Painters and Decorators Finish First.
Two painters, one an old man and the other a youngster, were painting a very large home. It was getting late in the day when they reached the second floor.
There ahead of them was a very long corridor. The older decorator said, “I’ve had enough for one day I’m off. How about you?”
With that the younger painter headed toward the corridor and said, “Not me I’m in this for the long hall”.
Painters and decorators put paint, wallpaper and other finishes to the inside and outside surfaces of buildings and other structures. They work for themselves or are paid by construction companies, painting contractors or building maintenance contractors.
The work of painters and decorators are various and interesting, ranging from re-decorating homes to applying heavy-duty finishes to huge structures like Tower Bridge.
As a painter and decorator on a domestic job, you would use paint, varnishes and wallpaper to decorate rooms. You would work to homeowner’s requests about choice of colour, finishing texture and wallpaper patterns to achieve their vision. You main tasks would include:
• Measuring surface areas to work out how much paint or wall covering you need with minimum leftover.
• Preparing wall surfaces by stripping off old wallpaper or paint, filling holes and cracks and leveling surfaces, readying surfaces with primer and undercoat
• Mixing paint to the desired shade, by hand or by using computerized colour-matching equipment
• Brushing or spraying layers of paint and hanging wallpaper.
• Finishing off by tidying up after the job.
On some jobs, you may use specialized finishes including Artex™, rag-rolling, graining and marbling.
On industrial jobs, you would work on structures like bridges or ships, using abrasive blasting equipment to get at the base surface before applying new ones with industrial paint spraying equipment.
You do not need academic qualifications to be a painter and decorator. Employers tend to prefer people with some on-site experience, so you may want to think about working as a painter and decorator's 'mate' to learn from a master. Once you are working, there is no end of further training in painting and decorating open to you.
Alternatively, you could take a college course in painting and decorating which would give you some of the skills needed for the job, such as, City & Guilds (6217) Level 1 Certificate in Basic Construction Skills (Painting and Decorating) or CITB Intermediate/Advanced Construction Award in Decorative Occupations (Painting and Decorating).
You may also be able to get into this career through an Apprenticeship scheme. But however you get into it, painters and decorators are in the customer satisfaction business. It is how well you meet and exceed the householders expectations for quality finishing that will keep you in work.
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