Find a Decorator you can trust in Shotts.

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 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.

There are lots of paints that are suitable for different areas of your property. In general, gloss and eggshell paints should be used in high traffic areas, whereas matte paints are suitable for lower traffic areas. Professional painters and decorators can give you advice on the most suitable types of paints.

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.

The quick and simple answer to this question is yes, upvc spraying is, in fact, largely beneficial! When it comes to helping your home or property rediscover its lost spark, upvc spraying is definitely a super convenient and effective solution you should consider. The drawback with UPVCs in general is the fact that they tend to get discoloured, scruffy or dull over time due to the elements as well as usage. In the previous years, when this occurs, the only option home and property owners had available to them was to replace the expensive upvc. However, good news is, you no longer have to go that length to have your home revitalized any more. With spray painting services for your home, you can easily achieve great results with little investment.

Using advanced technology as well as specially formulated paints, you can totally transform your home using just a fraction of the replacement cost within just a couple of days. If your upvc features appear to be quite unsightly and dull, spray painting can instantly improve their appearance while also enhancing the appearance of the whole property as well. Here are some of the benefits associated with spray painting:

• It helps you save money. Being an affordable alternative, spray painting upvc is about 75 percent cheaper when compared to the replacement cost.
• Improved appearance. This can instantly elevate the appearance of your home or make it an attractive choice for buyers if you wish to sell.
• Strengthen and protect. Using specially formulated paints and professional application, you can achieve long lasting and durable results.
• Finishing touch. There’s a variety of finishes you can opt for such as a satin, gloss or matt finish.

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 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 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.