Decorating 'etiquette'

I can remember when I moved into a flat in my late 20s and began decorating. The old woman in the flat underneath had a whinge about my "dragging the furniture about" every evening and weekend.

I told her that I had not yet mastered the art of levitation and suggested she come up and help so the job would be done sooner!

I used a lot of stick -on felt pads, they are under every stick of furniture that would hide them. Quickstep flooring everywhere so now I can easily slide furniture for cleaning behind, once in a bluemoon

Oh re paint for wood. The old oil based paint always went yellow, particularly in darker areas. He used dulux trade diamond satinwood which will never yellow and did not need an undercoat. Two coats of that and a light sand for key prior to each coat

Jane you would get by wrt a heavy bed by shoving it into the centre of the room and covering it

Doodledog empathising with you, that mess that goes on and on for months

My tall heavy oak bookcase, I emptied it and very gingerly lay it on its side while I cut 2" off each leg, leaving an inch. I put felt pads on each leg, raised it and lo and behold was able to slide it into the hall, it cleared the top door frame by a cm, quickstep flooring saved the day all over my house

I think I had 7 areas at maybe a week each or a bit longer but the decorator was so sought after that he fitted in other jobs around me but looking back, it did give me enough time to clear, sort and clean without being in a panic. Blooming mammoth job, new build so it had had the cheapest skimpiest paint, now any more. Lol, I walk all over my house without touching any painted areas, it has got to last

Having just had the house decorated from top to bottom, I emptied each room as much as I could, shifting stuff from one to another. It’s blooming hard work and I am exhausted. DH did a bit but it was mainly me heaving everything around.
At least now it’s done there won’t be anything needing doing for some time!
My lovely decorator helped me move the heaviest furniture.

My decorator moved all the furniture around but I had previously packed away the ornaments and pictures. My craft room has two huge bookcases screwed to the wall full of wool and craft supplies - no way was I emptying that! He just covered the open shelves with sheets of plastic and painted around the unit!

I had the whole house done over three weeks so every night we discussed the next days plans so I knew which rooms I needed to sort out. He actually got cross with me if he came in and found I had started to move things back in, said he would do it!

It’s definitely a conversation to have with your decorator when he prices up the job.

Recently decorated we were asked if we’d like furniture moved. We said we’d do it as we could, the decorator still moved some things himself as he put it ‘because I had the time’. Just ask for a quote to include furniture moving. Yes, you will need to empty as much as you can but the furniture can certainly be moved for you as long as it’s in the quote - or the decorator feels like doing it.

We have just had professional decorators in - a husband and wife team. We explained we were unable to move most of the furniture. They were happy to move it so long as we moved everything out of bookcases and cupboards, which we did. They put all our pictures back up too and were generally really helpful. We first spoke to them in March this year and they weren’t able to come until 1 August.

The chances are you won't, if you speak to your decorator.

DH has always done our decorating along with lots of other jobs in the house and garden but he has a frozen shoulder again and I have told him we must get somebody to do the decorating in future. He is 80 next year so I feel it is time he wound down. I am surprised that the whole room has to be cleared as we have always moved small items out but left large pieces of furniture in the middle of the room and covered them with dust sheets. The thought of clearing the whole room makes the prospect more daunting, our bedroom is the first on the list of decorating jobs and we have a Tempur bed frame and mattress which is very heavy and I can’t think where we could move it to. We will have to enlist the help of our two sons and our granddaughter’s boyfriend all of whom are very handy and willing to help but it will wound DH’s pride as he has always managed things on his own with me to assist and clean up.

No, mine prefers it if you can move things and clean glasswork, but is willing to help with anything. They reserve the right to charge extra if they have to clear the room and clean before starting, but that's really just for extreme cases.

A huge bookcase might be an issue, ExDancer, but if you take the books off and tell the decorator when they come to quote, the chances are they will help you to move it. If they know in advance they can bring someone to help if need be.

I was quite surprised I couldn't find anyone to do a very basic bodge job in my living room.
Just white emulsion and white satin paint.

Clean. Tidy. White.
Not worried about silly smooth finish or rubbing down/sanding.
Still, people said I'd have to clear the room.

I approached AgeConcern about some small jobs I needed doing.
The man who came decided it wasn’t a job he could do and gave me a short list of local tradesmen to ask.
However a small fee is not what to expect as here they charge £35 an hour which is more than some local handymen charge.
It is not a cheaper option.
Reliability is what you get and no con men who look at an older person and invent problems.

I’ve never had to massively move furniture for decorating. Obviously we’ve moved things out of the way but the decorator (including once a tiny, 5ft tall woman) have always shifted the furniture themselves. Maybe it’s different in other places.

