Why is preparation so important?
Are you worried about cracks in the walls or ceilings in your home?
Question: Is it normal for a house to have cracks?
Answer: Cracks on the ceilings, walls, or woodwork are very common in most homes both old and new. This is known as settlement and is normally caused by new materials drying out or variations in humidity on older properties.
We are happy to discuss cracks and how to prepare them in any room and will do this as we look around your home.
Preparation
Key elements:
Ensuring the work areas are protected and kept clean
Preparing the walls and ceilings ahead of decoration
As the saying goes, ‘If you Fail to Plan, you are Planning to Fail’ and hence it is so important that the preparation is thorough and the right procedure is carried out.
As professional decorators, Infinity Home Solutions do the following:
Floor areas are covered, including all walk throughs to the room to be decorated. Using Plastic adhesive floor covers and dust sheets
Furniture is covered
Working on a skirting board or picture rail, tuck masking tape around the edge of the carpet or flooring.
Stripped wallpaper and waste is packed into rubble sacks and legally disposed of
All ceiling, walls and woodwork surfaces are prepared using a Mirka sander with a powerful dust extractor. This prevents any dust circulating in the air.
Clear up at the end of each day
Wall Preparation - internal
Newly Plastered surfaces
Primer/ undercoat, or a mist coat is always applied
Not to Prime, the surface will mean the plaster will soak up any paint like a sponge, leading to unnecessary waste and excess use of paint. Paint will bubble and not adhere to the surface correctly
Allow sufficient drying time
Preparing old surfaces
Sugar soap to clean the gaps and clear away dust
Filling of holes or cracks with a proprietary filler to smooth the surface
Once dried use fine sandpaper to rub and smooth down
Hoover and wipe down any excess dust ready to receive redecoration
Wallpapered Surfaces
Scoring the wallpaper and soaking the walls for easy removal
Clear the walls of old glue
Steamers can be used on certain surfaces, however not advised on plasterboard
Final clean down to clear residues with Sugar soap, leaving walls to fully dry out
Woodwork
With old paintwork, strip or sand down and clean with sugar soap
Repair any holes or cracks with proprietary wood filler
We are also trained in the use of the Repair Care dry flex filler system to repair large defective woodwork or metal work
If working with new wood apply several light coats of knotting solution or Zinsser BIN Shellac- Based Primer
Sand and rub down
Apply primer/undercoat ready for the topcoat
Stage 1
Stage 2
Stage 3
Ceilings
Ceilings can be trickier compared to other surfaces in the home
A process needs to be followed similar to the preparation of other surfaces with the extra consideration if the following applies:
Treat water stains or distemper with stain blockers appropriate for the problem
Remove loose plaster caused by water pipe leakage and preparation for filling or re-plastering
For old/uneven and stained ceilings, lining paper will be applied. At Infinity Homes Solutions we only use fiberglass lining paper which is extra strong, flexible, and the best for ceilings with these problems
