Painters and Decorators in Chelsea and Kensington, London

The interior of the property before Robuild Painters and Decorators started working on the interior of the property.

The old wallpaper removed, walls plastered and painted. Notice the neutral theme.

All woodwork is painted in eggshell paint. The walls, are painted in white cream paint, neutral colour, making the property more spacious and achieving the clean interior look.

Painting and decorating children – kids rooms and bedrooms

Walls have to be tough. A child expects more of a wall than an adult does and consequently the wall finish must be functional as well as decorative. A child will want to experiment with it. It is yet another surface against which he can try his toys— and his strength.

You may choose to paint the walls but the effectiveness of this depends very much on the type of paint you use. But whatever finish or colour you choose remember it must be lead-free—make absolutely sure of this by checking the label. High-gloss finishes are perhaps the easiest to wipe clean but many people these days find them the least attractive of all the types on the market. Also, if your child needs a regular nightlight, the reflection can be disturbing, even frightening.

Polyurethane paints are renowned for their toughness, and are virtually child-proof. The old stand-by, emulsion paint, is still cheap—temptingly so if you persuade yourself that a child’s room will need almost constant redecoration. It will work out more expensive in the end than one treatment in a superior grade of polyurethane, particularly as emulsions are much harder to clean and keep clean than.tougher surfaces. Conventional wallpaper has obvious drawbacks— it can be ripped only too easily— but the newer vinyl wall-coverings have many advantages.

They are notably washable, stain-resistant and are available in the brightest colours and an increasing range of attractive patterns. They are also often textured, which provides harmless interest for the child’s inquisitive fingers. Pegboard, which first became popular in schools, has now earned its place in ordinary domestic use. It both protects and enhances walls, and is certainly a useful addition to any playroom. It is more adaptable than blackboard which will undoubtedly be ‘outgrown’, but pegboard is always acceptable. In the early years you can pin up ‘educational’ pictures or alphabets—then the child’s own schoolwork or paintings. And it will still be useful later, as a display surface for teenagers’ posters. Pegboard is also a fairly good insulating material and, mercifully, slightly sound-deadening.

If, when the child has become a sophisticated teenager, he will want his walls covered with smarter, more expensive tongued-and-grooved wood panelling, then you will find that the pegboard will be easy to remove and will have contributed to keeping the walls’ surfaces in good repair.

Painters and Decorators in London, UK

Robuild London Painters and Decorators cover London area.

Central London: (wc1, wc2, ec1, ec2, ec3, ec4)
Barbican, Clerkenwell, Monument, Shoreditch, West End, Gray’s Inn, Bloomsbury, Holborn, Soho, Moorgate, St Paul’s Cray, Tower Hill, St. Paul’s, Covent Garden, St Mary’s Cray, Belgravia, Building Company Central London, Home renovations Central London, Building Company Central London, Home Extensions Central London

North London: (n1, n2, n3, n4, n5, n6, n7, n8, n9, n10, n11, n12, n13, n14, n15, n16, n17, n18, n19, n20, n21, n22)
East Barnet, Archway, Finsbury, Alexandra Palace, Fortis Green, Barnet, Kentish Town, Canonbury, Crouch End, East Finchley, Enfield Park, Cockfosters, Enfield, Finsbury Park, Friern Barnet, Epping Forest, Hampstead Garden Suburb, Finchley Central, Islington, Barnsbury, Highbury, Highgate, Hornsey, Lower Edmonton, Tufnell Park, Manor House, New Southgate, Holloway, North Finchley, Hendon, Palmers Green, Pinner Green, Pinner, Ponders End, Muswell Hill, Potters Bar, Woodside Park, Seven Sisters, Winchmore Hill, Southgate, Totteridge, Upper Edmonton, Whetstone, Tottenham, Woodford Green, New Barnet, Stoke Newington,

West London: (w1, w2, w3, w4, w5, w6, w7, w8, w9, w10, w11, w12, w13, w14)
Isleworth, Acton, Eastcote, Bayswater, Charlton, Brook Green, Chiswick, Ealing, Uxbridge, Greenford, Hanger Lane, Hanwell, Hammersmith, Holland Park, Kensington, Elsham, Notting Hill, East Molesley, Ladbroke Grove, Marylebone, Mayfair, North Kensington, Warwick Avenue, Osterley, Paddington, Perivale, Shepherd’s Bush, Strand,Addlestone, West Brompton, Kensal Green, Queens Park, West Ealing,

Southwest London: (sw1, sw2, sw3, sw4, sw5, sw6, sw7, sw8, sw9, sw10, sw11, sw12, sw13, sw14, sw15, sw16, sw17, sw18, sw19, sw20)
Twickenham, Balham, Barnes, Beddington Corner, Earl’s Court, Epsom Downs, Beddington, Parson’s Green, Battersea, Ewell, Chelsea, Chertsey, East Sheen, Stockwell, Kew, Clapham Junction, Earlsfield, Brixton, Raynes Park, Streatham, Castelnau, Fulham, Mitcham, Morden, Kew Gardens, Tulse Hill, Kingston-upon-Thames, Merton, Mortlake, Putney, Kingston, Nine Elms, Wandsworth, Epsom, Esher, West Kensington, Teddington, Wimbledon, Claygate, Richmond, Southfields, Hook, South Wimbledon, Tooting, World’s End, Chessington, Streatham Hill, Weston Green, South Kensington, South Lambeth, Westminster, Woodmansterne, Pimlico, Clapham, Brompton, Carshalton, Brentford, Worcester Park

