Painting Finished!

Paul the painter, came back to finish off the work for PD, which was to finish the final coat of gloss for the stairwell and to do a private job for us, which was to prepare and paint the skirting boards.

In the end, it only took him two days. The first day was spend sealing all of the gaps between the skirting boards and the wall, as well as plugging all of the nail holes. The second day they did all of the painting. We were asked to leave the house alone for 24-48 hours to let the clear on the stairwell cure properly.

It was hard to wait! But wait we did.

The finished stairwell.

The finished result.

Skirting Boards Attached: The Next Step (Painting)

This morning we met up with Paul, the painter, to discuss the next step and to agree upon a price.

In discussing the process, I had my previously unanswered question answered. Why do they not pre-paint the boards and cut to size and simply touch up? The answer lies in the process needed, and in the properties of the gloss paint itself.

The process is:

1. Seal all of the gaps.
2. Plug and fill the nail holes.
3. Sand it back.
4. Tape and mask the floor/walls.
5. Two coats of undercoat and a top coat of gloss.

The gloss paint is very liquid and runny (whereas the matt paints are not so much - you'll really see this when you get a skin forming on gloss paint) so it makes it very difficult to paint. Also, unless the gloss has fully dried (>24 hours) it can make touch ups or repairs even worse.

No wall is ever straight so there will inevitably be gaps between the wall and the skirting board against it. These gaps need to be filled, as do the nail holes.

So, don't be too shocked at the gaps below (I was initially, but hopefully they now make sense to you).

I'm impressed how they managed to follow the wall.

It is not a small job. Three guys for about three days work. When the gloss goes on, the house needs to be still (so as not to raise dust) for 24 hours.

Now for the bad news. He can't start for about two weeks. Not all bad though, it gives us time to do other things, like fences, driveways, and oh, yes, that's right, PACK!

Skirting Boards Attached!

The fix up carpenter was met by me at 7am at the house to let him and discuss what was needed to be done. I also gave him a slab of beer that I'd neglected to do previously.

I was wondering just how much and where the 135mm skirts would go. It turns out that they were planned for the columns and perhaps some of the entrance.

He thought that it would take Friday and Monday to do. We were going to check on them later in the day to see their progress.

When we arrived in the afternoon, they had been rather busy; they had completed sizing all of the pieces, had put them all in their place and had just started nailing them in.

They'd even run it in under the stairwell where the flooring was! Call me a fan of old-school professionalism.

Tomorrow, we meet up with the painter, Paul, to agree on a cost for him to paint the skirts.