Painting & Decorating

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Painting & Decorating

DONT ALWAYS ASSUME THAT DOING IT YOURSELF SAVES YOU MONEY. IF YOU MAKE A MESS YOU PAY FOR IT!   

What a painter & Decorator is? 

In GB a painter & Decorator normaly paints walls and celings, Woodwork and anything structural that needs painted. They also Hang wallpaper and fit tiles.

In Norway a painter & Decorator paints and hangs wallpaper,Plasters damaged interior walls and tapes drywalls (Jibbsplater) Over the years this has extended to laying floors and tiles and moving house furniture around. Its also possible to take further education in the same field for those who may wish to give advice on how one should remodel there interior. Many large companies however have at least two employees who do this.
Basicaly they have:
People who secure contracts. These people then contact the painter best suited for these skills aswell as an interior designer if needed.

In America, I have not a clue?. Maybe someone would like to tell me?

A painter can also be an interior designer too although In Norway that is a trade most prefered by women. Most men I know don,t tend to care about curtains and what goes with what. In this business is often best to play safe. ie if a customer asks me to choose the paint. I choose something light like ncs 0502y or s-0502y reasoning for this is if the furniture is not already in the house, Then just about anything fits to light off white colors. I will only choose strong colors if the customer actualy says thats what they prefer, But then I would rather show them a book and they choose.

What does a painter Decorator actualy do? 

This description is probably as acurate as you can get

Interior design is a multi-faceted profession in which creative and technical solutions are applied within a structure to achieve a built interior environment. These solutions are functional, enhance the quality of life and culture of the occupants, and are aesthetically attractive. Designs are created in response to and coordinated with code and regulatory requirements, and encourage the principles of environmental sustainability.

The interior design process follows a systematic and coordinated methodology, including research, analysis and integration of knowledge into the creative process, whereby the needs and resources of the client are satisfied to produce an interior space that fulfills the project goals.http://www.ncidq.org/ Retrieved September 1, 2009.

The work of an interior designer draws upon many disciplines including environmental psychology, architecture, product design, and traditional decoration (aesthetics and cosmetics). They plan the spaces of almost every type of building including: hotels, corporate spaces, schools, hospitals, private residences, shopping malls, restaurants, theaters, and airport terminals. Today, interior designers must be attuned to architectural detailing including floor plans, home renovations, and construction codes. Some interior designers are architects as well.

Customers who thought they had saved money by doing it themselves! 

(Tip: If you make more money than the tradesman, Then don,t do his job)

They decided that it was too expensive to get a company to hang drywall so they did it themselves.

But the drywall was uneven in many places and they used old drywall that was thrown out from other companies. Then they called me!

This is what I normaly do in order:

1) Repair damaged areas including running a knife over loose edges between each drywall plate and then apply quickdry mud.

2) Light sand and apply mud and tape reaply mud totape and remove completely, It dampens evens off and helps the tape to sit beter.

3) Apply a medium mud to everything x2 sometimes 3 if neccesary and sand when dry.

But on this job just about every plate was uneven and Damaged gaps were wide and not trimed. I used a whole day to repair it where it normaly takes between one and two hours and since the walls were uneven I then have to use more mud and spread this much wider than normaly needed. Therfor I use more time and more mud. This customer would have saved money by getting it done properly instead of doing it themselves!

Tip: Ask the tradesman what you yourself could do first to save time and money. Don,t asume that you know better!

Save yourself some cash before calling a profesional 

(this also comes under what a painter is not)

How to save money and time before calling in a profesional:

1) Wash the area that is to be worked on, Ask a freind to help or a company. There price might be less than the painters price?
( Smokers roof ie a room where people have been smoking in is one of the toughest places to paint. Washing a room like this takes time but has to be done. In some cases it can be as costly as the job itself)

2) Move furniture or get help to do so. If you cannot move the furniture out of the room then place it in the middle. But remember, Akwardness takes time. Time is money.

3) remove outer covers on electrical apliances like smoke alarms and wall switches ect. (Don,t touch the inside areas as this is ilegal and may cause a nasty shock. for some this could be fatal so be warned)

Basicaly if you choose to be out and a company arives to find you have done nothing, Then they will add it as aditional time. They will add time for removing that which they can move and also for having to work round that which they cannot move. They will add time for replacing furniture and fitments too. If this causes a problem with other jobs that they have, Then they may come and go more often and charge more for driving?

Conclusion: If you are not taking care of things yourself, Then make sure it stands in your contract that the company is doing more than just painting!

Drywalling/Amestaper 

Drywall is the term used for a common method of constructing interior walls and ceilings using panels made of gypsum plaster pressed between two thick sheets of paper, then kiln dried. Drywall construction is used globally for the finish construction of interior walls and ceilings. Drywall construction became prevalent as a speedier alternative to traditional plaster interior finish techniques, which involved hand-placing base, scratch and finish coats in successive layers by hand. (See also, the history of Homasote, a dry applied wall or ceiling board finish system.) Drywall, by contrast, required hand finishing only at the fasteners and joints. The new process required less labor and drying time, lending its name to the panels used in the assembly.

Panels installed may be known as gypsum board, wallboard, plasterboard (USA, UK, Ireland, Spain, Australia), Gibraltar board or GIB wall and ceiling linings (in New Zealand trademark of Winstone Wallboards), rock lathRepairing Historic Flat Plaster Walls and Ceilings By The Old House Web, Sheetrock (a trademark of USG Corporation), rigips (Germany and Central Europe, after the Rigips brand), alç?pan in Turkey, and placoplatre (France).

My skills: 

I am educated in GB and Norway as a painter/Decorator.
Skills:
painting houses and offices inside and out
Wallpapering and carpet hanging
Rehabilitation of museums
Repairing Drywall and aimstaping
Plastering (Inside)
In adition:
I have further education and years of experience in Painting signs,Cartoons, Special painting methods ect for customers who want to have something different!

As a painter we tend to learn other skills along the way, Therfor I have studied building maintenance and have experience in many other area,s within the building trade. With so many new building materials in the market today this kind of knowldge does give me advantages!

Handy stuff 

The masking tape on this list is excelent. It stays on longer and comes off easy. Will save you a nightmare if you have ever had problems removing tape, Then you will know what I mean :-)

Reader Feedback 

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  • Reply
    Sep 28, 2008 @ 10:54 pm
    Hi,
    The lens has given a good description and difference between
    a painter and a decorator and I found lots of useful information over here.
    Feel free to checkout my blog
    http://drywalltracker.com/
  • Reply
    Sep 16, 2008 @ 11:49 pm
    Hi,
    Nice lens to come across and I found so much of useful information over here.
    Feel free to checkout my thefauxpaintingsource blog
  • Reply
    Pampaws Pampaws Jun 26, 2008 @ 4:25 pm
    As a painter in the U.S., I can assure you they are not the same as a decorator, 2 entirely diffenernt fields. I apply plaster, paint faux finishes and murals, decorators here add curtains, furniture, etc...
  • Reply
    Saddle Saddle May 26, 2008 @ 8:22 am
    Nice lens. I used to hang sheetrock, and I can say that my favorite part was looking at the rooms, after they had been painted and see the look and colors come together.

    Welcome to visit my lens, Kick Up Your Truck. Nice lens, thanks for putting it up. Hot Home Decor

by AMK2

Profesional painter/ Decorator since 1990. Ames taper since 1994 and glorified handyman with papers since 2005 (more)

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