Three Steps to Preparing for Professional Painters and Decorators

You will probably be excited at the prospect of having a room in your home decorated by professional painter and decorators. For one thing, you’ll be adding a new lease of life to your property, but more importantly, it means you don’t have to do the job yourself, with all the hassle and hard work that entails!

But is there anything you should do before your painter and decorator arrives, to make sure the job runs smoothly and that none of your property gets damaged? Here, we look at three simple steps homeowners should take before painting and decorating companies start work.

1.  Move as Much of the Furniture Out as Possible

While good local decorators will aim to be as careful as they can be to protect your furniture from paint splashes and other marks, it’s a good idea to remove precious furniture pieces out of the room if possible. It’s understandable if you can’t move every furniture item out – many of us won’t have sufficient space to store it in other rooms. But if you can, shift as much as possible into the centre of the room. This leaves your painter easier access to walls, skirting boards and window frames, and will certainly help make the job more simple and quicker too.

2.  Remove Wall and Ceiling Decorations

Few of us have totally bare walls, so any pictures and mirrors will need taking down and storing carefully. If you want to put them back in the same place, you can leave hooks and nails in place, and your decorator will work around them. But if you’re completely changing your décor and intend to move or replace old wall hangings entirely, gently remove the nails or hooks from the wall. You can do this with a pair of pliers, using a twisting motion to avoid damaging the plaster. But speak to your decorator about filling any holes and cracks if necessary – good tradesmen will make the walls good as part of the preparation before painting anyway.

If your TV is wall mounted, then of course this should be removed too, to avoid accidental damage. In terms of light fittings, if you’re wary about electrics, ask your local painter and decorator if they can tackle these before painting – otherwise, remove lighting fixtures or drop them from the ceiling to allow the whole ceiling to be painted.

3.  Make Sure the Room Is as Clean as Possible

Once the room has been cleared as much as you can, it’s well worth giving it a good clean, concentrating on removing dust, cobwebs and other debris that might affect the final finish. Vacuum it throughout, including skirting boards and picture rails too! Wipe down any paintwork, like window frames, doors and skirting. If you’re having your kitchen redecorated by local painters and decorators, remove all grease, which can stop paint adhering properly. In the bathroom, clean off any mould or mildew so it doesn’t stain the paint or spoil the finish.

Do all this before your domestic or commercial decorators arrive, and they can get on with the job in hand as soon as they arrive. Otherwise, you may end up paying for their time while they wait for you to prepare!