Find a Decorator you can trust in Oxford.

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 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.

How To Paint A Radiator

First thing you should know about painting a radiator is that normal paints can’t be used to do the job, however that doesn’t mean it’s not cheap, easy and fun - it definitely is and even more so, when you do it the right way. With a few radiator painting hints here, it’s only a matter of time before you start painting your radiators every colour of the rainbow delightfully.

Painting a radiator is not one of the most common tasks on most people’s to do list, so we’ve created this article as an encouraging nudge to allow more people let their creativity manifest through a brush. However, this is not to say that this is a task for everyone though as you won’t like to make a mess of your radiator. If you know you can’t pick up a brush or bend a knee or your back here and there, then you probably shouldn’t. In such cases, hiring a professional painter would be your best bet to get the best results while also saving yourself some time and money.

To paint a radiator, you’ll need a paint brush, suitable radiator paint, dust sheet and a radiator paint brush (optional).

✓ Turn off the radiator and leave it to cool off. Once it’s cold, simply wipe out all dust, dirt or grease from the radiator.

✓ Protect the flooring under the radiator from any paint splatter with a by spreading out a dust cloth.

✓ Use a suitable radiator paint to brush out well and lay off evenly in a direction. Leave it to dry overnight. Then apply paint on the radiator in direction of the grooves with the help of a top quality brush.

✓ Paint in sections and move across the radiator slightly overlapping until you get to the end. The move to paint the other areas.

✓ Leave the paint to dry as instructed in the manufacturer’s instructions, then apply a second coat if necessary.

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.

What Insurance Does A Painter Need?

As a painter, you’re most likely going to require three forms of insurance which includes public liability, income protection as well as tool insurance. However, you should take note that outside these three, there are also several other forms of insurance whose relevance will only be determined by the nature of your business. Now let’s take a closer look into the three most important forms of insurance for painters.

✓ Public liability. What’s surprising here is the fact that many painters are actually aware that they should have a public liability insurance, but only a few really knows what it actually covers. Essentially, what a public liability insurance does is to protect you in the event whereby you messed up and some else suffers a loss as a result of your actions. Third parties can suffer a property damage or personal injury as a result of your negligence. It does not in any way cover the damages to your own property or injuries suffered by you or your staff.

✓ Income protection. As a subcontractor or self employed painter, you’ll be in the best position to know that if you don’t work, there’ll be no money for you. And with no sick leave and possibly no workers’ compensation, then financial problem looms. But not to worry, you can protect yourself from this risk by getting an income protection insurance.

✓ Tool insurance. It’s always a terrible feeling when you go to the site only to discover your tools such as ladders, spray guns, trestles and equipment are suddenly no where to be found. Upon discovery of this situation, you’ll start thinking about the cost of replacing all the tools. With a tool insurance, you can be protected against these sort of situations whereby your tools are stolen, damaged and lots more.

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.

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.