PAINTING and DECORATING SERVICES in LONDON

A: It depends on the size of the room, the amount of preparation work required before painting, which elements need painting – only walls and ceiling or the woodwork too and how many coats of paint. In general painting walls and ceiling with 2 coats of emulsion paint and minor making good works of a medium-sized room with standard height will take around a day for one of our professional painters London.

A: Every painting project is different when it comes to duration and depends on the scope of the works being done, the size of the property, the current weather conditions, etc. Upon request, we will provide in advance an approximate completion time frame per the specifics of your job. When our team of London professional painters arrive on site, we will be able to give a more precise duration for the completion of the works required.

A: It is recommended to wait around 24 hours for the emulsion or water-based paint to dry and the fumes to go out of the room before sleeping in. In most cases, particularly with zero or low VOC paints, you can sleep in a freshly painted room the same night – especially if safe paint was used, the painting was started earlier in the day and the area was ventilated well. Should any remaining smell make you feel dizzy or lightheaded leave the room immediately.

A: This depends on the type of paint used – some paints dry quickly, which reduces exposure to VOCs, but others need a lot of time to dry off. The type of paint will determine how much paint fumes will be released when applied. When the paint has dried and any residual odour is gone, it is safe for a child to sleep in the room. Not waiting long enough for the paint to dry may cause children headache; Irritation of nose, eyes and/or throat; breathing difficulties/coughing, nausea. We recommend using Zero-VOC Paint or Organic Paint for painting a baby room. Always check the labels of the paints you have chosen and ensure that they are safe enough for children.

A: One of the most commonly asked questions is which to paint first – the skirting boards or the walls when you are painting an entire room. There are different opinions but as professional London painters, we would recommend to paint the walls first and then the woodwork. This way we can ensure a good finish between the wall and the skirtings.

A: Good building practice is to start from top to bottom. Our professional London painters also follow this order when painting a room – the ceiling is done first, then the walls and at the end the woodwork. This procedure ensures that there will be no splash or paint marks to the different elements.

A: Different paints have different drying times – it’s always best to check the product specifications and guidelines on the can. Bear in mind that drying also depends on atmospheric conditions and other variables. Generally speaking, for an interior emulsion paint in normal conditions, 2-4 hours between coats should be sufficient. If you are using water-based metal & wood paint at least 6 hours between coats are required, even longer during cold and humid weather. For solvent-based metal & wood paint at least 16-24 hours are needed for the paint to dry.

A: In general, you need to know/calculate the area of the surfaces that are to be painted. Then to check the coverage of the chosen paint per sq. m on the back of the can or the product page. Divide the surface area by the coverage of the product but bear in mind that most surfaces require two coats of paint and on the can the stated coverage rate is for one coat only. If during our survey at the property it is requested for us to deliver the paints for the project, we will calculate how much paint is required and include the cost in our estimate. If you have decided to deliver the paints by yourselves – you can always give us a call for advice.