Northwest London: (nw1, nw2, nw3, nw4, nw5, nw6, nw7, nw8, nw9, nw10, nw11, nw12, nw13, nw14, nw15)
Neasden, Brent Cross, West Hampstead, Wembley, Camden Town, Northolt, Hampstead,Kilburn, Havering, Golders Green, Harrow, Temple Fortune, Cricklewood, Kingsbury, St John’s Wood, Greenhill, Harlesden, Colindale, Maida Vale, Mill Hill, Regent’s Park, Hampstead Heath, Harrow on the hill, Willesden, Sudbury, Swiss Cottage

One way to cover up a ceiling with cracks or other imperfections is to use lining paper or a textured wallcovering and then paint over it. But a good alternative is to make a special feature of the ceiling by using decorative paper.

Papering ceilings can be a rather daunting prospect, even to the experienced home decorator. In fact, once you have mastered the basic technique of paperhanging, ceilings are quite straightforward and you are likely to be presented with far fewer problems than on walls. There will be no windows, few (if any) corners and not so many obstacles with which you have to deal. If you intend to paint the ceiling it’s usually best to hang a lining paper or a textured paper like woodchip first to hide the inevitable blemishes of a plaster ceiling. Or you might decide to choose a fine decorative paper and make a feature of the ceiling with it. Most of the papers that are suitable for walls can also be used for ceilings. But before you opt for papering, it makes sense to consider the alternative: if the sole objective is to get a textured surface which will cover up cracks and bumps, you can do it just as well with a textured paint. Using a woodchip paper would only make sense if you were skilled at papering and wanted to save money; in any case, you’ll still have to paint it. However, if you want a smooth ceiling or a decorative surface of distinction then papering is for you.

You will need the same equipment as for papering walls, with the addition of a safe working platform that spans the width of the room. You should check with your supplier that the paper of your choice is suitable for ceilings (some heavier types may not be) and ask him to provide a suitably strong adhesive, including fungicide if it is a washable vinyl paper. Such papers are extremely suitable for high humidity environments like bathrooms and kitchens.

The surface to which you fix the paper must be clean and sound. This means washing down existing paintwork with detergent or sugar soap and then sanding it with a fine abrasive paper or pad to provide a key for the adhesive. Distempered ceilings, often found in old houses, must be scrubbed to remove the distemper, or the paper will not stick.

If the ceiling has been papered before, you should remove the old paper completely. If you try to hang another paper over it there will be blobs and bubbles where the dampness of the new paper separates the old paper from the plaster. Any surface which is at all porous, such as bare plaster, will tend to absorb moisture from the pasted paper at too fast a rate for a successful adhesion. Such surfaces should be sized by brushing them over with a proprietary size, or a diluted version of the actual paste you’re going to use. Let the size dry before proceeding. New plasterboard, often used in modern construction, needs painting with a primer/ sealer before decoration. It is also wise to fix a layer of lining paper before your main decorative paper if you are hanging heavyweight or fabric wallcoverings. Decorating perfectionists always recommend using lining paper anyway, whatever the surface. There is no doubt it does improve the final appearance, particularly on older surfaces or with thinner papers. Lining paper comes in different thicknesses or ‘weights’ and you should consult your supplier about a suitable grade. One last preparation tip: don’t leave cracks and dents in ceilings for the paper to cover. Fill them and sand them smooth, particularly at joins between plasterboards, and at the wall/ceiling angle. Think of your paper as a surface that needs a good smooth base, and not as a cover-up for a hideous old mess.

Modern papers are designed for the strips to be butted against each other, not overlapped. This means the traditional pattern of working away from, but parallel to, the main source of natural light is not essential. You will generally find it easier working across the narrowest dimension of the room. Well applied paper will tend not to show the joins too much anyway, particularly if the pattern draws the eye. All ceiling papering starts from a line which is strung or marked across the ceiling 10mm (%in) less than the width of the paper away from the wall. The 10mm (3/sin) on the length of paper which runs next to the wall allows for the walls being out of square and its overlap is trimmed off at the wall and ceiling junction. You can chalk a line and snap it against the ceiling between two tacks to make a mark, or just pin it temporarily in place and butt the first strip of paper against it.

Condensation, Painting and Decorating walls & ceilings

Damp on the inside of an exterior wall is sometimes blamed on water penetrating from outside or rising from
the ground when the real cause is condensation. Cooking, washing, etc – it all produces water vapour which condenses on cold walls.

Totally blocking up fireplaces and draught sealing windows and doors, makes it worse, because with no draughts there’s nowhere for the water vapour to go. In London, fireplaces are not so much in use lately. Anything which keeps surfaces in the room warm will help. Double-glazing prevents condensation inside windows and lining cold walls with a dry wall ( stud wall ) and insulation stops the damp from settling there. It also helps with soundproofing the walls.

