Whole house needs sorting.

Florenceem

I moved into hubby's house when we married fourteen years ago. Due to elderly parents/helping with childcare of DGC nothing has been done to the house apart from the kitchen/downstairs cloakroom and bathroom being painted years ago.
It is now time get the house how I want it - hubby is fine about this. I just don't know where to start. Hubby is not practical at all. We can not afford to pay out for a lot of help but I have a grown up DS who will do bits like painting ceilings for me.
I am thinking of starting with our bedroom - I love the idea of waking up in a lovely decorated room. I think this will spur me on to do the rest of the house.
The bedroom has one wall with wallpaper. The emulsion walls have blu tack residue on them from when my teenage DS used the bedroom. The carpet has to be replaced.
I just need a plan of what to do first. I am thinking clean the walls and strip the wallpaper - then get DS to paint the ceiling. Do I do this with the carpet still down - if it is going to be a long job - just me working on room - I am a pensioner.
The house was built 1970s and has dark wood doors and woodwork - can I paint the woodwork white? I was thinking of having new interior doors through the house. No idea how much that would cost but I know someone who could do that for me - obviously have to pay for this.
There is a built in wardrobe with louvre fold open doors - I would like new solid doors on here but may have to live with them until cash allows.
Previous marriage - oh was practical and took care of all diy so I am a complete novice. I would appreciate tips and advice please.

spadoosh

I start with whites first, top to bottom. So strip everything that need to be stripped (carpet can be left down but take up before you gloss, lets you paint all the skirting board not just the bit above the carpet) Paint ceiling, gloss/satin skirting boards and architrave, wallpaper then paint. The carpet is the last thing i would have installed after all the mess is gone!

Doors start at about £15-20 and go right upto £150 each getting a good joiner is vital a cheap door fitted well is perfectly suitable an expensive door fitted badly will always be a pain!

Regards to the built in wardrobe, you can buy exact replacements (louvred) for fairly cheap, a solid board is likely to be a bit more expensive and would probably have to be custom built (coud be diy but guessing you might aswell get your door fitter to look at it), cant imagine much more than £50

Shouldnt have a problem overpainting the woodwork, suggest undercoating first though and a good sand down before.

Regards to painting any wood, be careful which paint you use. I find 'gloss' always yellows and is annoying, sometimes it can match the decor which is ok but when you know it should be brilliant white and it isnt its annoying. If you want non-yellowing brilliant white go for the satinwood or more water based gloss' these seem to last longer.

Ben84

I have a copy of the readers digest DIY book, which is probably from the 1970s and quite old now, but it has helped with advice on how to decorate many times. So, I would start with finding a good book on decorating and following the advice in that. Although we talk about decorating, I find to get a nice finish that lasts, the majority of the time is spent preparing to decorate with cleaning, sanding, filling and priming, surfaces, or removing old paper. After all this, the actual paint/paper goes up pretty fast.

As for what and where to buy the things you'll need, you can get some good things cheap and others it's worth spending more. Avoid cheap brushes, paint, paper and wallpaper paste like the plague if my experience is anything to go by. I only use the Dulux or Crown paints now, they're expensive, but they go up so easily and last a very long time once done. Even the high end store brand stuff hasn't been that great in my experience so far. I do also find the specialised paints, like washable for kitchens and mould resistant for bathrooms are worth buying as well. I've been tempted away to cheaper paint a number of times now as there is a big price difference, but then I've realised when it takes endless coats to look ok, it wasn't a good saving. However, I do buy sandpaper, sugar soap and filler in places like the 99p shop and find they're as good as any other.

Catbells

Regarding the wardrobe. If you decided to repaint it you may need to get the proper paint and primer for MDF (the material which a lot of fitted wardrobes are made of). I have built in wardrobes which I want to paint and have been advised to put an MDF primer before painting them. Doing it this way would save you money but it sounds as if you want new things for your home.

Florenceem

Catbells wrote: »

Regarding the wardrobe. If you decided to repaint it you may need to get the proper paint and primer for MDF (the material which a lot of fitted wardrobes are made of). I have built in wardrobes which I want to paint and have been advised to put an MDF primer before painting them. Doing it this way would save you money but it sounds as if you want new things for your home.

I want to change the louvre doors on the built in wardrobe as they are not really practical - let dust in on to the hanging clothes!

