Interior Painters in South London

What Affects the Cost?

• •Level of preparation needed, from sound walls to cracked plaster, old flaking gloss or wallpaper that has to come off
• •Amount of woodwork: skirting, architrave and doors add hours of cutting in, and a staircase adds more
• •Whether walls need lining paper, or fresh plaster needs a mist coat first
• •Paint chosen: Dulux Trade as standard, or a Farrow & Ball or Little Greene upgrade
• •Number of colours and finishes, and whether ceilings are included
• •Room use, since a bathroom or kitchen needs a moisture-resistant specification

Areas We Cover

Frequently Asked Questions

How long does an interior repaint last?

On a properly prepared interior, walls hold their finish for the best part of a decade, and woodwork that bit longer. The figure that matters is not the paint, it is what went on underneath it. Most interior jobs that look tired within a year or two were rushed at the prep stage. Someone rolled emulsion over hairline cracks, dusty walls or old flaking gloss without filling, sanding or priming first, so the new coat had nothing sound to hold. We fill and sand the walls flat, prime any bare or patched areas, and key glossy woodwork back before recoating. On walls we use Dulux Trade Diamond Matt, which scrubs clean and takes knocks far better than standard emulsion, so it stays looking fresh in a busy hallway or a child's bedroom rather than marking the first time something brushes past it.

Why does fresh plaster need a mist coat?

New plaster is porous and slightly alkaline, so if you put normal emulsion straight onto it the wall drinks the moisture out of the paint too fast and the coat will not bond. It dries patchy and can peel away in sheets later. A mist coat is the first job on any freshly plastered wall: watered-down emulsion, brushed and rolled in so it soaks into the surface and seals it. Once that has dried we put the full finish coats on top, and they grip properly. We always let new plaster dry out fully first, which can take a few weeks depending on the room and the time of year. Painting plaster before it has cured is one of the most common reasons a repaint fails, so we will not rush it.

What paint do you use on walls, woodwork, kitchens and bathrooms?

Our standard interior specification is Dulux Trade Diamond Matt on walls and ceilings, which is a tougher, more washable emulsion than the retail tins, and Dulux Trade Satinwood on skirting, architrave, doors and other woodwork for a hard-wearing finish that wipes clean. If you want a particular colour or a deeper, flatter look, we upgrade to Farrow & Ball or Little Greene and price it into the quote. Kitchens and bathrooms get a different treatment because steam and splashes sit on the walls, so we use a moisture-resistant, mould-inhibiting paint there. The finish then copes with the damp instead of flaking or growing mould in the corners. On the site visit I will tell you which spec suits each room rather than painting the whole house in one product.

Can you paint while we are living in the house?

Yes. Most of our interior work is done in occupied homes and we plan it room by room so you are never living on a building site. We put dust sheets down, move and cover furniture, mask off the floors and fittings, and clear up at the end of each day so the space is usable again overnight. Filling and sanding makes dust, so we contain it to the room we are working in and keep the doors shut to the rest of the house. We agree the running order at the start, usually keeping a kitchen and a bathroom in use throughout a full-house job, and your project manager confirms which rooms are out of action each day. If a room needs to stay clear, such as a nursery or a home office, we work the programme around it.

Do you paint period features like cornice, picture rails and panelled doors?

Yes, and on a Victorian or Edwardian house the detail is where an interior repaint is made or lost. Decorative cornice, picture rails and panelled doors all need cutting in by hand, and on a house of that age they often carry many layers of old paint that have clogged the detail. We rub down and fill where the line has been lost, ease open any seized sash windows, and cut sharp edges between the wall colour and the woodwork rather than leaving a wavy line. On original panelled doors we sand back, fill the dents, then brush a proper undercoat and satinwood topcoat so the panels read cleanly. Where old paint is thick and crazed we cut it back to a sound surface before recoating, because painting over a flaking layer just moves the problem along.

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