Painter & decorator for Histon & Impington homes
If you're looking for a painter & decorator in Histon & Impington, we're about four miles up the road in Landbeach. Graham visits every job himself before anything is priced, so the person writing your quotation has stood in the room and looked at the walls.
The two villages have grown into one another over the years, with the guided busway running through, and the housing is a real mix. The older streets have Victorian and early twentieth-century houses with picture rails, original fireplaces and plaster that has been patched more than once. Further out there are mid-century semis and more recent estates. Each calls for a slightly different approach, and most of the difference is in the preparation.
Two Victorian bedrooms we decorated in Histon
One of our featured projects is in Histon: two bedrooms in a Victorian house that still had its original sand and stone plaster. Old plaster like that is soft in places and uneven in others, so Andrew spent a long time on preparation before any colour went on. Walls were stripped and lined with lining paper where the surface needed it. Picture rails, cupboard doors, door frames and skirtings were made good, primed, undercoated and finished in white.
The front bedroom ceiling went navy, with two coats of Dulux Sapphire Salute, and the walls in both rooms were finished in Khaki Mist. The middle bedroom kept a white ceiling and the fireplace was painted black. Partway through, one of the chosen colours didn't look the way the owners had pictured it. Graham brought over a large colour chart and Andrew painted tester pots in several spots so they could judge it in different light.
The owners, L and J, wrote afterwards that "a navy blue ceiling is not what most projects would have, and Graham and Andrew took on the challenge admirably." The full room-by-room specification is in the Histon bedrooms case study.
Inside older houses in the two villages
Period houses tend to need more filling, more stain-blocking and more patience than newer ones. We use Zinsser primers over water marks and old stains, lining paper over walls that won't take paint cleanly, and Mirka dust-free sanders so the rest of the house isn't coated in fine powder. Our interior painting and decorating covers walls, ceilings, glossing and varnishing.
Where plaster has blown or a ceiling is cracked beyond filling, our plasterer can skim walls and ceilings before we start, and we follow with a mist coat so any imperfections show early. Original sash windows are worth keeping, and we offer sash window restoration alongside the decorating.
Wallpaper suits these houses well, especially in halls and bedrooms with picture rails. Simon, our wallpaper specialist, hangs heritage and designer papers, and will put up lining paper first where an old wall is too uneven to take a pattern cleanly.
Outside: walls, fascias and garden timber
For exterior house painting we begin with a survey for cracked render, loose pointing or rotten timber, then wash down with an anti-fungal treatment before any paint goes on. Soffits and fascias are easy to forget until they start to peel, and they need regular attention to keep water out of the roof edge.
Fences, gates and sheds can be done at the same time. Where timber has gone grey and you'd like to see the grain again, we can sand it back and stain or varnish the woodwork instead of covering it with paint. The same goes for internal staircases and doors.
How a visit and quote work in Histon & Impington
Ring Graham on 07854 408573 or send a WhatsApp message. He'll arrange a time that suits you to come and look at the work. Have any paint cards, wallpaper samples or saved photos to hand; it's much easier to talk colours through in the room itself. If you plan to supply your own paint, mention the brand and colour so Graham can check quantities.
You'll then receive a written quotation, usually by email, with each cost set out. We stick to it. If something unexpected turns up once the old paper is off, Graham explains it and agrees any extra with you before the team carries on.
On the day, our decorators need somewhere to park a van and unload dust sheets and steps. Tell us if parking is tight outside your house or access is through a side gate, and we'll plan around it. We tidy at the end of every day and walk round the finished job with you. You don't pay until you're happy with the work.
