What this covers
Most of a good finish happens before the finish goes on
Tile laid on a floor that was never levelled will lip at every joint. Paint over a wall that was not filled and sanded shows every hollow the first time the afternoon sun comes across it. The preparation is the job.
We price preparation as part of the work rather than as an extra, because a quote that leaves it out is not cheaper. It is the same bill arriving later, at a worse moment.
- Floor and wall tiling, large format included
- Plastering, skimming and rendering
- Interior and exterior painting
- Cornice, trim and detail work
- Surface preparation, filling and crack repair
Before and after
Bare screed to a floor you can see yourself in
The same room, the same corner, photographed mid lay and again once it was grouted and cleaned off. Tiling is one of the few trades where the finish is the structure, so there is nowhere to hide a bad set out.
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What changed
- Screed checked for level and the set out marked from the room centre
- Large format tiles laid on levelling clips so no corner lips
- Cuts run to the wall line, not to wherever the tile landed
- Grouted, cleaned off and the skirting run in to match
- Floor protected until the rest of the trades were finished
The work
Where the finishing shows
Three rooms off finished jobs. Setting out, a level floor and a clean line at every junction are the whole difference between finished and nearly finished.
How a finishing job runs
What the days actually look like
A single room can be under a week. A whole house of tile, plaster and paint runs three to six weeks depending on how much preparation it needs.
Look and measure
We check the floors for level and the walls for plumb before quoting, because those two numbers decide how much preparation the job actually needs.
Quote and materials
An itemised quote in about three working days, with tile, plaster and paint quantities set out, wastage allowance included, so nobody is sent back to the store mid job.
Preparation
Old coverings off, cracks cut out and filled, surfaces levelled and primed. The least visible week on the job and the one that decides how all of it looks.
Plaster and render
Skim, plaster or render depending on what the wall is, then left to cure properly before anything goes over it. That curing time is the step rushed jobs skip.
Tile and paint
Tile set out from a centre line so the cuts fall where they are least seen, then paint, cut in by hand at every edge rather than taped over and hoped for.
Detail and handover
Trim, cornice, silicone lines and the extra coat where it is needed. Then we walk it with you in daylight, which is the only honest way to judge finishing work.
Questions
Finishing questions
Can you tile over the existing floor?
Sometimes, if what is down is sound, bonded and level. More often the honest answer is no, because tiling over a floor that is drumming or lipping just moves the problem up ten millimetres. We tap the floor at the site visit and tell you which one you have.
How long before we can walk on a new tiled floor?
Light foot traffic after about twenty four hours, furniture back once the grout has had another day. In a room that has to stay in use we can stage it in halves so there is always a way through. It adds a day or two, not a week.
Do you supply the paint and tile or do we?
Either. Most clients have us supply, because we buy at trade and it is one less thing to manage. If you are choosing your own tile, order about ten percent over the measured quantity. A dye lot you cannot match later is a real problem the first time something needs repairing.
Why does the quote show preparation as its own line?
Because it is most of the labour and we would rather you see it than be surprised by it. A quote that only prices the tile and the paint looks cheaper right up until day one on site, when the extra for levelling and filling turns up. Ours is in the number from the start.
Start here
Ready to get the finishes right?
Send us photos of the rooms on WhatsApp or book a site visit. We will tell you what the surfaces actually need before anything gets covered up.
- We call back the same working day
- Free site visit and measurement, anywhere we work
- A written quote with no obligation to go ahead
