Bathroom decorating in Cambridge: what's involved
Our decorators paint bathroom ceilings, walls, woodwork and boxing-in, treat mould before redecorating, and work neatly round tiles, the bath and the basin. It's a small room, but it asks more of the paint than most: steam every morning, condensation on the ceiling, splashes round the sink. Bathroom decorating sits within our wider interior decorating service, and Graham visits to look at the ceiling and the extractor before quoting.
Painting a bathroom ceiling
Bathroom ceiling painting is usually what prompts the call, because the old paint is flaking or spotted black. Warm, wet air rises and condenses on the coldest surface, which is often the ceiling, particularly under a cold loft or along an outside wall.
Flaking paint is scraped back to a firm edge and sanded smooth, and bare patches are primed, since new paint over a chalky or loose surface won't hold. Brown marks from an old leak upstairs or a shower tray are sealed with a Zinsser stain block. Then two coats of a moisture-resistant emulsion go on. If the plaster itself is cracked or coming away, ceiling skimming may be the better fix before decorating.
Textured ceilings need care. According to HSE, Artex and similar coatings in buildings built or refurbished before 2000 may contain asbestos, so get a sample tested before any sanding, scraping or drilling; removal, if needed, is a specialist's job.
Mould: kill it, seal it, then repaint
Black mould on a ceiling or in the corners above the shower means moisture is sitting on the surface for too long. Painting over it only hides it; the mould soon grows back through the new coat.
The usual approach is to treat it with a fungicidal wash, let it dry, seal the area and repaint in a paint made for humid rooms, many of which contain a mould inhibitor. A landlord's Houzz review describes one of our jobs: "To remove bad mould from a bathroom ceiling and wall tops in our rental property. After removal, seal with mould sealer and re-decorate affected areas." They added that it was "still perfect after 18 months". If you let property, our decorating for landlords page covers working between tenants.
Paint does not fix a ventilation problem
If a bathroom has no extractor fan, a fan that barely pulls air, or one that switches off the moment the light does, mould will come back however good the paint is. Anti-mould and bathroom paints slow it down. They can't remove the moisture that causes it.
At the visit Graham will look at the fan and window, and if the mould points to a ventilation or damp problem rather than a decorating one, we'll tell you. A quick check: hold a sheet of toilet paper to the fan grille while it runs, and it should be drawn against it. Running the fan after showers and opening a window help too. Fitting or upgrading a fan is an electrician's job, and the decorating is best done once that's sorted.
Choosing paint for a bathroom
For walls and ceilings, a bathroom or kitchen-and-bathroom emulsion is the standard choice: it has a soft sheen, resists condensation and can be wiped. Flat, chalky paints look lovely in a dry room but mark and absorb moisture in a busy family bathroom, so we'd usually steer you away from them over the bath or shower. The door, frame, skirting and boxing-in go in satin or eggshell.
Colour works here as well as anywhere else. A Checkatrade customer in CB5 mentioned help with choosing their bathroom colour and "Ensuring the right paint (for a bathroom environment) was used". In the Fulbourn telephone exchange conversion, plain white walls keep a compact bathroom light.
Working round the only bathroom
Most homes have one bathroom, and nobody can manage without it for long. As far as the job allows, we plan the work so the room is usable each evening, with the toilet and basin uncovered, the floor clear and tools out of the way. Painting is done in the day so it has as long as possible to dry before the evening's baths and showers.
Fresh emulsion dries to the touch quickly but takes longer to cure, and heavy steam too soon can leave sticky streaks or brownish drips running down the wall (known as surfactant leaching). The tin gives the manufacturer's drying times, and we'll tell you when it's fine to shower normally. Keeping the window open in the meantime helps.
What affects the cost of bathroom painting
Small rooms can still take a surprising amount of preparation. The quotation depends on:
- How much mould there is and how far it has spread
- Flaking or peeling ceiling paint to scrape back
- Stains from old leaks that need sealing
- The amount of cutting-in round tiles, the bath and fittings
- Boxing-in, pipework and radiators to paint
- Ceiling height, including sloping loft en-suites
- Paint type, as bathroom paints cost more than standard emulsion
Booking your bathroom redecoration
Get in touch by phone or WhatsApp and Belinda will arrange Graham's visit. Photos of the ceiling and any mould are useful beforehand. The quotation follows in writing, usually by email, and Belinda agrees dates that suit your household.
We decorate bathrooms across Cambridge and nearby villages such as Grantchester and Great Shelford. At the end we check the room with you, and you don't pay until you're happy with the finished work.
