Painter and decorator for Great Shelford's period and family homes
Great Shelford is a large village a few miles south of Cambridge, about 10 miles from us, with its own railway station and a good range of local shops. Its houses run from older cottages and substantial Victorian and Edwardian properties to interwar and more recent family homes.
As a painter and decorator for Great Shelford, we work from our base at Banworth House in Landbeach; there's no branch in the village. Graham visits every job, prices it himself, and our own decorators carry it out.
High ceilings, tall stairwells and good joinery
Bigger, older houses bring their own work. Ceilings are higher, stairwells are taller and need proper access equipment, and there's usually a lot of woodwork: panelled doors, deep skirtings, picture rails and architraves.
Large rooms also change how colour reads. A shade that looks safe on a small chart can feel heavy across a high wall, or wash out completely in a bright south-facing room. Graham brings colour charts to the visit, and we're happy to paint tester pots on more than one wall so you can see them through the day before deciding.
On joinery we fill and sand rather than piling on more paint, and we prime any bare timber before eggshell or satin. Where sashes stick or rattle, our sash and case window restoration deals with the repairs before the painting, so the windows open properly afterwards.
Some older houses still have their original plaster, and it doesn't always behave like modern gypsum. Older solid walls generally do better with a breathable paint, and we'll talk through which finishes suit them. Cracks and blown patches can be put right first through our plasterers.
Wallpaper, which we treat as our speciality
Paper suits a lot of Great Shelford houses, especially halls, dining rooms and bedrooms. Our wallpaper hanging is led by Simon, our specialist, and covers single feature walls through to whole floors.
In one central Cambridge house our master plasterer dealt with the ceilings while the team stripped old paper from the hall, stairs and landing across three levels. Simon then hung a William Morris paper all the way up; see the William Morris staircase. In another room in the same house we protected existing William Morris paper while the ceiling above it was plastered.
Heavy heritage papers need sound, even walls. Where older plaster is uneven, we hang lining paper first so the pattern lies flat and the joins stay tight.
Floors and the outside of the house
Original floorboards often turn up under old carpet. Chris, our wooden floor specialist, can sand, repair and oil them. He sands with belt and edging sanders, fills small gaps with a mix of sawdust and Induro Morrells Mix & Fill, and finishes with a Mirka dust-free sander before oiling.
Outside, our exterior painting covers render, brickwork, windows, doors, soffits and fascias, starting with a survey for anything that needs repairing first.
Work we can show you
We haven't published a project in Great Shelford, so here's the closest comparison. In Histon we decorated two bedrooms in a Victorian house that still had its original sand and stone plaster, which meant a lot of careful preparation. One room has a navy ceiling in Dulux Sapphire Salute.
Part way through, one colour didn't look as the owners expected. In their words: "Graham brought a massive colour chart and Andrew painted tester pots in different places so we could see them in different light."
Arranging your quotation
Phone or WhatsApp Graham on 07854 408573. He'll visit at a time that suits you, look at the rooms, and send a detailed written quotation, usually by email.
Timing depends on how much of the house you want done and on our diary at the time. Graham will give you a realistic start date when he quotes rather than a hopeful one.
Larger houses are often easier to decorate in stages, a few rooms at a time. Graham can price the whole house and split it into phases so you can plan around family life and budget. Most houses in the village have off-road parking; if yours doesn't, let us know at the visit. You don't pay until you're happy with the finished work.
