Once you start trying to touch bits up you'll need to bite the bullet and repaint the whole room. Is this to get through the check when you move out of a rented property or part of trying to sell a property?
Errr do it yourself? Whack on something neutral like white and freshen the whole place up. Touching up never looks good, you need to paint whole walls.
You could try washing the walls with some soapy water. That might freshen it up a bit without having to paint. That's what we did in our student house and it looked a bit better. The bar wasn't all that high though.
To some extent I think decorating before a sale is a bit pointless. A sensible buyer will want to put their own mark on the place and will appreciate that it's going to pick up more scuffs and marks by the time one family has moved out and another has moved in. Yes it's nice if the place in decent enough condition to live in without immediately doing work but I wouldn't really go beyond that.
Sails is right except for if a place is likely to be sold as a btl, because no redeco costs/time spent can make a massive difference to a buyer (which gives you more leverage etc in the sale price)
Sails - local interior decorator / person who stages for sale professionally has just sold their place. Despite it being at least £750k over priced by any measure of sanity, it's gone under offer pretty much instantly to some fool who doesn't realise that the fancy wallpaper will have marks on it when the fancy furniture is removed and that without the fancy furniture and artfully arranged knick knacks and shitart, it's a very, very ordinary box of a house. Good for them though - shows how people don't see the wood for the trees / like the idea of buying a lifestyle.
Escaped any property goes under offer instantly at the moment as buyers registering with estate agents are up 15% but sellers registering are down by a similar amount…
I’ve seen a battered 60’s place in suburban London get 13 sealed bids in 48 hours and go for well over asking.
Patching and painting walls is easy - you can teach yourself to do it on line. It is time consuming though. I did my house once and used to allow one long uninterrupted day per room to do a double coat (not including ceilings).
Why would you touch up paintwork when repainting the room would only take a day? In any event, just tidy the house and put away your ugly "art" etc. and be out when people view the house.
Touching up doesn't work. Just repaint the rooms that are really bad - for the ones that just have a couple of minor scuffs those magic erasers work a treat
Not sure any trade has seen their business go through the floor. They are all coining it at the mo claiming material costs as a basis for the entire bill going up 20%!
Yes Ebit and that was an apprentice. The majority of my blokes though were around £20 an hour and a shade more for someone like a plumber with decades of experience. I’d pay an experienced decorator £200 a day. You were the one complaining of having to pay a plumber multiples of that.
You were complain some trade ripping you off as that's why I pointed out they did indeed seem to be rather expensive compared to what I was paying at the time. Hot water tanks and stuff are regulated but bog standard sticking some pipes together from supply to tap is not particularly regulated and not hard.
But the real skill is working out how to get from the mains water inlet to a bathroom at the other end of the building without any exposed pipework.
There are lots of bits of plumbing you can do without needing building regs or similar. Think you're assuming that all plumbers also do gas boilers and the like which is not the case. Swimming pools are quite plumbing intensive and yet I only needed building regs approval for the hot water cylinder for the changing room shower and the electrics.
Declutter and remove anything personal if you have lots of photos/pictures. A few small ones are fine, but declutter and make it neutral. Re-paint if you can, but you probably need to leave it 2-3 months if you can, otherwise it's obvious it's been repainted. I'd be suspicious of anything with brand new paint as it smacks (even if it's not what you're doing) of someone having patched up some repairs, particularly damp and then slapped some new paint on to cover it.
Go neutral, but a colour, not white. White is colder and you get grey shadows - a neutral/warm white blend is best. Always repaint the ceilings with a good white paint - you won't believe how much lighter a room will be/how grubby the ceilings are until you've repainted. Use matt, or soft sheen, not silk - it's surprising what a difference it makes. Use dulux - cheaper paints are crap - more expensive are either crap, or a waste of money, or both. Use the same/similar colour schemes through the house as it makes it look bigger. Don't do feature walls. A coloured (but light/neutral colour) satin on wood work, rather than plain white gloss can look a lot better.
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Once you start trying to touch bits up you'll need to bite the bullet and repaint the whole room. Is this to get through the check when you move out of a rented property or part of trying to sell a property?
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Errr do it yourself? Whack on something neutral like white and freshen the whole place up. Touching up never looks good, you need to paint whole walls.
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You could try washing the walls with some soapy water. That might freshen it up a bit without having to paint. That's what we did in our student house and it looked a bit better. The bar wasn't all that high though.
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set a fire, then the insurance will pay for a full renovation*.
* please check re legality first - in some jurisdictions this may be frowned-upon and/or a crime.
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Thanks all
It's to sell to make it look nice and fresh for viewings. It was last done with Annie Sloame paints and a team of 4 about 5 years ago.
A year of everyone living at home on top of usual wear and tear has taken a a huge toll though...
