Author Archives: Design Team

Painting Guide / Hints & Tips

PREP WORK FOR PAINTING

• Fill any holes or imperfections with spackle (specific type of filer), wait for it to dry, and then lightly sand the patches. If you have a crack, you must first widen it slightly before spackling or the spackle will just sit on top.
• Scrape away any peeling, cracked paint, then sand the area smooth.
• Clean the walls if they may be dirty (especially in a kitchen or bathroom), and always take a damp cloth to clean the dust off of trims and the tops of doorways.
• Use paintable decorator caulk to fill any gaps between the walls and trim before painting the trim. Fill any dings and divits in the wood with wood putty, wait for it to dry, then sand smooth.
• When in doubt, prime. Using a primer can hide dark colours, block stains, and help your new paint job last longer. It’s also a must when painting exposed woodwork, and there are many primers that adhere to glossy surfaces (allowing you to skip sanding first).
• Stir your paint before you begin, and don’t paint straight from the can. Obviously you would pour the paint into a roller tray if you were about to use a roller, but consider using a small bowl when painting with a brush. Its easier to hold, and decanting paint will keep the can free of the impurities (dust, wood particles, etc.) that your brush may pick up as you work.
• If you want to use tape, buy painter’s tape (it’s usually blue or green, and marked as such) Frog tape works well. Apply it in short, overlapping strips, and press down firmly along the edge to ensure a crisp line.

PAINTING TOOLS

• You will need the following tools to prep for a typical room: Spackle, putty knife, fine grit sandpaper, and a damp lint-free rag. You may also need paintable caulk and wood putty if you’re working on the trim.
• Tools to paint a typical room: Paint, a tool to open the paint can, stir stick, angled paint brush, small bowl or container (we do not recommend painting straight from the can), roller, roller cover, roller tray, and a roller extension pole for high ceilings. Painter’s tape is optional, and a dust sheet to protect the floor is a good idea. You don’t need any funny little gadgets to paint edges.
• A 6-in-1 is a painter’s best friend. You can use it open the paint can, open cracks in the wall for repair, spread spackle (takes the place of a dedicated putty knife), scrape loose paint, and clean rollers.
• Use a good quality brush. I like a 2.5″ angled brush for most projects (painting trim, doors, cutting in), and a 2″ sash brush for windows.
• Use a good quality roller cover. Cheap ones leave a messy edge and can shed little flakes all over the place. We recommend using a new roller cover for each paint job, but they can be cleaned. A 3/8″ or 1/2″ nap is good for most walls.

CHOOSING PAINT

• We recommend Leyland paint as a decent entry level paint that wont break the bank and gives a professional finish for both residential and commercial work. Also if you find a colour you like from another line, a Leyland paint store can mix it and match it for you, saving you money.

• Gloss Paint

  By tradition, gloss paints have been oil-based and include resin to give them a hard wearing quality. Some are still oil (solvent) based paints whilst water based gloss paints are now available.

  • Liquid gloss needs an undercoat but gives the more traditional high gloss finish and is extremely hard wearing and resistant to dirt.
  • Satinwood is a durable gloss paint that gives a more subtle sheen than the conventional shiny gloss effect, however, it is not usually as hard wearing.
  • Eggshell is a paint that gives a flatter (but not entirely matt) finish. It is often used for smaller pieces of decoration such as architrave and skirting.
  • Polyurethane gloss an oil-based paint with added polyurethane resin making it tougher, providing a really hard wearing surface to withstand greater abrasion than standard gloss.
  • Silthane is a combination of silicone and polyurethane, this paint is claimed to give a stronger surface than polyurethane as the silicone gives extra protection, especially during the drying period when paint is most vulnerable.
  • Water based gloss delivering the application and performance qualities of traditional solvent based paint but with improved turnaround times, a non-yellowing finish, easy clean-up and reduced environmental impact.

