The way round that is preparation and tidiness — which is most of what separates a good interior job from a cheap one.
The problems this usually solves
- Walls that have been touched up so many times the patches show through in daylight
- Hairline cracks opening up where blockwork meets beams — normal in Spanish construction, and easily dealt with
- Yellowed woodwork and doors that were gloss-painted years ago and have gone brittle
- Kitchen and bathroom walls where condensation has left marks the cleaning won't shift
- A colour that looked right on the chart and wrong on the wall
What's included
- Protection first. Floors covered, furniture moved and sheeted, sockets and switches masked.
- Filling and sanding. Cracks raked out and filled properly, nail holes made good, previous patches flattened back so they don't ghost through.
- Sealing where it's needed. New plaster, filler and any bare patches sealed before the finish coats, otherwise you get a patchy sheen.
- Cutting in by hand. No masking-tape shortcut round ceilings and skirting — a hand-cut line is straighter and doesn't peel edges off.
- Two full finish coats as standard, more where a strong colour is going over a pale one.
- Woodwork and doors rubbed down, primed where bare, and finished in your choice of satin or eggshell.
- Clearing up. Everything back where it was, waste taken away, floors left clean.
Preparation, in order
- Rooms cleared or furniture centred and sheeted
- Cracks and holes raked, filled, left to dry properly, then sanded flat
- Any damp or staining identified and sealed with a stain block — covering it with emulsion never works
- Bare and filled areas sealed
- Ceilings first, then walls, then woodwork last
Which finish?
- Matt — the default for walls and ceilings. Hides imperfection best, which matters on older Spanish plaster.
- Satin / eggshell — for woodwork, doors and frames. Wipeable, and much less brittle than old-fashioned gloss.
- Washable matt or satin emulsion — for kitchens, bathrooms, hallways and anywhere with children.
More on this in our guide to matt, satin or eggshell.
Suits
Villas · apartments · townhouses and quads · bungalows · holiday homes and rentals · properties being prepared for sale
“Phil painted the inside of my house last week. He is a painter who takes real pride in his work, pays attention to detail and provides good value for money.”
FAQs
Can we stay in the property while you work?
Usually yes. Work runs room by room so you always have somewhere to be, and everything gets put back at the end of each day.
Do we need to move the furniture ourselves?
No. We'll move and sheet it. If there's anything fragile or valuable it's worth putting it away yourself beforehand, but the heavy lifting is ours.
How long before we can use the room?
Water-based emulsion is touch-dry in a couple of hours and fine to live with the same evening. Satin on woodwork wants a day before anything gets pushed up against it.
Can you match a colour we already have?
Usually. Bring the old tin or a chip of the wall and it can be matched at the merchants. If the wall has faded, an exact match to the original tin will look wrong — worth discussing on the visit.
Do you paint ceilings as well?
Yes, and they're included unless you specifically say otherwise. Ceilings show sunlight badly and are almost always worth doing at the same time.