Project guidance
A shared-building repaint
A shared building needs a shared instruction. Before choosing colours or comparing quotations, establish which surfaces are being considered, who has authority to commission them and how the households will use the building while the work proceeds.
Identify the person who can instruct
Ask the freeholder, managing agent or residents' representative to establish the decision route under the building's own arrangements. Agree who gathers comments and who approves the final specification. If consultation or other formal steps may apply, the responsible property adviser should address them before an order is placed. A decorator's quotation does not determine lease responsibilities or provide authority to act for every resident.
Build the scope around actual surfaces
For a frontage, work through each elevation and its lower-ground boundary. For an entrance hall, follow the stair through all the included landings. Mark doors, frames, balustrades, ceilings, window reveals and service cupboards explicitly. Distinguish private elements from common parts and record any exceptions. This makes quotations comparable by the work described, rather than by a shared but ambiguous heading.
Resolve condition questions before colour voting
Ask for existing defects to be recorded with the proposed preparation. Damp marks, unstable plaster or damaged joinery may require an investigation or repair outside the decorating scope. List these decisions alongside the paintwork so they cannot disappear from the brief. Where a listed building is involved, the intended treatment of protected fabric should also be reviewed before it becomes an assumed part of the order.
Present a small, clear set of samples
Show the proposed wall and trim finishes with the materials that will remain. For a stair, include an upper landing as well as the entrance. For an exterior, use a view that includes adjoining paintwork. Collect comments through the agreed representative and record the final selection by product, colour and sheen. Retaining that decision avoids competing verbal instructions once work begins.
Agree how the building keeps working
Map the entrances and routes residents need, including basement access and deliveries. Discuss mobility needs, pets, home working and any planned moves with the building contact. Establish how protection will be managed and where materials may be stored. Notices should explain the area affected and any change to the arrangement, with a contact who can resolve practical questions.
Keep changes and completion visible
When an unforeseen repair or extra surface is identified, describe it and obtain the appropriate instruction before treating it as part of the commission. At inspection, compare the work with the agreed schedule and note remaining items clearly. The building's maintenance record should include the final finishes and the extent of the repaint, so a later contractor can distinguish newly decorated areas from retained work.
Tell us about your Paddington property
Let’s put your
repaint into focus.
Describe the rooms or frontage and what you would like to change. For a managed property, include the person giving instructions and the arrangements for making the space available.
Your decorating enquiry
Start with the address, the extent of the repaint and any practical details we should consider.