Some local councils have a handyman service.

Not my local council; that was done away with ages ago, but it might be worth asking yours.

I was the same when my living room needed painting - everyone wanted me to move all the furniture out, and it is absolutely beyond what I can do.
I ended up shoving the furniture out of the way in sections, and slowly painted it myself.

I wonder whether Age Concern would have information about people who can move furniture, take down pictures, curtains etc. for a small fee?

Oh my, you all make me realize how much I appreciate my wonderful husband who does it all. He will get an extra hug today

ExDancer, you can ask the contractor if they will move furniture, and they will either say no, or accept and add onto the cost. But it may be less expensive to find a 'handyman' or woman to do the moving and cleaning in advance. Because of course it will all have to go back in again afterwards.

Yes, but it is out of stock ?

paddyanne recommended one, and whilst I wasn't keen on that particular one, the same company does one in the same basic style in a lighter colour that I do like, but it has been OOS from then to now. I've contacted them, but they can't say when they'll get another one - I just have to keep trying.

Otherwise, no, and we want to line one way with shelves/cupboards, so I'd like to be sure I'm going to get the table before making any decisions about that.

Doodledog Have you found a table you like/bought yet?

karmalady

My decorator took over 6 months, to complete my interior coming back when he could. Hall landing stairs eg was one job, two bedrooms another etc. It gave me a very good amount of time to clear stuff out of cupboards and off shelves but be warned, other rooms became very messy when I dumped stuff in them.

He was a superb decorator, similar timescales on each job, he spent a whole day on prep, then after sanding the filled secions, first coat of ceiling and wall paint. following day a light sand to make paint smooth then second coat and so on. He did not stop working the whole time. Worked so hard. It generally took him a full week per area and I paid him straight away per area, as soon as he invoiced me

You can get a slap dash harry probably much cheaper but my plan going forward is as I said, hence the really good work now

I am living this joyful experience as I type .

There is nowhere untouched, and we are (for now) only doing downstairs. The hallway is finished, and the 2 reception rooms are starting next week, then the kitchen and the back room.

Upstairs will be after Christmas when my nerves can stand it and budget allows - things do tend to come in at a lot more expensive than anticipated (we are getting things like new lights and changing some furniture as well as just decorating). I may put it off until later.

I can't tell you how pleased I'll be when it's finished.

BTW, anyone who is able to do the heavy work, I used sliders and a pry bar from amazon. Made very light work of moving large oak chests from one room to another. I even moved the tall upright freezer and similar miele fridge. They have rollers and can be tilted and rolled when empty

It is very daunting isn`t it? Was very hard work and like I said, I will never do it again although the feeling of satisfaction was immense

My decorator took over 6 months, to complete my interior coming back when he could. Hall landing stairs eg was one job, two bedrooms another etc. It gave me a very good amount of time to clear stuff out of cupboards and off shelves but be warned, other rooms became very messy when I dumped stuff in them.

He was a superb decorator, similar timescales on each job, he spent a whole day on prep, then after sanding the filled secions, first coat of ceiling and wall paint. following day a light sand to make paint smooth then second coat and so on. He did not stop working the whole time. Worked so hard. It generally took him a full week per area and I paid him straight away per area, as soon as he invoiced me

You can get a slap dash harry probably much cheaper but my plan going forward is as I said, hence the really good work now

I have the same problem. We have so much stuff especially books and a piano. Nowhere to move it all to.
In particular we need the bedroom decorated. Where on earth do we move a bed and wardrobes to? A storage unit? I suppose we could get a man and a van to move it to temporary storage? Teenage grandsons could help with removals.

Just ask your decorator up front whether he can move the furniture for you as you can no longer manage it. If he can the work will be included in the price.

I think that you should be responsible for emptying them.

You could consider contacting your local branch of Age UK, they often have a list of decorators and handymen who understand the problems older people have and expect to move furniture. Age UK may also know some organisation or group who can do jobs for you like moving furniture.

I'm sure if you let whoever you contact know that they'll need to move furniture around, they'll take that into account when giving you a quote.

They'll want to see the room they'll be decorating before pricing up the work. You'll need to empty the book case and move your nick knacks but I'm sure the rest will be taken care of.

You most assuredly do have to move furniture, take down curtains and roll up rugs.

So not only do you need a decorator you need a handyman or woman who will attend to getting the room or rooms ready for the painters.

If you and your husband are up to it, you could perhaps empty drawers and cupboards yourselves.

You will also need someone to clean up after the painters and to move the furniture back into place for you.

Regarding the piano: it is always best to get a professional paino remover to deal with it.

This might just be the time to consider whether you want to keep it, and all the other heavier furniture.