Damp patches: some alternative barriers

Where the amount of damp coming into a room is slight, it can be kept from spoiling the decorations by applying any waterproof barrier between the plaster and the paper. Ask your builder’s merchant what he has in stock and what he would recommend; the materials range from paint-on waterproofing liquids, through pitch-coated lining papers to metal foils and foil-surfaced plasterboards. Pitch-coated papers are applied with a special waterproof adhesive; so are metal foils – the adhesive used with these dries quickly and you’ll need to smooth the foil out at once, working gently with a soft cloth to get rid of any air bubbles, before it has dried. Overlap joins by about an inch. If you tear the foil, stick a strip of foil at least an inch wide over the tear. The foil surface can then lined and painted, or wallpapered. Nail or stick foil backed plasterboard in place, foil side towards the wall. This will act as a barrier against the damp soaking through and help protect inside surfaces against the formation of condensations.

Stain blockers can be used before painting, however, sometimes the damp stain will show through the final painting coats in time, if the damp problem has not been solved before painting and decorating. You might need professional Painters & Decorators for the job.

Keeping damp stains off interior decorations

The answer of most Painters and Decorators to the problem of damp spoiling interior decorations and plaster is a waterproofing lath material, made from a waterproof fibre sheet which lets air pass between wall and plaster, and makes a key for replastering or mounting plasterboard sheets;

You can get it from any builder’s merchant in rolls. But remember, interior treatment keeps damp from the interior surface of the room – it does not make the main wall dry. Sometimes waterproof rendering and one coat of water proof plastering can solve the damp problem before painting and decorating a wall.

Hack off plaster from damp wall, back to the brickwork, and a foot or so along any wall which joins the damp wall.Since wall will go on being damp, it’s worth painting it with a fungicide to sterilise bricks.

Contact us for a quote London Painters and Decorators

External Walls, Painters & Decorators

Preparing and Repairing the outside walls

Rendered walls have a layer of cement-sand mix mortar on top of the structural brick or blocks, rather as interior walls have a layer of plaster. Except in rare cases where they have already been painted with gloss paint ( when you will be able to clean down and put on another coat of paint ) they are usually decorated with a cement based paint, a paint containing sand to give texture or with emulsion paint, which is cheap and holds well to masonry surfaces even out doors.

The Painter & Decorator, before starting work must tie back any wall plants and wrap them in plastic sheets. The floor must be protected in dust sheets too, don’t use plastic sheets as it can become slippery and dangerous. Scrape off any lose or flaking paint.

Small cracks in rendering can be repaired like internal plaster cracks, except that the filler must be one prepared specially for outdoors use.Larger areas of rendering that have failed should be hacked out until a firm edge is reached and then primed with a PVA & water mix for a good key and seal the dust. Then filled with a not-too-wet mixture of one part masonry cement to five parts soft sand. This put on with a steel float. If the rendering is much more than half an inch thick, do it in two coats, scoring the first one as it dries to provide a key for the second.

If the rendering is textured try to match this with the edge of the float or a brush. Pebbledash is rendering sometimes pre-mixed with small stones, but more usually applied flat and having small stones flung against it from a shovel and pressed in with a float.Examine it careful if you want a good match.

Brush down walls to get rid of dust and apply masonry sealer if the surface is powdery. Repaired cracks and other bare areas should be given and undercoat of emulsion paint. A surface which has never been coated before should be wetted a square yard at a time before painting. If it has been painted but is very absorbent thin the first coat by 10 % or so.
The second coat of paint, ( you will need two or more coats of paint )should be put on full strength. Where possible, don’t let an edge dry before paint the adjoining section.

If you require a free quote for painting & decorating your property in London, contact us.

Painters and Decorators in North West London

Our Painting & Decorating Company covers most of the North West London area.

NW1 Baker Street, Camden Lock, Camden Town, Euston, Euston Square, Marylebone, Mornington Crescent, Regent’s Park, Regents Park, Somers Town NW2: Childs Hill, Cricklewood, Dollis Hill, Fortune Green NW3: Belsize Park, Camden, Chalk Farm, Fenton Ho., Hampstead, Hampstead Heath, Primrose Hill, Swiss Cottage NW4:
Copthall, Great North Way, Hendon, Hendon Central, Holders Hill NW5: Gospel Oak, Kentish Town NW6: Brondesbury, Brondesbury Park, Kensal Rise, Kilburn, Kilburn Park, Maida Vale, Queen’s Park, South Hampstead, West Hampstead NW7: Mill Hill, Mill Hill East NW8: Abbey Road, Lisson Grove, St John’s Wood NW9: Colindale, Edgware Road, Kingsbury, The Hyde, West Hendon NW10: Church End, Harlesden, Kensal Green, Kensal Rise, Lower Place, Neasden, North Acton, Old Oak Common, Park Royal, Stonebridge, Stonebridge Park, Willesden, Willesden Green, Willesden Junction NW11: Brent Cross, Finchley Road, Golders Green, Golders Hill Park, Hampstead Garden Suburb, North End