Interior painting and decorating
As a professional decorator trained the “old school” way, I take pride in my work, and always work hard and efficiently.
I apply the same level of cleanliness and attention to detail, regardless of the type or scale of interior decorating work I take on.
As long as my customers want a high class finish, I am happy to provide a competitive quote to decorate your bathroom, lounge, hallway, laundry room or whole house.
My level of service isn’t for everyone, but if you appreciate the difference between a job that will do and a job done thoroughly with pride, I am worth a call!
This is a summary of how I would approach a typical redecorating job.
Sheeting up
I don’t use cotton dust sheets to protect your carpets or hardwood flooring, instead they get protected with paper and plastic. That takes extra time, but it means your carpets and flooring are guaranteed to stay fine, and because it is quick and easy to keep the room clean when I work, the paintwork is always nice and dust free.
Vacuum sanding
I use a hepa vacuum and dust extraction sanders, so although I do a lot of sanding I generate much less dust even compared to the normal quick flick over merchants.
Woodwork
For interior woodwork, I sand, fill, skim fill skirtings, and would apply at least 3 coats of paint.
Although I always use oil-based eggshell on kitchen units, increasingly I specify premium acrylic paint for interior door frames, skirtings and doors. With the brushes I use and a few tips and tricks, the finish is really nice. Acrylic is tough too, and it will not yellow or lose its sheen. Also it is very fast drying, almost no odour. Little Greene acrylic eggshell is Toy Safe certified, and all Mythic trim paint is zero toxic.
Eggshell is good for an understated finish, but where you want something with a bit more sheen, I highly recommend Mythic semi gloss enamel. It is shinier than eggshell, but not so high glossy as conventional gloss, and very hard. (Oil based gloss dulls after a year anyway, and looks equivalent to the semi gloss! Dulux white oil based gloss is also going yellow very quickly these days, since they changed the formulas for the emissions laws, and many oil paints are taking an age to dry.)
Glazed doors, I can spray them.
Spindles on stairs, if they are a natural finish now, I can prime and paint them and leave the rail in natural timber for a real high impact change.
On front doors I do the “Number 10 Downing St” specification ie a special oil based fine surface filler plus oil based Sikkens AZ gloss.
Walls
The walls are sanded as a matter of course to get rid of old filler snots, roller marks etc from the last painters.
The paint I would use is much more reliable and gives a better end result than the usual paints being used generally.
If you like modern colours Mythic acrylic matt is a way better option than Dulux vinyl matt. 1200 colours, Mythic matt is so low odour, I doubt you will even know it is being used. Coverage is fantastic, it dries back flat, and once cured after a week or so, it is tough as old boots. It is probably equivalent to Dulux Diamond matt in terms of durability, and is very high quality compared to normal trade paint.
If you like the Farrow and Ball sort of traditional look, I would tend to use Little Greene paints instead. They are identical in every way to Farrow and Ball, (chalky look, lovely deep Heritage colours,) except the Little Greene Ultimatt is really really tough and the acrylic matt (equivalent to estate emulsion) invariably only needs 2 coats to cover really well.
I also offer a superior wall finish, where I skim dinged walls with Toupret filler before painting. And there is a fine surface filler which I can spray and sand. So there are ways and means of dealing with any and every surface and requirement.
When you walk into a room that I have decorated, there will never be any doubt that it has been done to a very high standard.
About my interior decorating services
Protecting your carpets and furniture
Keeping down the dust while work is in progress.
Decorating a damp affected wall
Victorian townhouse, Philadelphia
More information about my customer service.
Exterior decorating
Please note that beyond a couple of windows and doors, I am unable to take on exterior house painting jobs. Basically, I don’t have the manpower to turn a job round quickly between rain storms, and I am not geared up with access equipment (Although, twist my arm and guarantee me a few weeks good weather, and I will hand-paint your classic wooden boat.)
I would like to recommend an alternative company for outside decorating work, but I am having trouble finding a team of decorators that consistently work to the highest standards, with the manpower and expertise to tackle complete houses. If you know anyone, let me know. Until then, I will keep looking!
If you are in Cheshire looking to have your property decorated to a really high standard with minimal fuss and disruption, or...
Looking for ideas or costings to refurbish a tired kitchen or hand-paint a new one? Please contact me via the form below.
If I can't help, I'll know another specialist decorator in the UK who can.
Contact Andy Crichton
