Dean carries out commercial painting and decorating in Collingtree, 3 miles from the town centre and right beside M1 Junction 15. The parish has no shops, so the commercial work here is hospitality, leisure and care premises, each with its own constraints on timing, access and materials.
Business premises in a village without shops
The High Street in Collingtree has no shops at all. Its commercial life sits in a small number of very different buildings: The Wooden Walls of Old England, a listed thatched pub at 25 and 27 High Street; the Hilton hotel and sports club on Watering Lane near the A45; the Collingtree Park golf club house on Windingbrook Lane; and a care home within Collingtree Park. The church, primary school and tennis club add to the list of non-domestic buildings. Each one needs a different approach, so we treat them separately rather than as generic commercial work.
| Premises | What shapes the job |
|---|---|
| Listed thatched pub, High Street | Grade II status, thatch close to eaves and joinery, trading hours |
| Hotel and sports club, Watering Lane | Guests in residence, corridor and room turnover, A45 and M1 traffic grime outside |
| Golf club house, Windingbrook Lane | Member and event bookings, trees under a Tree Preservation Order nearby |
| Care home, Collingtree Park | Residents present, low-odour products, safe walkways |
The listed pub: consent, thatch and stone
The Wooden Walls of Old England is coursed rubble with ironstone dressings under a thatched roof, with casement windows and an outbuilding roofed in corrugated iron. It is Grade II listed and inside the Collingtree Conservation Area, where the 2008 management plan covers controlling advertisements. Changing the external colours or signage on a listed frontage may need listed building consent or advertisement consent, so the licensee or owner should confirm this with West Northamptonshire Council before work is booked. On the building itself, the stone walls should stay unpainted. Exterior work is on the timber casements, doors and outbuilding, using traditional or microporous paints. Because of the thatch, we never use a blowtorch or open flame to strip paint, and we protect the eaves and keep ladders clear of the thatch edge.
Hotel, golf club and care home
Larger premises bring a different problem: work has to happen while the building is in use. In a hotel that usually means doing rooms and corridors in sections agreed with the duty manager, so guests are never next to wet paint or sharing a corridor with dust sheets. A golf club house runs around competitions, functions and members’ bookings, and its grounds include trees protected by a Tree Preservation Order, so exterior access and any ladder or tower positions near them are planned to avoid damage. In a care home, residents are often present all day. We use low-odour water-based paints, keep work areas closed off, and keep corridors and fire routes clear and properly signed.
Exteriors near the M1 and A45
Collingtree sits next to M1 Junction 15, with the A45 to the east and the Watering Lane premises close to it. Traffic fumes leave a greasy film on exterior paintwork and signage, and new paint does not bond well to that. Exterior commercial work here therefore starts with a proper wash-down and degrease. Around the golf course, shade and mature trees also bring green algae and leaf litter on timber, which needs treating before any coating goes on.
Planning a commercial job
We start with a site visit to agree the scope, the sequence of areas and the working times with whoever manages the premises. Dean is fully insured, and we work to the site rules and paperwork that hotels and care providers set for contractors. Read more about how we run business jobs on our commercial painting page, and see the cost guide for what affects the price.
Last updated by Dean, DH Painter & Decorator.
