CRF Services Ltd

Painting and decorating inside your home

Painting and decorating is the part of a room everyone sees, and the finish depends far more on the preparation than on the paint. CRF Services Ltd carries out interior painting of walls, ceilings, doors, frames and skirting in Rochester and across Medway. External painting is not part of this service. The work is often booked on its own, and often at the end of other jobs in the room, so the decorating is the last thing to happen.

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What interior decorating covers

Most decorating jobs are a mix of emulsion on walls and ceilings and a harder wearing finish on woodwork. Ceilings are usually painted first, then walls, then the woodwork last, so any drips on the skirting are covered by the final coat. Doors are taken off their ironmongery where possible rather than painted around.

Ceilings, including stains left after a leak once it is fixed
Walls in emulsion, with cutting in at corners and ceilings
Doors, frames, skirting and architrave in satin or gloss
Window boards and internal sills
Stairwells and landings where they can be reached safely

Preparation decides the finish

Fresh paint shows every crack, nail hole and patch of flaking paint underneath it. Before painting starts, loose material is scraped off, holes and cracks are filled and sanded, and gaps between woodwork and walls are filled with decorator's caulk. Glossy woodwork is keyed with abrasive so the new coat grips. Where there is damaged plaster or a hole too big to fill, it is repaired first, as covered on the plasterboard and ceiling repairs page.

New plaster needs a thinned mist coat so the paint soaks in rather than peeling. Old water stains need a stain blocking primer, or they come straight back through the emulsion. Furniture is moved to the centre of the room and covered, and floors are protected with dust sheets.

Painting bathrooms and kitchens

Bathrooms and kitchens get steam that settles on cold walls and ceilings. A paint made for humid rooms resists moisture and mould better than standard emulsion, and on a bathroom ceiling, where steam collects first, it is the sensible choice. That said, no paint fixes a room without enough ventilation; if mould keeps returning, a working extractor fan matters more than the paint.

Some people ask whether a worn shower tray can be painted. Kits do exist, but the coating sits on a surface that is soaked and walked on every day, so it tends to wear or peel. Where a tray is cracked or badly stained, a shower tray replacement is the lasting answer.

Woodwork, skirting and doors

Woodwork takes more knocks than walls, so it gets a tougher finish. Water based satin dries quickly and stays white; oil based gloss is very hard wearing but slower to dry. If skirting or architrave is split, badly fitted or missing, it is better replaced before it is painted, which is covered on the skirting and architrave page.

What affects the price of decorating

The size of the room is only part of it. The amount of preparation, the number of coats needed to cover a strong colour, the height of the ceilings, how much woodwork there is and whether the room is empty or full of furniture all change the time involved. A dark colour going to white usually needs an extra coat. Every decorating job is quoted in writing from photos or a visit.

Booking a painter and decorator near you

Send photos of each room, the colours you have in mind and your postcode through the contact page. Decorating is part of the house interiors service, so it can be combined with flooring, trim and small repairs in the same booking.

What decides the price of decorating a room is set out in the room painting cost guide.

This work is part of our House Interiors service.

Common questions