How to paint an interior wall

To start gather all the equipment needed

You will need:

• Dustsheets – To cover floor and furniture
• A brush – 1½ or 2 inch
• A roller cage – for the roller sleeve to go onto
• A roller sleeve – for smooth walls use a fine or medium pile roller, ideally a 9-inch sleeve
• A roller tray – big enough for a 9-inch roller
• A paint kettle – to tip some paint into for cutting in
• Paint – The paint for the walls, normally emulsion (use our paint calculator to determine how much paint you need)

First cover the floor and furniture with dustsheets. Next open your tin of paint and stir well, tip a small amount into the paint kettle, then fill the paint tray.

Now cut in (i.e paint around the edge) using the brush and kettle, cut in around one wall at a time including any sockets or switches.

Once you have cut in, take your roller and get some paint onto it, roll it on the tray to work the paint into the roller sleeve and get it all around the sleeve.

Now take the roller and roll it over the wall, it is best to roll in a ‘W’ motion, this will ensure you don’t end up with lines and also will give a nice even coat across the wall. When you have covered a wall, go lightly over the wall with an unloaded roller to get rid of any ‘orange peel’ effect.

Simply repeat this operation for each wall you need to paint.

How to paint a radiator

To paint a radiator firstly turn it off and let it go cold if it has been in use. Once the radiator is cool your ready to begin.

Firstly give the old paint on the radiator a ‘key’ for the new paint to adhere to, basically this means give the radiator a light rub down with a fine to medium grit abrasive such as sand or glass paper. You could also use wet and dry.

Next, dust off the radiator or wipe it over with a damp cloth to remove and dust. You are now ready to start painting.

It is advisable to lay a dustsheet under the radiator to catch any spills, splashes etc.

Where to start?

I normally paint the ends first, painting around the bleed valve end then the other end.
Load the brush with paint and paint the first three or four flutes (the indented parts) at the top and the bottom ensuring they are covered well.

Next paint the first few flutes from top to bottom, then with an unloaded brush, brush from top to bottom spreading the paint over evenly.

Depending on how big the radiator is you can paint all the flutes and then the top and bottom of the radiator. If the radiator is big or if you work slowly it is better to do a few flutes and then work the top and bottom along as you go.

When you have worked your way along the entire length of the radiator go back and check for any runs, normally at the bottom of the flutes, if there are any runs simply brush them out with an unloaded brush.

Finally, stand back and admire your work!

Please note that when you do turn the radiator on again it will give off a smell, this is the paint and is normal, the smell will go after the radiator has been on a few times and the paint is fully cured.

Tile calculator

Today sees the launch of our new calculator, the Tile Calculator.
The easy way to work out how many tiles you need. Any tile size can be calculated.

As simple and as quick to use as the other calculators within our website. Simply fill in the tile dimensions and the surface area to be tiled, decide on the percentage you want to add for breakage and waste from 0, 5, 10 or 15%.
Once you have done that then hit the calculate button, simple!

You can try it out here: https://www.propertydecorating.co.uk/tile_calculator.php

This calculator is as simple and as quick as all the other calculators. We have also included a feet to metre converter.

As always, we welcome your comments.

Using our Tle calculator is easy