Peeling window frames, need painting.

purplepatch

Our house was built 9 years ago and all the external window frames are badly peeling and need seeing to.

Me and DH are absolutely hopeless at DIY and don't really know where to start with this. I'm going to ask a local handyman to give us a quote but I suspect it's going to be pricey. Can anyone give an idea of what would be a reasonable price per window?

I'm thinking perhaps I will only hire someone to do the upstairs ones (hubby can't do heights and I'm pregnant so not going up any ladders!) and I will tackle the downstairs ones myself. How difficult can it be giving them a lick of paint after all?!

I need to find an idiot's guide on how to do the job ie preparation etc, can anyone point me in the right direction? I did a quick google but didn't find anything especially detailed or informative.

MrT_5

Seeing as it is a relatively young house I wouldn't have thought this to be much of a problem. Probably needs rubbing down with sandpaper, undercoating and a coat of gloss. Alternatively you could just get new UPVC windows that don't need painting Only kidding but why do they build new houses with wooden window frames these days anyway? Back to your problem, anyone who can paint could do this quite cheaply but having seen house of horrors, it is surprising what people are prepared to pay to be ripped off. I'm no good on prices but if you live near Merseyside I could do it for you very cheap and probably better than most. Oops have I broken a rule by saying that? Best advice I can give is get at least three quotes and ask for addresses of places they have worked before so that you can check if they have done a decent job. Best of luck.

p4u1_2

I had a painter do the whole house 3 years ago, cost around £1200 for 11 windows, front door, back door, facia boards and the garage. The work took 8-10 days (Painter & Son), can't remember exactly, and they did an excellent job.

My advice would be to go on personal recommendation, neighbours, etc., have the work done late summer when the wood will have dried out, and get the whole job done in one go. Getting it all done together will tend to be better value. In my experience, if you DIY it will be an all summer task, where as getting a good painter in will have it done and dusted in a week. Once done, it should last a minimum of 5 years.

The important thing with any painting is preparation, hence, cheapest is unlikely to be best. Paint that is in a poor condition will take more preparation, and so will cost more. If the paint needs to be stripped to the wood it is important for it to be primed straight away to avoid moisture absorbtion. This should be followed by 2 undercoats and one topcoat. Its always best to do 2 thinner coats than 1 thick coat.

Hope this helps!

p4u1_2

Forgot to mention, we have windows with individual small pains of glass, up to 16 per window, which will cost a lot more than if you have just 1 or 2 pains per window.

purplepatch

MrT wrote:

Seeing as it is a relatively young house I wouldn't have thought this to be much of a problem. Probably needs rubbing down with sandpaper, undercoating and a coat of gloss. Alternatively you could just get new UPVC windows that don't need painting Only kidding but why do they build new houses with wooden window frames these days anyway? Back to your problem, anyone who can paint could do this quite cheaply but having seen house of horrors, it is surprising what people are prepared to pay to be ripped off. I'm no good on prices but if you live near Merseyside I could do it for you very cheap and probably better than most. Oops have I broken a rule by saying that? Best advice I can give is get at least three quotes and ask for addresses of places they have worked before so that you can check if they have done a decent job. Best of luck.

I don't suppose Kent is near enough Merseyside for you?! Thanks for the offer though.

purplepatch

p4u1 wrote:

I had a painter do the whole house 3 years ago, cost around £1200 for 11 windows, front door, back door, facia boards and the garage. The work took 8-10 days (Painter & Son), can't remember exactly, and they did an excellent job.

My advice would be to go on personal recommendation, neighbours, etc., have the work done late summer when the wood will have dried out, and get the whole job done in one go. Getting it all done together will tend to be better value. In my experience, if you DIY it will be an all summer task, where as getting a good painter in will have it done and dusted in a week. Once done, it should last a minimum of 5 years.

The important thing with any painting is preparation, hence, cheapest is unlikely to be best. Paint that is in a poor condition will take more preparation, and so will cost more. If the paint needs to be stripped to the wood it is important for it to be primed straight away to avoid moisture absorbtion. This should be followed by 2 undercoats and one topcoat. Its always best to do 2 thinner coats than 1 thick coat.

Hope this helps!

We've got a dozen windows so compares quite well, also multiple panes too.

I note what you say about late summer, but one issue we have is that we are having a conservatory constructed in a couple of months time, so were looking to have it done before they did this. Do you think it's a problem having them painted now? Perhaps we should wait until the conservatory is up, although I liked the idea of having it all done and dusted rather than having to paint the windows at a later date.

p4u1_2

I would suggest getting the quotes in now! Good painters are in demand and often get booked up well in advance.

Having the work done in late June or July should be OK if the weather is good, especially as you live in the driest part of the UK.

The important thing is for the wood to be as dry as possible, hence not leaving the wood bare, as this will allow the wood to absorb moisture and cause the paint to flake. This is the reason it is important not to allow the external paintwork to get into too poor a state of repair, because once the weather gets into the wood it becomes an uphill struggle.

Good luck!

paullwill8

Hard to price without seeing, all depends on condition etc.
If just the top coat is peeling, then they would need a good rub down, undercoat maybe, and 2 top coats. An average sized window with a double opening I would charge around £55 for the above, using Dulux Trade Weathershield.
HTH.