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If, like me, you are a complete novice at DIY, it can be helpful to have a knowledgeable person on hand. Thankfully my other half has lots of experience in renovating properties and managing land. We’re currently doing an overhaul of a small cottage so I’ve put together some useful tips and pointers to handy tools that can save a lot of time.

Preparation

We’ve already talked about taking off wallpaper and polyfilling holes, but if you are painting directly onto old paint, you may well need to clean it first. Sugar soap is the detergent you will need for this. Follow the instructions on the tub or bottle, but you will generally need a sponge and a bucket of cold water. Take off any loose paint as well.

If you are painting onto old gloss, the best finish is achieved by lightly sanding the surface with a fine or medium glass paper.

Painting

Indoors house paint generally comes in two types: oil-based and water-based. Most wall paints are water-based. Paints with a glossy finish will often be oil-based.

If you are painting directly onto new plaster, you will often need to do a few undercoats. For light colours use a cheap bulk emulsion. You can even thin it down with water - many professional decorators do this.

For the colour coat, a couple of layers of paint should be sufficient - unless you are using Dulux Once or a similar one-coat paint. I used Dulux One Coat Gloss on our skirting boards and door frames. It was really thick and saved me a lot of time, since I was painting the edges of the whole house.

It is sensible to do the cutting-in separately using a paintbrush rather than a roller. This will get a clean edge to your walls before you roller the big spaces.

Handy Hint

Carry a rag with you at all times, to mop up mistakes and create clean edges.

Get all the tools mentioned here in one kit, the Draper 10 piece multi-task painting kit.

For pesky radiators, there’s a great invention called the “Stanley Mini Radiator Roller“.

Window Frames

Either use masking tape on the glass to get a clean edge, or, if you are impatient like me, paint as neatly as possible and scrape the mistakes off afterwards with a window-scraper.

Cleaning

Cleaning is the most important part of painting the house. Not only will you save time, but you will also prevent wastage of expensive equipment.

Water-based paints, such as emulsion, can be thinned and cleaned off with water. Oil-based paints must be cleaned or thinned with white spirit or similar.

Clean rollers, trays and brushes as soon as you finish painting.

If you hate cleaning

If you really hate cleaning, there’s the “brush doctor” which does the cleaning for you for only £19.99.