Can A Self Taught Decorator Turn Pro?

To be useful at DIY, as opposed to just enthusiastic

, a certain temperament is needed. If you are someone who acts in haste, is a little slap-dash or incapable of approaching a task logically, then perhaps self-initiated home improvements are not a good idea. All projects need to be carefully thought-out and executed -even painting the garden fence needs preparatory work.

If you are lucky enough to possess a character that allows you to successfully carryout a little DIY, do not be fooled into thinking you can start to bill others for your services, entry into professional decorating is not so straightforward. A whole new vocabulary needs to be understood if you are to blend in. 'Contract' could refer to the legal sort, or to the quality of materials you are using, (so 'contract' paint is the equivalent of a supermarket 'value' range.) Paint itself is a minefield, with primers, undercoats, matt, gloss, and satin finishes, ad infinitum. Even parts of your house will take on different names; your doors and windows will have 'jambs', as opposed to 'sides.'

The majority of part-time handymen run into difficulties because of a gross underestimation of the level of ground work that is needed. If the entire process of painting a room was taken into account, then the 300-400 charged by an expert seems fairly good value -the fun part of putting on the final coat is a relatively minor part of the overall job.

The professional will have already gone through a series of stages: firstly, ensuring the walls are free from bumps, chips and holes. If rectification is required this may involve plastering and skimming. If the room is already plastered but has some cavities, the plaster must be sealed with PVA prior to filling the holes. Before painting your choice of colour on top of the plaster it must also be primed with thinned matt paint, unless you want an irate customer when the top-coat later flakes off.

This is the detailed know-how required before you have even moved onto the separate skill-set involved in preparing woodwork to paint. Here you may have to enter the world of power tool purchase -manual sanding would not be very time effective. This could again reveal your novice status if you don't know the difference between palm sanders and orbital sanders, those with a vibrating plate and those with a spinning disc. Take a quick look in your tool cupboard -are your electric tools green or blue, green denotes definite novice standing, indicating you are not yet ready to graduate to professional work!

by: Jemma Painter

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