|
Preparation is the key to a good decorating finish
Neglect at the
preparation stage can not only ruin the final appearance, but can
also result in the new d?or being short-lived, perhaps through paint
flaking or paper peeling.
Sadly, a number of ‘fast turn-around’ home improvement television
programmes have encouraged the neglect of decorating preparation. On the
screen, you just don’t see the detail in the finished result.
Preparation is a somewhat tedious task and, to the untutored eye,
delivers little in the way of progress. Indeed, the preparation stage
often results in the room looking worse than it did before decorating
commenced!
Firstly, there is the dirt, grease and loose material from surfaces to
be cleaned off; then cracks in the plaster and other defects need to be
made good. Even new surfaces require a certain amount of preparation
before work starts.
Some key points about preparation:
-
If at all possible remove radiators, it’s faster and you get a more
satisfactory result than trying to decorate around them.
-
Light switches, door handles, power sockets can be lifted and then
screwed down again. This stops paint getting on them and provides a much
neater finish.
-
You will need to make good any defects in walls. If re-plastering is
needed, remember this should always be allowed to dry thoroughly before
the new decoration is applied. Alternatively, there are emulsion paints
designed especially for new plaster, which will allow the moisture to
continue to evaporate. Remember that new plaster has to be primed.
-
Any powdery surface should be dusted off and sealed with stabilising
solution.
-
Existing paint needs to be washed down with sugar soap. This cleans
away grease and dirt and etches the paint surface to provide a
mechanical key for the new paint.
-
Where required, sand down woodwork to provide a smooth surface and a
good key for the new paint.
-
In the case of wood, apply primer before the final coat unless you
have an excellent surface to work on. It produces a longer-lasting
finish. Some newer paints don’t need primer, but tend to produce a good
result only where there is an existing good finish.
-
If the paper is coming away from the wall, painting over it will only
make matters worse. And if one part needs to be stripped, then it should
all be removed to provide a consistency of finish.
How to calculate the time the job will take
There are few rules of thumb to enable preparation time to be
calculated.
-
Cast a critical eye on the condition of the room and check with the
above pointers.
-
Removing wallpaper takes about the same time as putting new on, but if
the wall beneath the paper is in poor condition, then that could take
twice as long.
-
Before getting estimates or quotes for decorating, think about what
you wish to achieve. If it is just a ‘freshen up’, make that clear to
the decorators and don’t expect too much of the finished result.
-
If on the other hand you wish the d?or to last, take into account
what needs to be done before the ‘cosmetic’ finish and be prepared to
invest either the time or money. It will be well spent in the long run.
Roger Runswick is a director of
50plus Handyman and a member of the
Institute of Electrical Engineers. He can be contacted at
roger.runswick@the50plus.co.uk .
Previous articles in this series:
Fixing drips and changing
your taps
Can I still change my light
switch?
Fitting an outside light
Pre-winter maintenance
Thinking of installing a
shower?
Decorating – are you getting your money’s worth?
|
|
laterlife interest
The above article is part of the features section of
laterlife.com called laterlife interest.
laterlife interest
contains a variety of articles of interest for visitors
to laterlife.com written by a number of experienced and
new journalists.
It includes both one off articles and
also regular columns of a more specialist nature such
as healthwise, reports
from the REACH files, and a beauty section called
looking good in later life.
Also don't forget to take a look at our
regular IT question and answer section called YoucandoIT
by IT trainer and author Jackie Sherman.
To view the latest articles and indexes to
previous articles click on laterlife
interest here or above. To search for
articles about a certain topic, use the site search
feature below.
|
