Decorating my home
This is usually your responsibility. However, there may be times when we carry out decorating, such as:
If we’ve plastered a full ceiling or wall, we’ll apply a mist coat to prepare it for you to decorate
Decorating communal areas following a repair
External decoration of your home carried out as part of a planned programme of works. You can find out more here
We might already have an asbestos survey for your home. If you’re planning any works in your home, please contact us and we can let you know if there is any asbestos there.
Don't damage or drill, cut, scrape or sand anything that might contain asbestos
Don't jet-wash or clean down corrugated garage or shed roofs containing asbestos
Don't remove old floor tiles or linoleum which may contain asbestos
Make sure you get a licensed professional to do the work instead.
If your home was built before 2000 and you are not sure, check out the HSE for more advice.
The type of paint to use depends on the room or surface you're looking to paint:
Bathroom – best to use a specialised moisture-resistant for the ceilings, anti-mould formula with a satin, eggshell, or semi-gloss finish. This helps with the moisture caused in bathrooms to prevent paint peeling
Kitchen - durable, moisture-resistant, and washable, with satin or eggshell finishes being ideal for walls to resist grease and steam
Walls - flat matte or vinyl matte is best for durable, scrubbable finishes in well used areas
Ceilings - flat or matte emulsion is best as it reduces glare and offers a smooth, non-reflective finish
Radiators - radiator paint needs to be used
Some top tips when you're wallpapering are:
Don't use a steamer when removing old wallpaper, as this can damage the plaster
Use a blade and score the paper, get a damp sponge and cover the walls and using a wallpaper scraper to scrape the paper off
You don't need our permission for wallpapering your home
You can wallpaper over wallpaper
When painting doors, please make sure the correct paint is being used:
For internal doors we recommend using satin paint
For kitchen cupboard doors, satin paint is best to use
For external doors make sure it's weatherproof and you use gloss paint
When moving out of the home, please ensure that it's painted back to its original colour.
We don't limit you to certain colours, however when painting external doors some estates have restrictions so we recommend you check first.
When putting items up on walls, we ask that you:
Fill any holes when you're moving out
Use a stud finder to help locate pipes
Avoid putting up inline with plug sockets/light switches
There are some charities that may be able to help with decorating in the home such as:
Citizen's Advice is a great starting point for what support is available in your area
Mend and Tend - Community First in Fareham, Gosport and Havant and their surrounding areas (PO6 through to PO16 and SO31)
Get in touch with us and our neighbourhoods team can help check your eligibility to refer you to schemes like SCRATCH and Community RePaint
