Find a Decorator you can trust in Warlingham.

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 To Paint A House Exterior?

Do you feel your home is need of a lift to enhance its visual appeal or give it some TLC? In order to impress your visitor or potential buyers, kerb appeal is simply everything. Many homeowners are usually discouraged due to the thought that a painting job is always an expensive one with not so much value in return. However, in reality, painting your home’s exterior is actually one of the most significant improvements one can make as it tells your story and communicates your value.

The cost of getting a house exterior painting job done is based on a number of things which includes the type of walls you possess, whether it’s a maintenance project, whether it’s your first time of painting the house as well as your location. So what’s involved in a painting job?

✓ Scrapping off the loose paint.

✓ Brushing off cobwebs and dust on the surface

✓ Washing the wall

✓ Application of fungicide to mouldy patches

✓ Repairing minor damages

✓ Applying paint surface stabiliser

✓ Applying two coats of your chosen paint

✓ Disposal of waste as well as a full clean up of the site.

Below is a breakdown of the cost of painting the exterior of a house. Kindly note that this is just an example (using a semi detached house) to give you an idea of how much your project is going to cost.

✓ Costly scaffolding isn’t required here but platform towers can be need - this will cost about £80 to £100.

✓ Materials including sand or cement for repairs, plastic sheeting, tape, paint, masonry stabiliser as well as fungicide treatment will cost about £200 to £300

✓ Cost of labour for two workers £700 to £1000 based on the location

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 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 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 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.

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.

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.