Wallpapering around a window or door reveal

One of the things that puts people off from wallpapering is they are unsure how to tackle certain area’s. One of these is a window or door reveal.

It isn’t as daunting as it may first appear and I will try to explain how to do it below.

Where and how to start with the wallpaper

One of the first things I do, is measure using a roll of wallpaper to work out where the sheet will come at the reveal, in other words I see if the paper goes around the reveal and not stop on the external corner, this is bad! You may have to adjust where you start hanging the wallpaper or even start from another starting point, such as the other corner of the wall.

Once you have worked this out and made a plumb line on the wall you can start to hang the wallpaper. Hang the first sheet making sure you follow the plumb line to ensure it is straight and upright.

Now take the next sheet and match the pattern, if the wallpaper has one, and hang that sheet, then keep going until you reach the reveal.

Continue reading How to wallpaper around a window or door reveal

How to paint around a window and get a professional looking job

If you are unconfident of cutting in around windows or glazed doors you can use this following tip.

To stop getting paint on windows or glass panelled doors when you paint them you can use masking tape to mask the glass.

Take time and care to only get the tape on the glass.

Place the tape on the glass, you can then run a sharp knife along the frame to ensure the tape is only on the glass, but being careful not to cut into the frame.

Once you have gone around all the window/s you are ready to paint. Paint around the window, glazes door etc as normal.

Leave the paint to fully dry, and then remove the tape carefully. You may need to cut the tape around the window to ensure it doesn’t pull the paint off as you remove the tape, take your time and you will have a newly painted window or glazed door.

The other method is to paint around the window or glazing in your door and paint slightly onto the glass, leave to dry and then clean the paint off the glass with a sharp blade.

Both methods take longer to do than simply cutting in but if you don’t have a steady hand or aren’t confident either method will give you a more professional final job.

Painting a glass panelled door

This tip applies to both interior and exterior glass panelled doors, it doesn’t matter how many panels there are, whether it be a 2, 4, 8, 12 or even 15 panelled door, the principle is the same.

The first job is to remove the door furniture such as handles, letterbox, knocker etc, now cover the floor with a dustsheet to catch any splashes of paint. The next job is to remove any loose paint as well as any dirt and grime.

Next rub the door down, depending on the surface you are painting over and its condition 80-grit sandpaper will be fine to use. Rub down, going in the direction of the grain, if you have an internal ‘grain effect’ door be careful not to rub too hard and run the grain effect off!

Make sure you rub down all of the edges of the glazing beads, but be careful not to scratch the glass.

Once you have rubbed down ie ‘keyed’ the surface with the sand / glass paper dust off the surface. If the door has any bare wood showing you will need to use the appropriate primer. Once the primer is dry you can paint the door with a suitable undercoat, finally the finish coat (gloss, satinwood or woodstain etc) of your choice.

So what order do I paint the panel door?

OK, here is the order to paint your panel door:

1. Paint the door edge, you should always paint the edge you will see if the door is open. Number 1 in diagram. If it is an exterior door you should also paint the top of the door, and the bottom if you can.
2. Paint all the glazing beads and muntins. Paint each window in turn, try and not get too much paint on the railes or stiles. You can brush the excess paint off with an unloaded brush. Number 2 in diagram.
3. Paint the top rail, number 3 in diagram.
4. Paint the two side stiles next, numbers 4 and 5 in diagram.
5. Finally paint the bottom rail. Number 6 in diagram.
6. If you are using gloss, check to ensure the paint hasn’t run off the glazing beads, if there are runs simply brush them out with a dry brush.
7. You should now have a newly painted door!

NOTES:
Stiles: vertical parts
Rails: horizontal parts
Glazing beads: holds the glass in door
Muntin: vertical glazing beads