• Emulsion Paints

  Modern Emulsions are water-based, with vinyl or acrylic resins added to make them more hard-wearing than traditional emulsions. This results in varying degrees of sheen in the finish; as the shine increases, the paint tends to be more hard wearing. The ranges usually offer matt, eggshell, silk, satin and full gloss.

  Although normally thought of as for internal walls and ceilings, there are water based types of emulsion specially produced for woodwork. These are easy to apply and dry in a few hours but do not give the same hard-wearing qualities as oil-based paints.

• Interior Walls and Ceilings

  Emulsion is the most popular paint for walls and ceilings due to the fact that it is water based and has less smell, dries comparatively quickly and is easy to apply.

  There are three main types of emulsion used for walls and ceilings, each giving a different finish:

  • Vinyl matt emulsion gives a matt, non-shiny finish that is good for not showing small imperfections on the wall or ceiling. (The shinier finishes reflect back more light and highlight any imperfections). Generally speaking, however, it does not wear as well as the glossier emulsions.
  • Vinyl satin emulsion gives a subtle soft-sheen finish and is a more durable surface than vinyl matt. It is suitable for areas that might need to be lightly washed or sponged. Great for wiping away all those dirty hand marks.
  • Vinyl silk emulsion gives a high sheen finish and is the most durable of all the emulsion paints. It is good for rooms that are subject to a lot of moisture i.e. condensation. Some manufactures make specific Kitchen & Bathroom paint which is ideal for areas of high humidity.

• Other types of paint

  There are other types of paint available for specific jobs. These include:

  • Primer – These may be oil or water based and are used to seal unpainted surfaces to prevent covering coats of paint soaking in. The appropriate type of primer should be used for the surface being painted – wood, metal, plaster or tiles. There are some ‘all purpose primers’ available which are designed for two or more of these surfaces.
  • Undercoat – Usually oil-based, undercoat is applied on top of the primer. The undercoat should be of the correct colour to provide the right colour base for the finishing coats.
  • Anti-condensation – For use in humid conditions such as in kitchens and bathrooms, this paint is specially formulated to prevent the surface becoming cold to the touch and therefore less conducive to condensation. It is not a cure for condensation, only a way of reducing its effect on painted surfaces. They often include a fungicide. Normal emulsion paints may be satisfactory in these conditions providing that the level of condensation is not too high.
  • Radiator paint – For use on central heating pipes and radiators, it will stand up to the high temperatures without discolouring as other paints are prone to do.
  • Fire-retardant – These special paints contain an additive to provide a fire-resistant quality, they do not resist fire completely, but has a greater flame resistance than ordinary paint and will reduce their spread.
  • Bituminous – Although often not considered as a paint, bitumen is used where a water proof coating is required. Bitumen does not dry in the normal sense used with paint, it can crack if stressed when frozen and will run (or at least become sticky to the touch) in hot weather. Thick and usually black, bitumen is for areas where high water resistance is needed and appearance is not important – such as on the inside of cast iron guttering and metal cold water tank.
    Bitumen is difficult to paint over with conventional paints as the underlying bitumen tends to bleed into the overlaying paint and will move with temperature changes while the covering paint may not be able to stand up to the movement. If there is a need to over paint bitumen, apply a coat of aluminium paint, this will seal the surface to prevent the bitumen bleeding.
  • Waterproof paints for pools and ponds – This paint needs to be mixed with a waterproof agent and is very effective for waterproofing. Great for swimming pools, ponds, and wet-room/shower ceilings that get more the just a spray of water on them, i.e loft room showers placed next to a sloping roof

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Tiling Guide / Hints & Tips

Shower Tiles

If you’re planning a wet room or walk-in shower where standing water may exist, it is essential to use slip resistant tiles or mosaics.
Mosaic tiles fitting can be quite tricky though. In the ancient days of tile installation, tilers would painstakingly lay each mosaic tile individually. Fortunately mosaic tiling is much easier in today’s world. It is a matter of accurate installation. However installing hundreds of little tiles within one square foot is a recipe for crooked lines. Multiple miss-laid mosaic tiles can make your bathroom floor and wall look wonky.
A vapour barrier should be considered when applying tiles to the bathroom walls and flooring, such as aqua panel. Failing to do this, you may experience mould growth and mildew as moisture from your shower escapes through the tiles.

