Painting guides
Straight-talking advice from a painter on the Costa Blanca: real prices, how each job is done and tricks to save without losing quality. No jargon.
How much does it cost to paint a flat on the Costa Blanca?
The real price per metre, examples based on the size of your flat, and where you can save money without losing quality.
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Stripping woodchip texture: cost and how it's done
The two ways to leave the wall smooth, how much it costs per metre and why it's the change that freshens up an old home the most.
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How often should you paint the outside of a house?
How many years between coats, how to tell if yours is already due and what it takes to stand up to the sun and salt air of the coast.
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Painting a building's communal areas: how it's organised
Which communal areas get painted, how to put the quote to the owners' committee and how I organise the work to disturb the residents as little as possible.
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Painting your flat before selling or letting
The cheapest bit of doing up a place that most lifts your flat's perceived value. Why it pays off and how to do it without overspending.
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Colours to make your flat look bigger
Colour and finish tricks that create a sense of space and light, without knocking down a single wall.
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Painting Your Business Without Closing the Doors
I work outside your opening hours and zone by zone so you stay open. How I organise it and what the price depends on.
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Respray the Doors or Replace Them?
Bringing doors, wardrobes and railings back to life without swapping them out: when respraying is worth it and how the finish comes up.
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How to Paint an Iron Gate or Railing (Even If It's Rusty)
Stripping the rust, priming properly and picking the right enamel so your metal fence lasts for years out in the weather.
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How to Paint an Exterior Wall or Boundary Wall
Prepping the surface, treating the damp and choosing the right waterproof paint so the wall stands up to the sun and rain.
Read the guideWho Pays for Painting a Rental Flat?
Whether you're a landlord or tenant on the Costa Blanca, I clear up who covers the painting, how often it's due and why repainting between tenants is one of the best-value jobs going.
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What Paint to Use in the Bathroom and Kitchen
Why these rooms need a special paint, which one to pick so mould doesn't come back, and how to bring your bathroom and kitchen up like new with no building work.
Read the guideHow much does it cost to paint a room?
A rough price for painting a single room (bedroom, living room, kitchen or bathroom), what changes the cost and when it pays to do it yourself or call me in.
Read the guidePainting price per m²: how it's worked out
What the price per metre actually means, why the same flat can give such different figures, and how to compare painting quotes without any nasty surprises.
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How much does it cost to paint a ceiling?
A rough price per metre, why the ceiling costs more than the wall, and what to do if it has woodchip, damp rings or the white has gone dull.
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How long does paint take to dry?
When you can use the room again, when it's safe to sleep in it and how long the smell takes to clear. What really matters so you can get back to normal as soon as possible.
Read the guideWhat's the best time of year to paint?
When it's best to paint inside and, above all, outside your home in the climate of Elche and the coast, so the paint grips well and the finish lasts.
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On-trend colours to paint your house
Which shades are in, the fail-safe formula for combining them and which colour suits each room, so your house looks current without going out of fashion in two years.
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Damp stains on the ceiling: why they appear and how to remove them
The three types of damp that stain a ceiling, why painting over won't fix it, and how to sort it properly so it doesn't come back.
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Damp stains that come back after painting
You painted over the stain, it looked sorted, and it's come back. I'll explain why that nearly always happens and how to fix it so it doesn't reappear.
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Efflorescence and salt marks on the wall: why they appear and how to treat them
Those white marks and that powdery deposit coming out of the wall are salts. I'll explain why they appear (very common in ground floors and near the sea) and how to treat them before painting.
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Black mould in the bathroom: how to remove it and stop it coming back
Why you get mould in the bathroom, why bleach alone isn't enough and how to sort it for good: cutting back, anti-mould paint and a bit of ventilation.
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How to combine your wall colours at home
The simple rule the professionals use (60-30-10), how to pick the base colour and the accent, and the mistakes that make a combination 'jar'.
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Bedroom colours for a better night's sleep
The tones that help most with relaxing and sleeping, which are best avoided, and how to add a touch of colour behind the bed without taking the calm out of the room.
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What colour to paint a hallway or entrance with no light
The colours and tricks that make a narrow, dark hallway look wider and brighter, with no building work.
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Painting without moving out: low-odour paint
These days you can get the house painted while you live in it, without the smell of years gone by and without moving out. Let me explain which products I use and how I organise it to disrupt you as little as possible.
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My painting guarantee: what it covers (and what it doesn't)
I give a written 2-year guarantee on the work. Let me set out openly what's in and what's out, because a clear guarantee is fairer for both you and me.
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Painting your kitchen or bathroom tiles (no building work)
Changing the tiling without hacking it off or renovating: how tiles are painted properly, which areas it works in and which it doesn't, and what to expect from the result.
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Why paint peels or flakes off (and how to avoid it)
The common reasons paint blisters, peels or flakes off, and how it's properly repaired so the problem doesn't come back.
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Painting Your Flat Furnished or Empty? What's Best for You
How much painting with the place full of furniture adds, why, and when it pays to do it furnished or wait until it's empty.
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Cracks in the Wall: Which Are Normal and Which to Worry About
How to tell the fine, cosmetic cracks (filled and painted, no drama) from the ones that warn of a deeper problem, and what's done in each case.
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Colours for the Kids' Bedroom (and Which Paint to Use)
Which shades work best in the children's room, how to balance the play zone and the sleep zone, and why washable, low-odour paint really matters here.
Read the guideA Painter Direct or a Painting Company on the Costa Blanca?
How hiring a painter direct differs from hiring a painting company, which works out better value for your home, and how to make sure you hire well.
Read the guideHow Much Does a Painter Charge Per Hour or Per Day?
The rates that get quoted per hour and per day, and why for your home a fixed price beats paying by the hour.
Read the guideRemoving Wallpaper and Painting the Wall
How wallpaper is stripped properly, how I leave the wall smooth and ready to paint, and what makes the job dear or cheap.
Read the guidePainting a holiday let or Airbnb
Which colours and which paint suit a holiday flat best, and how I get it painted quickly between bookings so you don't lose any nights of rental.
Read the guideGot a question that is not here? Message me and I will sort it out: ask for a free quote.
Want it painted well, with no surprises?
Tell me what you need (or send me a photo) and I'll put together a free, no-obligation quote. I reply in under an hour on WhatsApp.