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For Traders

Painting and decorating problems

11 problems

Low risk

Paint Peeling Off The Wall

Paint peeling off a wall in sheets, like skin, means the paint never bonded to what is underneath: new plaster with no thinned first coat, chalky old paint, a shiny surface, dirt or damp. Scrape back to a firm edge, fix the cause, prime, then repaint. Painting over it will peel again.

Low risk

Paint Bubbling Or Blistering

Raised bubbles or blisters have appeared in the paint film, sometimes while it was still wet.

Low risk

Brown Stains Bleeding Through New Paint

You painted a wall or ceiling and a brown, yellow or grey mark has come straight back through the fresh coat. That is stain bleed-through: something under the new paint is dissolving into wet emulsion and rising as it dries. Extra coats of the same water-based paint almost never fix it: each coat gives the stain fresh solvent to travel in. Seal the mark with a proper stain-blocking primer once the source is dead (no live leak), then recoat. If the patch is still damp, spreading, or you cannot tell historic from live, stop painting and sort the moisture first, then book a painter and decorator if you want it done evenly.

Caution

Damp Patch Appearing After Decorating

A dark, cold or spreading patch has come up on a wall you have just had painted or papered.

Low risk

Wallpaper Bubbling

Bubbles or blisters have appeared across freshly hung wallpaper, or in paper that has been up for years.

Low risk

Wallpaper Seams Lifting

The joins between lengths of wallpaper are curling open, or a gap has appeared where two lengths meet.

Caution

Black Mould On A Painted Ceiling

Black or grey speckling has spread across a painted ceiling or the top of a wall, usually in a bathroom or bedroom.

Low risk

Patchy Paint And Roller Marks

The finished wall is uneven: visible roller lines, darker patches, or a frame of different sheen round the edges.

Low risk

Gloss Paint Still Tacky Or Turning Yellow

Woodwork painted days ago is still sticky to the touch, or white gloss has gone cream or yellow.

Something else wrong? Find the right trade.

Pest control problems

Plasterers problems

Plumbers problems

Roofers problems

Rubbish and waste clearance problems

Solar installers problems

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