Painting & Decorating
Walls that need more than another coat, a rental that has to be ready for the next tenant, render and woodwork outside that have started to flake. EDDI Construction Ltd takes on interior and exterior painting, wallpapering and feature walls across North West London, for a single room or a whole house. Fully insured, clear on price and straightforward to deal with.
Call +44 7492 350404The paint is the smallest part of a decorating job, in time as well as in cost. What decides whether a finish looks right, and still looks right in a few years, is what happens before the first coat: filling holes, raking out and re-filling the cracks that keep coming back, sanding back flaking and glossy surfaces so the new coat can grip, sealing stains so they do not bleed through, caulking gaps along skirting, and priming bare plaster and timber. We quote preparation as part of the job rather than as an extra. Floors, furniture and fittings are covered before any of it starts, and we clear up at the end of each day.
A lot of the housing across Willesden, Cricklewood, Hendon and Harrow was built before or between the wars, and it decorates differently from a new build. Original lath and plaster ceilings often carry a web of fine cracks, and some areas will have lost their key and sound hollow when tapped. Where the plaster is sound, lining paper hung before painting bridges the cracking and gives a far more even surface. Where it is loose, it has to be made good or re-plastered first, which our own plasterers take on. Old paint needs care too. Homes built before the 1960s may have lead in older layers, particularly on windows, doors, skirting and staircases. Where that is possible we treat it as though it is there: no dry sanding and no burning off, because that spreads lead dust through a house. Sound old paint can often be keyed and overcoated instead, and we talk you through the options first, especially if young children or someone pregnant live in the home.
Paint that bubbles, flakes or comes up in a brown stain is usually telling you about the wall behind it. On older stock round here the common causes are a leaking gutter or downpipe, a bridged damp course, a raised outside ground level, a slow leak from a bathroom above, or condensation in a poorly ventilated kitchen, bathroom or cold bedroom. Painting over any of those buys a few months at most. Before redecorating a damp-affected wall we look for the cause and tell you plainly what we think it is. Where the fix is a leak or blown plaster, our plumbers and plasterers can deal with it in the same programme. Once the source is sorted and the wall has dried, stains are sealed with a stain-blocking primer so they do not ghost back through, and kitchens and bathrooms get a paint made to cope with moisture.
Outside, paint has to cope with rain, frost and sun, and most exterior failures start with what was underneath. Before painting render or masonry we check it for hollow and cracked areas, because paint will not hold a loose render coat together, and water trapped behind a sealed surface does more damage than water that can escape. Once cracks are filled and loose material removed, a breathable masonry paint goes on. On windows, doors, fascias and bargeboards, soft or rotten timber is cut out and repaired rather than painted over, and bare wood is primed before undercoat and topcoat. Where the render or pointing needs work first, our plasterers and bricklayers take it on, so the outside is dealt with in one go. We plan exterior work around dry spells rather than pushing paint onto a damp wall to keep to a date.
Inside, we paint walls, ceilings, woodwork, doors, staircases and radiators. We also hang wallpaper, from plain lining paper to patterned papers matched across every join, and create feature walls. We are happy to advise on finishes: a washable emulsion in hallways and children's rooms, eggshell or satin on woodwork if you prefer a softer look than gloss, and moisture-resistant paint in kitchens and bathrooms. You choose the colours, and we will tell you honestly if a finish is likely to show marks where it is going.
Between tenancies the aim is a property that is clean, fresh and ready to let quickly, in finishes that stand up to the next tenancy and can be touched up later without repainting a whole wall. Because plastering, carpentry, flooring and repairs are all in the same team, the decorating is not held up waiting on somebody else. For homeowners, decorating usually comes at the end of a refurbishment, extension or loft conversion, and we sequence it last so other trades do not damage it. Single rooms are just as welcome. No job is too small, and you get a clear, written quote before anything starts.
Yes. Inside we paint walls, ceilings, woodwork, doors, staircases and radiators and hang wallpaper. Outside we paint masonry, render, windows, doors and fascias, with any repairs underneath done first.
Because the finish depends on it. Filling, sanding, sealing stains and priming stop old cracks reappearing and new paint peeling. It is included in our quote, not added later.
Painting straight over fine cracking in an old lath and plaster ceiling rarely lasts. If the plaster is sound, lining paper under the paint usually gives a lasting finish. Loose areas need making good first, which our plasterers can do.
It is possible in homes built before the 1960s, especially on windows, doors, skirting and stairs. We treat it as though it may be there, so we do not dry sand or burn it off, and we explain the options, including overcoating sound paint, before starting.
Not on its own. Repeated bubbling or staining usually points to damp from a gutter, a leak, a bridged damp course or condensation. We look for the cause first, and once it is fixed and the wall has dried we seal the stain and redecorate.
Yes, from lining paper to patterned papers that need matching at the joins. Patterned paper shows every unevenness in a wall, so we prepare the surface properly first.
Yes. We make good the damage from the last tenancy, fill and redecorate in durable finishes, and because plastering, carpentry and flooring are in-house the property is not left empty waiting on another trade.
Yes. A single bedroom, a hallway, a front door or one feature wall is just as welcome as a whole house. No job is too small.
North West London, including Wembley, Harrow, Brent, Edgware, Kingsbury, Willesden, Cricklewood, Hendon, Stanmore and Colindale.