How to paint a front door

From time to time you will need to paint your front door, if it is wood that is. Ideally pick a couple of dry days to complete the job such as spring or summer. Pick a good quality exterior paint to ensure a long lasting job.

The front door is one of the most seen parts of your house, a good looking door gives a good impression to visitors, and especially if you are selling your house as it gives kerb appeal.

You should gather all the tools required before starting, you will need:

• Screwdrivers
• Adjustable spanner
• Sandpaper (various grades)
• Primer
• Undercoat
• Topcoat (Satin or gloss)
• Paint stripper (optional)
• Heat gun (optional)
• Scraper (optional)

Ironwork / Door furniture

The first job is to remove all ironwork or door furniture such as locks, knocker, letterbox, escutcheon, door pull and numbers. This will make it far easier for working on the door. Put everything to one side being careful not to lose any screws as some can be tiny and you will need them again later to refit the ironwork / door furniture. You may need an adjustable spanner for the knocker or letterbox.

Preparation

As with all decorating jobs, preparation is key and will take most of your time. Now is the time to decide if you are simply going to re-decorate your door, or give it a real overhaul and strip the existing finish off back to bare wood.

If you are going to remove all the existing paint finish you can do this either by using a heat gun and scraper, or paint remover and scraper. The choice is really up to you. Once the door is stripped give it a good rub down and fill any crack and holes and sand these level and smooth. Once you have done this you are now ready to move to the next section, prime.

If you decide against stripping the door back to bare wood, or it simply doesn’t need it you should give the existing surface a good clean off to remove dirt and grime with a cloth and maybe water, the give the surface a good rub down. Fill any cracks or unwanted holes and rub them down level and smooth. Dust off and you can move onto the next section, prime.

Prime

Once you have prepared the door you should prime the entire door if you have stripped it back to bare wood, or spot prime bare wood if you have just rubbed down and filled. Allow to dry before moving onto undercoating.

Undercoat

Once you have primed the door, whether it be the entire door or spot primed, give the primer a light sand down before applying one or two coats of undercoat. Allow each coat to dry fully if you give it more than one coat sand back between coats for that perfect smooth finish.

Topcoat

Once you have prepared the door correctly and given it it’s necessary coats of primer and undercoat you can now give the door it’s final sand back and the final coat, the topcoat. This maybe a satin finish or a gloss. Again you may want to give two topcoats, but read the manufacturer’s instructions to ensure you leave enough time between coats, and a word of warning, if you sandback, you a fine paper and use light strokes. If you are too harsh you could scratch the surface too much, or even worse roll up the first coat and ruin all your hard work.

Non-painted or varnished doors

This post deals with painted doors, such a glossed doors but for other finishes, such as varnish or stained door the principle is the same, apart from you wouldn’t use primer or undercoat, however the preparation part is still applicable and needs to be done.

How to unstick stuck windows

When you have had your windows and doors newly painted it seems it doesn’t matter how many hours you leave them open to dry, they always seem to stick.

This can be frustrating if you want to open the window or door, so how do you release and unstick them? The problem is caused by tacky paint sticking to tacky paint, or maybe the paint has sealed to the frame, either way the following methods are the same.

How to release stuck windows and doors

You will need:

• A Scraper or putty knife
• A Hammer or mallet
• A small block of wood or a kitchen or toilet roll

The first and easiest option is to try using a toilet or kitchen roll, place the roll on the stuck window or door where it is sticking and tap the other end with your hand, this may be enough to release the seal and allow you to open the window or door. It will also cause the lease amount of damage.

If this doesn’t release the windows or door you will have to try breaking the paint seal, this can be done by running a scraper or putty knife between the door or window and it’s frame, do this carefully as you can in order not to damage either the window, door, or frame. once you have broken the seal, try the toilet or kitchen roll method to try and free it and then open of released.

If the window or door is still stuck, next try using a hammer and small block of wood to break the seal, be very careful not to break the glass. Tap the block of wood gently with a hammer or mallet to free the paint seal, then open.

How to prevent sticking sash windows

Apart from paint sticking windows, box sash windows are notoriously for getting stuck if they aren’t used for a while, over the winter for example. To solve this problem there is a simple solution, wax, candle wax to be precise.

Once you have the sash open, rub a candle up and down the frame where the sash runs, do this both sides, then repeat with the other sash. The wax should help the sashes slide far easier.

Should you hire a professional decorator?

Many people think they are not too bad at DIY and decorating and are willing to have a go themselves, which is fair enough. But should you hire a professional decorator to do the job for you?

There are a few things to consider before having a go yourself:

• Do you really know how to do the job
• Do you have all the necessary equipment to complete the job
• Do you have the time to do it yourself
• Do you have the money to fix mistakes

If the answer is no to any of these points above you should hire the services or a professional painter and decorator to decorate your home. Many people go charging into decorating without thinking things through, such as the order of how to do things. They then get stuck halfway through the job and either leave it for months or make a botch job of things.

Frankly life is hectic for everyone, you may have children to look after, work long hours, or have a second job. Do you really want the grief and hassle of tackling the decorating yourself? By hiring a professional decorator the whole process of making your home a beautiful place to be can be virtually stress free.

Professional decorator

Professional decorators decorate day in day out, so they will have the know how, the tools and the time to transform your home for you. Hiring a decorator can save you time and money, you can leave the decorator in the morning to go to work and come back and see the progress, and be amazed at how quick it is going, and how long it would of taken you to strip the wallpaper a bit each day!

Your professional decorator can advise you on colours, give you ideas, source the required materials and save you time, money and the hassle. How long will it take you driving around trying to find the materials, get paint charts and shopping. So hiring a professional can actually save you money.

The finished decorated room

Imagine how lovely it would be to come into a room that has been professionally decorated for you and is far better than you could of ever imagined, now isn’t it worth hiring a professional decorator?

One of my favorite sayings is as follows:

If you think it’s expensive to hire a professional, wait till you hire an amateur – Red Adair

To hire a professional decorator in the Southend on Sea, Essex (UK) area contact Adrian Rayfield via his online form.