Preparation and repairs

We start with the surface itself. Render that has blown, or sounds hollow when you tap it, has to come off rather than be covered over. Cracks are opened up first so the filler has something to grip, then filled and sanded back level with the wall. Filling and sanding carry on until the wall is smooth to the hand, not until it looks acceptable from three metres away.

Making good after plumbers and electricians is a job of its own. A chase that was closed up in a hurry absorbs differently from the rest of the wall and reads as a shadow the moment colour goes on. Those areas need filling in layers and their own primer before the first coat.

Mould is not a painting problem. When a wall goes black in a corner, behind a wardrobe or around a window frame, water is getting in or standing somewhere. We clean it off, let the surface dry and put the right primer on. Painted over, it comes back within months, usually in exactly the same spot.

I also take on plasterboard: partitions, suspended ceilings and concealed lighting. It is the work that changes the shape of a room without building anything, and because the same crew does it, the joints and the finish end up matching the rest of the wall.

Send me a photo from your phone so I can see what is going on, or book a visit. The estimate at your place costs nothing.