Property redecoration- Simple steps to ensure you stay on budget

Redecorating projects can be required for many different reasons from touching up a tired looking office through complete re-branding to doing up an old property to let. Regardless of the reason to undertake the project you would want it done to budget. We have a lot of experience in redecorating and we always keep to budget. We thought you might want to utilise our experience for your own projects. Here are some tips:

1. Set your team and budget: Ensure you appoint professional contractors to cover the work. Consider and schedule all elements of work so you are not having delays prolonging the project. It is also key to set you budget in advance including 10% contingency to protect your cash flow.
2. Asses the building condition: To stop any unpleasant surprises midway the project make sure you commission a building survey. This will uncover any dump issues or other problems which you may not be aware of. If you have been in the property a long time you may well have a good handle of its condition but at the very least, we would recommend that you carry out a detailed walk around it.
3. Notify your neighbours: If your project is of a larger scale and includes painting outside walls, erecting scaffolding and putting up skips you should let your neighbours know. This is basic curtesy and particularly important if you are a business with reputation to preserve.
4. A few considerations regarding paint and materials:

• Factor in black spot mould, especially in the kitchen and bathroom. Ensure you use anti-mould emulsion in these areas to minimise the risk.
• Wallpaper is prone to peeling and can stain easily, so consider painted walls or carry out some research before buying the wallpaper.
• Satin paint is easier to wipe clean than gloss.
• Wooden and laminate worktops will deteriorate, so look into composite stone, which is stain and heat resistant.

5. Reuse existing items where possible: There is no need to waste money on buying new items where you may be able to re-use existing items. To ensure that you make the right decisions you will need to prioritise, so we recommend that you think long term. For example, if the boiler is old it is probably best to replace it to avoid high energy bills. However, if you can reface units instead of buying new ones you should probably consider it.

We hope you have found our decorating tips useful and that we did our bit to support your maintenance plan for 2018. Do give us a call if you need some further help.

Categorised in: Property maintenance, Property Management

This post was written by Express Property Services