Florenceem

Ben84 wrote: »

I have a copy of the readers digest DIY book, which is probably from the 1970s and quite old now, but it has helped with advice on how to decorate many times. So, I would start with finding a good book on decorating and following the advice in that. Although we talk about decorating, I find to get a nice finish that lasts, the majority of the time is spent preparing to decorate with cleaning, sanding, filling and priming, surfaces, or removing old paper. After all this, the actual paint/paper goes up pretty fast.

As for what and where to buy the things you'll need, you can get some good things cheap and others it's worth spending more. Avoid cheap brushes, paint, paper and wallpaper paste like the plague if my experience is anything to go by. I only use the Dulux or Crown paints now, they're expensive, but they go up so easily and last a very long time once done. Even the high end store brand stuff hasn't been that great in my experience so far. I do also find the specialised paints, like washable for kitchens and mould resistant for bathrooms are worth buying as well. I've been tempted away to cheaper paint a number of times now as there is a big price difference, but then I've realised when it takes endless coats to look ok, it wasn't a good saving. However, I do buy sandpaper, sugar soap and filler in places like the 99p shop and find they're as good as any other.

Thanks for the advice - I realise what sandpaper and filler are for but what about sugar soap please?

Florenceem

Ben84 wrote: »

I have a copy of the readers digest DIY book, which is probably from the 1970s and quite old now, but it has helped with advice on how to decorate many times. So, I would start with finding a good book on decorating and following the advice in that. Although we talk about decorating, I find to get a nice finish that lasts, the majority of the time is spent preparing to decorate with cleaning, sanding, filling and priming, surfaces, or removing old paper. After all this, the actual paint/paper goes up pretty fast.

As for what and where to buy the things you'll need, you can get some good things cheap and others it's worth spending more. Avoid cheap brushes, paint, paper and wallpaper paste like the plague if my experience is anything to go by. I only use the Dulux or Crown paints now, they're expensive, but they go up so easily and last a very long time once done. Even the high end store brand stuff hasn't been that great in my experience so far. I do also find the specialised paints, like washable for kitchens and mould resistant for bathrooms are worth buying as well. I've been tempted away to cheaper paint a number of times now as there is a big price difference, but then I've realised when it takes endless coats to look ok, it wasn't a good saving. However, I do buy sandpaper, sugar soap and filler in places like the 99p shop and find they're as good as any other.

Sounds like an up to date DIY book would be a good idea on a present list - thanks for the help.

Florenceem

spadoosh wrote: »

I start with whites first, top to bottom. So strip everything that need to be stripped (carpet can be left down but take up before you gloss, lets you paint all the skirting board not just the bit above the carpet) Paint ceiling, gloss/satin skirting boards and architrave, wallpaper then paint. The carpet is the last thing i would have installed after all the mess is gone!

Doors start at about £15-20 and go right upto £150 each getting a good joiner is vital a cheap door fitted well is perfectly suitable an expensive door fitted badly will always be a pain!

Regards to the built in wardrobe, you can buy exact replacements (louvred) for fairly cheap, a solid board is likely to be a bit more expensive and would probably have to be custom built (coud be diy but guessing you might aswell get your door fitter to look at it), cant imagine much more than £50

Shouldnt have a problem overpainting the woodwork, suggest undercoating first though and a good sand down before.

Regards to painting any wood, be careful which paint you use. I find 'gloss' always yellows and is annoying, sometimes it can match the decor which is ok but when you know it should be brilliant white and it isnt its annoying. If you want non-yellowing brilliant white go for the satinwood or more water based gloss' these seem to last longer.

Thanks - I need directions like this. Just a bit confused with this bit - Paint ceiling, gloss/satin skirting boards and architrave, wallpaper then paint. Are you saying wallpaper the feature wall then emulsion the others? I would have guessed at the other way round - but as I say - just a guess.

Ben84

Florenceem wrote: »

Thanks for the advice - I realise what sandpaper and filler are for but what about sugar soap please?

Sugar soap is usually sold as a powder, or sometimes a yellow liquid. It's a detergent used to clean surface before painting. It's good for removing grease that might stop new paint sticking and helps roughen the surface (particularly if you clean with a green scouring pad to give the new paint a dull surface to key in to). However, I think I prefer a hot solution of soda crystals and a green scouring pad for preparing surfaces, it seems to help take the gloss off better than sugar soap, so the new paint sticks better to the walls.