The finish that peels by March
is a prep problem. We don't skip the prep.
Most painters quote fast and start faster. The filling, sanding and priming gets rushed or skipped. That's why the finish fails. Ours doesn't — because we do the boring bit properly, every time.
It's not the paint brand. It's everything that didn't happen before the lid came off.
You've probably had a painter who finished the job looking great — for about eight months. Then the hairlines came back. Paint lifting at the edges. The ceiling patchy in certain light. This is what happens when the preparation is rushed.
Our decorators are time-served tradespeople, not gig workers. The preparation standard is the same as a high-end developer: hairlines chased out and patched, not skimmed over; bare plaster mist-coated, not painted straight onto; woodwork denibbed between coats. The topcoat is actually the easy part.
We work in occupied homes — period conversions, Victorian terraces, Georgian townhouses, new builds. Every job gets a dedicated project manager and a fixed price before we start.
Every decorating job covers:
- Full surface prep — fill, sand, prime
- Dust-sheet and floor protection throughout
- Two-coat finish in Dulux Trade or Farrow & Ball
- Woodwork, skirting, architrave & doors
- Ceilings — spray, roll or brush as required
- Wallpaper hang & specialist finishes
- Colour consultation & sample service
- Snag walk-through & 12-month guarantee
The specific things clients mention when they recommend us.
Not marketing lines. These are what come up in conversations after the job is done — the things that surprised people who've been let down before.
A finish that looks the same in six months as it did on day one
Because the prep is right and the paint bonds properly. No peeling edges, no hairlines creeping back, no blotchy sections where the primer was skipped.
The number you signed is the number on the invoice
Fixed quote after a site visit. Labour and materials both itemised. No day-rate creep, no surprise add-ons because we "found something".
A start date and an end date — and we hit both
Scheduled at the survey. Tracked by a project manager. If something changes, you hear the day it changes — not after you've already rearranged your life.
A clean home, not a building site
Canvas dust sheets, not thin polythene. Furniture moved and returned. Tools packed up each evening. You live in your home, not around the work.
Five steps — the same every time, no shortcuts.
This is the sequence that produces a finish that holds up. We run it the same way on every job, whether it's one room or an entire house.
Free site survey
A senior decorator visits the property. We measure, photograph, check the surface conditions, and discuss your preferences — colour, finish, whether you want to stay in the property during the work.
Usually 30–45 minutes. No charge, no obligation.Fixed-price quote
A line-by-line written quote arrives within three working days. Materials listed at trade, labour at a fixed rate per room. No day-rate ambiguity, no provisional sums.
Valid for 30 days. Price matched on like-for-like scope.Prep and protection
Every room is masked, covered and prepped before any paint appears. Walls are filled, sanded and primed. This is where 90% of a good finish is won or lost — we don't rush it.
Typically 1–2 days prep for a standard room.Paint and paper
Two full coats on every surface. Woodwork sanded between coats. Wallpaper hung on sized walls with seams checked under raking light. We work at trade pace, not gig-economy pace.
One to two days per room depending on finish and detail.Snag walk-through
We walk every room with you before we pack up. Anything that doesn't meet the spec gets fixed the same day. You get a written 12-month workmanship guarantee before we leave.
Furniture moved back. Site left clean.Tired of paint that fails by spring?
We prep to developer standard. Fixed-price quote after a free site visit. 12-month written guarantee on every job.
The decorating concerns most people have — and the honest answers.
No. We move, protect and return all furniture as part of the job. Heavy pieces like pianos or fitted wardrobes we work around.
Yes — most of our work is in occupied homes. We work room by room, keep dust contained, and leave habitable space every evening.
Dulux Trade as standard — it's the professional-grade version of household Dulux, with better coverage and durability. Farrow & Ball, Little Greene, Mylands and Paint & Paper Library all available at material cost. We'll advise on what the surface needs.
A two-bed Victorian conversion is usually 5–7 working days, depending on prep condition and level of detail. A three-to-four bed Edwardian house, two to three weeks. We'll give you a specific timeline in the quote.
Yes — lining paper, patterned paper, grasscloth, anaglypta, heritage papers. We can supply or hang client-supplied paper. Specialist finishes including limewash, colour-wash and venetian plaster by arrangement.
Everything. Hairline cracks filled with fine filler. Deeper cracks chased out and patched. Bare plaster primed with mist coat. Woodwork stripped where necessary. Old wallpaper removed. We're not going to paint over problems.
Yes. It's issued before we leave site, covers all workmanship and is backed by our £5m public liability insurance. If paint lifts, cracks re-appear or finishes fail, we come back.
Still have questions? Call 07405 739028 (Mon–Sat, 7am–7pm) or email info@corebuildgroup.co.uk
Services that pair well with decorating.
Flooring
Engineered oak, solid plank, herringbone and LVT — laid on properly-prepared subfloors.
Read moreKitchen Fitting
Full kitchen installation from any supplier. Plumbing, electrics, tiling and worktops.
Read moreBathroom Fitting
Properly tanked wet rooms, ensuites and family bathrooms. BS 8000-11 waterproofing.
Read moreDecorating across London and the South East.
Free survey and fixed-price quote at all locations. Not listed below? Call us — we cover more than we list here.
Don't see your area? Call 07405 739028 — we cover more locations than listed above.
Done with paint that doesn't last?
Tell us the property, the rooms, and what timeline works for you. Free site visit, fixed-price quote, real start date — usually inside three working days. What you sign is what you pay.