Being a Painter and Decorator In Canterbury
I love being a painter and decorator in Canterbury! Being born and living in Canterbury my whole life gives my job even more satisfaction knowing I have a little part to play in adding value to the properties in Canterbury and South East Kent. The variations of properties I go into each bring their own set of challenges and heres a little insight into my life:
Painting and decorating in Canterbury, Kent
Older Houses prove to be one of the most challenging projects when prepping for a professional painting job. Some things you can expect to find include:
Cracked ceilings due to movement, one way to overcome this could be to use a synthetic filler that tends to move with the crack whereas water based filler is known to crack again.
Holes in artex ceilings, these can appear for example when changes are made to the property such as light switches. I’ve seen multiple times these holes just filled and it sticks out like a sore thumb. So blend the artext ceiling with the correct artex materials and tools before painting.
Powder paint prior to emulsions are still causing trouble in older houses. The old school use of powder paint dried so quickly that lumps and bumps appeared causing ‘mapping’ the name is given due to leaving the job looking like a world map. If a fresh skim of plaster isn’t in the budged then a skim and sand with filler will leave the job looking much more professional.
New Builds are a satisfying job due to the freshness of the property, however we see common themes that appear within new builds:
Timber movement, when timber frame new builds haven’t been left to dry properly before plaster boarding, this causes movement in the walls laving cracks to appear; most common above door frames and windows.
Fresh plaster cracks, theres no way around this so you could call it the nature of the beast. When fresh paint is applied to new plaster it gets sucked in so quickly, even more so if the conditions are hot or heating is on in the property. This causes cracks to appear and for both issues I would once again recommend a synthetic filler solution.
Rented Properties comes with a different set of challenges as well as the challenges faced in old houses and new builds:
What tenant is the client wanting to attract to the house? I hate being asked to provide a quick and cheap painting job, at the end of the day the property is yours and it should still be taken care of. Its not in my nature to provide a rushed job, yes we can certainly find solutions to meet budgets but I wouldn’t take on a job that causes more issues later on, or needs repainting due to the use of cheap materials.
Victorian Houses are always a privilege to work on, it feel like your having an involvement in history. As well as the challenges spoke about previously you can also expect:
High ceilings, now i’m not afraid of heights but i am cautious of safety. The use of telescopic ladders would not be advised when reaching high due to not being secure enough. If you have the equipment, extendable poles and brushes can help reach, either way high ceilings are also more time consuming.
Decorative Coving, i’ve seen many different styes of coving in victorian houses from straight edges to intricate patterns. Although its high its still good practice not to leave patches or drip marks. Therefore if the room is protected you may want to use an airless paint sprayer to leave a professional job.
Woodwork, you may also see allot more woodwork in victorian houses, and the woodwork could really make or break the job. I would recommend using an oil based Satinwood for better coverage and extra protection. Yes I said oil based but it doesn’t leave a shine you would expect with high gloss.
Luxury Houses come with very high expectations, i’ve found with luxury houses that advice from a painter and decorator is always welcomed and were seeing new trends appear:
Patting schemes, more houses are leaving the traditional white ceiling and tinted walls behind for a more modern scheme of same coloured walls and ceilings. However you never know what its going to 100% look like until its on the walls and ceiling, so plan your next move carefully.
Were also seeing a big trend of darker coloured woodwork on brighter walls. This is defiantly more time consuming especially if its a transformation of colour. I wouldn’t exactly call this a challenge, but it will leave you holding your breath with concentration.
