Just a couple of weeks ago I was questioning the weather, look at us now! Early morning dog walks and windows open all night long, we can acclimatise, but can our decorating materials?
Did you know?
Did you know that in the building trade it’s easy to tell what time of year a house was built…..summer houses tend to have loose doors in the winter and more nail pops/burst tapes. Winter houses can have tight doors and discoloured patches on the walls. This is because wood swells in the heat and shrinks in the colder weather. Nails can be squeezed out of swollen joins and tapes can dry out too quickly in warmer weather. However in colder weather plaster doesn’t dry out well and if there are time constraints, paint might go on too quickly leaving staining on your walls.
Wallpaper.
We do have to be mindful of what works are undertaken in excessive heat. Paste to wall paper can dry out quickly and cause peeling of the paper. As well as this the paper can shrink on the wall and cause gaps in the paper joins. Although it’s best to ensure the temperature of the working area is above 18 degrees, if it does go above 28/30, papering should absolutely be avoided.
Paint.
Paint is a lot more forgiving, we don’t need to worry about it being too hot to paint either inside or outside, as I don’t think Scotland will get to 35 degrees. Although we may easily become too cold for paint! Outside the perfect temperature would be above 18 degrees with some humidity, inside 18 or above will make for the best results. On the flip side we may easily become too cold for paint. Anything 10 degrees or below is too cold for paint. Professionals always have heaters, and probably more than two. But for diy’ers it might not be as apparent that temperature can make that much of a difference, it really does.
We’re always happy to offer advice, but if you’d rather the professionals done the work for you just get in contact, there’s a list, but we’re worth the wait 😉.
The painters wife xxx
01236 424 804