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Do NOT attempt to wash walls. It will look far worse.
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Declutter
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To some extent I think decorating before a sale is a bit pointless. A sensible buyer will want to put their own mark on the place and will appreciate that it's going to pick up more scuffs and marks by the time one family has moved out and another has moved in. Yes it's nice if the place in decent enough condition to live in without immediately doing work but I wouldn't really go beyond that.
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Sails is right except for if a place is likely to be sold as a btl, because no redeco costs/time spent can make a massive difference to a buyer (which gives you more leverage etc in the sale price)
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Sand back the worst bits and repaint in neutral colour(s). But better still get someone else to do it.
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Sorry FAOD then repaint all of it, not just the worst bits
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Sails - local interior decorator / person who stages for sale professionally has just sold their place. Despite it being at least £750k over priced by any measure of sanity, it's gone under offer pretty much instantly to some fool who doesn't realise that the fancy wallpaper will have marks on it when the fancy furniture is removed and that without the fancy furniture and artfully arranged knick knacks and shitart, it's a very, very ordinary box of a house. Good for them though - shows how people don't see the wood for the trees / like the idea of buying a lifestyle.
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Escaped any property goes under offer instantly at the moment as buyers registering with estate agents are up 15% but sellers registering are down by a similar amount…
I’ve seen a battered 60’s place in suburban London get 13 sealed bids in 48 hours and go for well over asking.
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Patching and painting walls is easy - you can teach yourself to do it on line. It is time consuming though. I did my house once and used to allow one long uninterrupted day per room to do a double coat (not including ceilings).
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Employ a painter and decorator for 150 quid a day , simples !
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£150 a day? You can’t employ an unskilled labourer for that.
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Employ a painter and decorator for 150 quid a day , simples !
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Sails you said previously u had a tradesman charging u 12 quid an hour who had PI insurance, remember?
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I’ll look for your post tomorrow
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Rent a storage unit and move 70% of your shit out to make it look massive. Repaint only if it looks mouldy, wet or rundown. Clean it ffs.
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Why would you touch up paintwork when repainting the room would only take a day? In any event, just tidy the house and put away your ugly "art" etc. and be out when people view the house.
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Touching up doesn't work. Just repaint the rooms that are really bad - for the ones that just have a couple of minor scuffs those magic erasers work a treat
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Stop being such a tight arse and pay some poor soul who's seen his business go through the floor to do it for you.
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*or her
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Not sure any trade has seen their business go through the floor. They are all coining it at the mo claiming material costs as a basis for the entire bill going up 20%!
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Yes Ebit and that was an apprentice. The majority of my blokes though were around £20 an hour and a shade more for someone like a plumber with decades of experience. I’d pay an experienced decorator £200 a day. You were the one complaining of having to pay a plumber multiples of that.
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a coat of neutral paint in all rooms
declutter - literally throw stuff away
trim the garden - if you have it.
Take pics on a sunny day.
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I never complain about plumbers rates. It’s highly skilled and regulated trade, and it’s not something you can do yourself.
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You were complain some trade ripping you off as that's why I pointed out they did indeed seem to be rather expensive compared to what I was paying at the time. Hot water tanks and stuff are regulated but bog standard sticking some pipes together from supply to tap is not particularly regulated and not hard.
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All of the plumbing industry is regulated whether doing a simple job like you described or something much more complex, it doesn’t matter.
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Once you've discovered PTFE tape the world of plumbing is your oyster.
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But the real skill is working out how to get from the mains water inlet to a bathroom at the other end of the building without any exposed pipework.
There are lots of bits of plumbing you can do without needing building regs or similar. Think you're assuming that all plumbers also do gas boilers and the like which is not the case. Swimming pools are quite plumbing intensive and yet I only needed building regs approval for the hot water cylinder for the changing room shower and the electrics.
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Declutter and remove anything personal if you have lots of photos/pictures. A few small ones are fine, but declutter and make it neutral. Re-paint if you can, but you probably need to leave it 2-3 months if you can, otherwise it's obvious it's been repainted. I'd be suspicious of anything with brand new paint as it smacks (even if it's not what you're doing) of someone having patched up some repairs, particularly damp and then slapped some new paint on to cover it.
Go neutral, but a colour, not white. White is colder and you get grey shadows - a neutral/warm white blend is best. Always repaint the ceilings with a good white paint - you won't believe how much lighter a room will be/how grubby the ceilings are until you've repainted. Use matt, or soft sheen, not silk - it's surprising what a difference it makes. Use dulux - cheaper paints are crap - more expensive are either crap, or a waste of money, or both. Use the same/similar colour schemes through the house as it makes it look bigger. Don't do feature walls. A coloured (but light/neutral colour) satin on wood work, rather than plain white gloss can look a lot better.
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Thanks.
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