We decorate hallways, stairs and landings in Denton, 5.4 miles east of Northampton in the NN7 postcode. In the old limestone cottages, the stairs are often narrow, steep and boxed in, and they need a compact access setup. Houses on The Leys estate have conventional stairwells that suit standard stair platforms.
Boxed-in cottage stairs
The older houses along Main Street, Church Way and Bedford Road were built between the 17th and 19th centuries, mostly as two-storey cottages and farmhouses, some with an attic floor above. Stairs in houses of that age were fitted into whatever space was left. They are often narrow, steep, turned with winders, and boxed in between walls, with a low ceiling over the top steps. A full-size adjustable stair platform may not fit, and a stepladder on a tread is never safe.
We work out the access before we quote. Depending on the stair, that might be a compact stair ladder, short staging boards across the treads, or a small platform on the landing. In a boxed stair, the walls are close enough to reach from the treads, but the ceiling over the head of the flight is where most of the planning goes. We also keep the stair passable by working in sections, so you can get up and down at the end of each day.
Solid stone behind the plaster
Hall and stair walls in Denton’s limestone cottages are usually solid stone with lime plaster, and they are rarely flat. Lime plaster needs to breathe, so we use breathable or mineral emulsions, not vinyl paints that trap moisture in the wall. Lumps and undulations are part of the house; we fill cracks and loose patches, but we do not try to skim them flat. If you want wallpaper on a stair wall, a lining paper first evens out the surface.
Where a cottage stair has a plain balustrade, boarded sides or a ledged door at its foot, that timber takes an oil-based or microporous finish, and any old lead-based layers are handled with wet sanding and dust control.
Attic flights and three-storey houses
Because the old houses step up and down the valley sides, eave and ridge heights shift between neighbours, and some properties rise to three storeys or have a room in the roof. A second flight to an attic adds another landing and a taller drop to protect. We treat each landing as its own stage, starting from the top and working down, so dust and drips never land on finished paint below.
Leys estate stairwells and bungalow hallways
Things are simpler on The Leys, built at the end of the 1960s below the old core, and in the later houses built towards the A428 bypass. Two-storey houses there usually have a straight flight with an open stairwell and a single tall wall, which is exactly what an adjustable stair platform is designed for. Bungalows have no stairs at all, so the hall is a ceiling-height job, though the corridor between bedrooms often takes more knocks than any room in the house.
| House type in Denton | Typical stair | How we reach it |
|---|---|---|
| Main Street or Church Way cottage | Narrow, steep, often boxed or winding | Stair ladder and short staging boards |
| Cottage or farmhouse with an attic | Two flights, extra landing | Staged from the top landing down |
| Leys estate two-storey house | Straight flight, open stairwell | Adjustable stair platform |
| Later bungalow | None; long hall corridor | Low steps and hop-up |
Our main hallway, stairs and landing decorating page explains our finish choices for high-traffic walls. What affects the cost of a stairwell job is set out in our painter and decorator cost guide, and you can find our other Denton services on the Denton area page.
Last updated by Dean, DH Painter & Decorator.
