are going to first come in contact with and can go a long way to shape their impression about you. It’s also one of the very things that grabs attention when looking at a house from a distance. So if you’re going to paint it yourself, you should know there’s no room for errors. However, if you’re not confident enough then we’d recommend you hire the services of a reliable professional who can guarantee the best results for help. Here’s some top painting advice aimed at helping you getting the project done in a quick and easy manner.

✓ Prepare the front door. Detach the doors from the hinges ( you may decide not to completely detach the door). However, there’s the need to tape off and protect the exposed hardware or windows if you won’t be detaching the door completely before painting.

✓ Start to paint the front door. Use a brush to run along the taped area to create a frame in which the roller can easily work in. What’s more? If the exterior door is metal or fibreglass, you can create a more natural look by painting in the direction that would be on a wood door.

✓ To fill and refine your front door painting, you can simply roll the paint directly on the surface for a flat one-panel door. However, if it’s a panelled door, then you’ll have to first make use of your brush to paint the inlaid regions before using the roller on the flat, outer regions.

How To Remove Flaking Paint From Exterior Walls

For a successful exterior wall painting project, all that’s required is the right painting tools and equipments, the appropriate exterior paint as well as the necessary preparation of the surface. With the later being perhaps the most important part of the project which is likely to take your time and effort as there’s no short cut to it. But once you have a good idea on how to prepare the exterior wall’s surfaces, the painting of the exterior of your house becomes a lot easier. And a good example of this, is the process of removing the flaking paint on the surface. Fortunately, you do not require the skills of an expert to be able to remove the flaking paint from your exterior walls. So let’s take a look at how you can remove flaking paint from your exterior walls with relative ease.

✓ Clear all flaking or peeling paint. This involves scraping the entire painted surface with a scraper to remove all loose paints. For the paints that wouldn’t yield easily, you can apply extra pressure to wipe it out. However, it’s important to be careful while doing this to avoid gouging out or damaging the surface.

✓ Use coarse sandpaper. Make use of a sandpaper to sand all the exterior wall’s surfaces until they’re smooth. When you get to tight spaces and trim, you can incorporate a sanding block to make your job easier and more effective. Note that a smoother surface will make for a better adhesion.

✓ Use an orbital or power sander. If the paint is peeling, you can scrape it off perfectly with the help of a power sander. This will help you in achieving a smooth surface on inaccessible edges and more.

The quick and simple answer to this question is yes, you can definitely spray upvc window with a different colour. In fact, this represents a much more cost effective mean of changing the upvc windows colour. Back in the days people used to simply replace their upvc windows, doors, fascias, gutters, garage door conservatories and the likes which is actually a much costlier option.

Generally, upvc window frames are known to have a lengthy lifespan, however the common misconception is that the colour you pick originally and install is the colour you’d have to keep till you have them replaced. Typically, people will have white upvc windows, however in recent times there has been more colours coming on in the market such as anthracite grey, black, brown and many more when it comes to replacing. However, replacing your upvc window frames come with a greater associated expenses, building works, a lot of hassle as well as mess. As a result, there has been a significant increase in the number of people looking for upvc painting and recoloring as this costs a lot less than replacing existing frames up to 80% in several cases. From the savings that’ll be made by spraying and painting upvc window frames, it makes absolutely little sense replacing the frames. Therefore, it’s highly recommended to have your upvc windows sprayed and painted by an experienced professional who can guarantee the best results the first time.

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