Owners' schemes and rental refreshes
For owners, the conversation usually starts with colour. Tester pots go on in a few places around the room so you can see each shade against your floor and in changing light, and we work with Farrow & Ball, Little Greene, Dulux and Tikkurila.
Landlords letting privately usually ask for fixings filled, marks sealed with Zinsser and an emulsion tough enough to be wiped and patched between lets. Our page on landlord decorating covers turnarounds in more detail.
Houses, listed rooms and preparation
Flats are only about one home in twenty here, so most jobs are in houses, and a third of homes have four or more bedrooms. Where a house is one of the parish's 32 listed buildings, the walls may be lime plaster that needs a breathable paint rather than a standard vinyl emulsion.
Most of a job's time goes on preparation: filling, sanding with Mirka dust-free sanders, and lining paper where walls are cracked. See our period and listed property decorating page for older rooms.
Fen Ditton at a glance
- 5 milesby road from our Landbeach base, about 8 minutesOSRM routing
- 370householdsCensus 2021
- 64%of homes are owner-occupiedCensus 2021
- 19%of homes are privately rentedCensus 2021
- 5%are flatsCensus 2021
How we approach interior decorating
Furniture is moved to the middle of each Fen Ditton room and covered, and floors are sheeted. Cracks and fixings are filled, marks stain-blocked and bare timber primed. On soft or uneven walls we line before painting. Ceilings come first, then two coats on the walls, then woodwork in gloss, satin or eggshell, with a tidy-up at the end of each day. The full method, products and FAQs are on our interior decorating page.