Decorating 'etiquette'

I just had my whole interior painted by a professional, he works on his own and I moved all my own furniture because I wanted to as I had more control. Be aware that a good professional will have perhaps a 6 month waiting time.

Re moving the furniture, you would need to find someone who works with another and be very upfront when asking for prices. You will need to empty units that would be heavy to move, such as dressers. A good decorator will not be painting around any furniture

I do not know what would happen re the piano but bookcases can normally be slid on sliders

Wrt your ages and health conditions, really this is why so many older people neglect decorating late in life. I am 74 and with that in view, I will never be having whole rooms decorated again. I used auro 321 white, expensive very matt paint which is a lovely soft white and having had that in my last home, I know how easy it was to cover marks with it when I moved. So I had all walls and ceilings covered in two coats of that

I can easily paint vertically now, if anything needs a refresh then I will always be able to do it myself without moving anything

I spent the best part of 2 weeks taking down 4 pairs of curtains. emptying book shelves, cupboards, drawers and tv unit when I had 2 small rooms decorated. I was worn out! Took the chap and his brother all of 7 hours to decorate, then another week for me to put everything back, after having a good sort out. They moved the empty furniture away from the walls, but I’ve been using the same chap for years now, so he’s very helpful.

When I had work done I said that furniture would have to be moved so could that be included in the cost of the job.

Have you any younger relatives that would help? Perhaps tempt them with the offer of dinner or a bottle of their favourite tipple. Though if you have and they agree, don't forget to say it includes repositioning the furniture afterwards.

We are in the middle of decorating now, and have cleared one room in readiness for the decorator coming on Monday. There is nothing left in there as the ceiling had to come down and be replaced first. That was a pain, but we had plenty of notice and moved things a bit at a time. The downside is that the rest of the house is crammed with books and furniture that have come out of it, and the decorators are doing another room too.

The plan is to have them do the empty room first, then move as much as possible into there to clear space in the other room, but we have to sit somewhere throughout. They have said that they will work around us as best as possible, and I'm pretty sure they would have helped to move things if we'd asked. Things like books and ornaments obviously need to be moved first, but they will help with larger items. If you have a lot that has to be moved and it will take time, they might add it to the quote, but you'd need to ask when booking them.

It is a good excuse for a clearout. I am amazed at how much stuff is all over the house after clearing one room. there wasn't time to sort as we went, but when it comes to putting things back I am going to be ruthless.

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.

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.

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 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.

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

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

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.

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

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.

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.

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

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’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.

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 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.

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.

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.

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