Find a Decorator you can trust in Bankside.

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

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 A Room

Painting is a joyful task and it’s quite obvious why it’s one of the most popular DIY projects. Whether you’re painting as an experienced DIYer or as a newbie, this step by step guide will put you in the right direction. However, if you lack the confidence to carry out this task, then we’d recommend you get in touch with a seasoned professional who can guarantee the best results for help. This way, you get to save some time and additional money that would have resulted from possible costly errors.

So just before you head right into the task, there’s the need to determine the type of pain finish you would love to use which is to choose a colour. Now let’s get started!

• Prepare the room

✓ Remove all objects as much as you can from the room and cover the remaining furniture or objects with a sheet.

✓ Fill all holes on the surface to make for an even finish.

✓ Wash the wall with the help of a damp sponge. A sugar soap or diluted washing up liquid will work just fine.

✓ Tape the edges of objects you do not wish to paint like light switches, plug sockets and the likes.

• This step can be skipped if painting on an existing paint, but it’ll advisable to dilute small quantity of your selected paint to patch prime the holes that you’ve filled. If you have a large number of holes that was filled, then priming them would be smart.

• Mix or stir the paint thoroughly in a paint kettle to ensure an even and perfect mix.

• Now you’re ready to start painting! Start from the edges to form like a frame to work within with your roller. Once done, leave for about 4 to 6 hours to dry.

• For the second coat, simply repeat the above step to complete your painting project.

Over the years, UPVC spray painting has grown to become a standard practice. Previously, what was done when people wanted to change the colour of their UPVC window is simply to replace the old ones. However compared to the cost of replacing the units, it’s actually a lot easier to simply have your UPVC windows sprayed and even more importantly, at just a fraction of the replacement cost. If you’re thinking about spraying your upvc windows, then you’ve come to the right place! In this post, we’re going to take you through the entire process. However, if you lack the confidence needed to pull this off, we’d strong advise that you get in touch with a professional to avoid make costly errors or mistakes.

The first step to successful upvc window spraying is always to make sure that the upvc is properly cleaned by removing any loose dirt and residue, getting rid of any muck and grime which has developed over the years. You can also abrade the surface in a very light manner to leave upvc frames with a key to make the paint adhesions stronger. Once you’re done with the preparation, the obvious next step is masking off. This process requires you to protect the walls, glass, floors and brickwork from any potential over spray. To achieve this, you can make use of masking papers.

Upon completion of the masking off process, then its time to spray paint the upvc windows using a spray gun and spray painter. This requires a lot of practice as it could be very dangerous as you can inject yourself with paint, which can be seriously fatal.

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.

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.

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 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.