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The Tasks

Painting and Decorating

Award-winning decorator Julie Lark puts the Bricking It trainees through their paces. How do you turn bare walls and ceilings into a luxury apartment?

p>Preparation
Before any painting or wallpapering could begin, the Bricking It flat had to be thoroughly cleaned and vacuumed and all surfaces wiped down. This is crucial to achieving the kind of high standard of finish required for a luxury apartment.

'Mist coat'
To highlight any holes or dents in the ceilings and walls, a 'mist coat' is applied. This is a watered down matt emulsion paint. Any imperfections were filled and sanded smooth.

'Knotting'
A special paint called 'knotting' was applied to the wood surfaces to stop sap leaking through the knots. Next all the bare wood was primed and rubbed down. Like the mist coat on the walls, this highlights any holes or scratches which need to be filled in and smoothed before the paint is applied.

'Caulk'
The gaps between the top of skirting boards and all around the woodwork were filled with 'caulk', a flexible filler applied with a special gun.

Painting the walls and ceilings
Once the preparation was complete, the walls and ceilings were painted with two coats of matt emulsion in the chosen colour.

Painting the woodwork
First a layer of undercoat was applied and given a light rub-down to remove any imperfections. These can be caused by dust and other particles settling on the surface. Our painter trainees then applied two coats of eggshell paint in the chosen colour.

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