Tile wall weights

The maximum weight of tiling which can be supported by a dry, well-adhered plaster background is 20kg/m². This is equivalent to ceramic tiles with a maximum thickness of 8mm plus tile adhesive or natural stone tiles with a maximum thickness of 7mm plus tile adhesive
The weight of tiling to a plasterboard background direct (without plaster skim) should not exceed 32kg/m². This is equivalent to a ceramic tile and adhesive with a maximum thickness of 12.5mm and natural stone and adhesive with a maximum thickness of 10mm.
It is important to emphasise that the weights quoted includes both the tile and adhesive.

Why use tiles?

Ceramic and natural stone tiles used to be confined just to the bathroom and kitchen. Now UK homeowners are becoming more like their European neighbours and are using tiles throughout the home.
Go for the latest porcelain, natural stone in trendy pale beige or cream. They provide a neutral background to the rest of your furnishings and are extremely robust and hardwearing. Ring the seasonal changes with colourful rugs Cool pastels for the summer and deep reds and golds for the winter. You can even tile outside as many tiles are frost resistant; but do check. Tile the floors both sides of the patio doors with the same tile and watch as the dining room passes almost imperceptibly into the garden.
In kitchens ceramic tile is ideal on floors, walls, splash backs and work tops. Fat, grease and food spills are just wiped away and dirty footprints from pets and children are no problem. For extra hygiene and assurance you can use a grout with antibacterial protection and you can use bleach and strong cleaners on a glazed ceramic floor with no risk of long term damage.

Bathroom tiles

In bathrooms tiles are clean and hygienic on walls and floors. We all know how careless children and some grown ups can be about water in the bathroom. With ceramic tiles you no longer need to worry; whether it’s from little drips or big drips liquids can just be wiped up. Why not turn your bathroom into a wet room or add a walk in shower. There are kits available for tanking (waterproofing) the walls and floors so that the water stays in the bathroom. With the latest adhesive technology, you can tile on suspended wooden floors so give that bathroom a face lift; and while you are doing that why not treat yourself to a bit of extra luxury and have undertile heating installed? You’ll get the bonus of extra wall space where radiators are no longer needed. The systems are so thin they are easy to install and relatively inexpensive.

Under floor Tile heating

Underfloor heating could be the solution for you. As well as an absolute treat for you feet during the cold winter mornings, it’s a great space-saver as well as an energy-efficient way to warm up your household. Heat-up time depends on the thickness of the tiles. Thick flagstones will take longer to reach optimum temperature, but once this is reached there’s no difference in heat quality between thick or thinner floor surfaces.

Floor Tiles

Ceramic, quarry and natural stone tiles such as porcelain, marble, granite and travertine, make an attractive floor covering in kitchens, bathrooms, hallways, living rooms or conservatories, and they are easy to care for and hardwearing.
Laying the foundation is your first port of call. What is your original floor made of? Plywood is good but needs to be thicker enough not allow the tiles to buckle under weight. We can give you advise how to prepare your flooring before we lay floor tiles.
With Porcelain tiles you need to use a flexi adhesive and a flexi grout. and the tiles need to be sealed to protect from spillages.
Natural tiles such as marble, granite, travertine, slate or limestone require special care. These tiles normally require ceiling twice to protect from unwanted staines and ageing. Natural tiles need to be fitted with a flexi adhesive and a flexi grout. If you choose a limestone tile a white adhesive must be applied to ensure that the adhesive does not show through the tile. A grey adhesive should be used for slate tiles and dark floor tiles.

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