CAL Painters & Decorators

You may have heard of Red Adair who was famous as an oil well firefighter in the 1960s and ‘70s.

One of his most famous sayings was:

“If you think it’s expensive to hire a professional, wait till you hire an amateur.”

Often I am asked to help with choosing colour schemes for rooms. In my book the customer is always right, although some are more right than others!

Here is a brief guide to what colours suit which rooms best:

• Blue – this is recognised as a calming colour, perhaps promoting intellectual thought. As such it is ideal for a bedroom, bathroom, office or study. It can give a room a cold feel though.

I am always interested to read about home owners reactions to tradesmen such as myself. However, the results of a recent survey by Powered Now (an app used by tradespeople) turned up a category of client that I have so far been fortunate to avoid – rogue customers!

It is a damp, dismal day out there, just the type to get your exterior paintwork peeling!

There can be a number of reasons why your paint is peeling, including environmental problems and living in areas with high humidity and rainfall. The problem is easily identified, however, and equally easily rectified.

So which interior paint finish should you choose for your woodwork - gloss, satin or eggshell?

Each, of course, has its advantages and disadvantages.  Here’s a quick summary:

•    Gloss – this will give you a high sheen that is almost reflective.  It used to be the number one choice because it is incredibly hardwearing.  However, there have been great advances in paint technology in recent years and satin is much improved.  A disadvantage of gloss is that it does tend to highlight any imperfections in the woodwork.