DH Painter & Decorator decorates hallways, staircases and landings in Flore, about 6.7 miles west of Northampton. Dean works across the village's mix of 17th-century farmhouses, Georgian three-storey houses and 20th-century homes north of the High Street, choosing access equipment and paint to suit each stairwell.
Stairwells in a village of three housing ages
Flore’s staircases span three quite separate building periods. Down the lanes below the High Street are yeoman farmhouses from around 1690 to 1720, many of them one room deep and some divided into several homes, alongside Georgian and Victorian terraces and three-storey houses. Above it sit the inter-war and post-war roads of Brockhall Road, The Crescent and Collins Hill. Then come the newer estates on former farmland on the northern edge. Each period produces a different kind of stairwell, and each needs a different setup.
| Type of house | Typical stair layout | How we reach it |
|---|---|---|
| One-room-deep farmhouse or cottage | Narrow, often steep, turning within the thickness of the house | Short step-ups and a small platform, with boards bridging the turn |
| Three-storey house on The Green or High Street | Tall well rising through two floors | Adjustable stair platform or a tower sized to the stairs |
| 1920s to 1950s semi | Straight flight, landing over the hall | Combination ladder and stair platform |
| New home on the northern side | Open straight flight, often with a half-landing | Stair platform; new plaster may still need sealing |
Cottage stairs and lime plaster
In the older farmhouses and cottages the stair walls are often lime plaster on stone, cob or brick. Lime does not like being sealed under a plastic-feeling vinyl emulsion; trapped moisture shows up as blistering and powdery patches, usually near the bottom of the flight. We use breathable mineral or clay-based paints on those walls, and we expect them to be uneven. Curves and undulations in old plaster are part of the house, so we fill cracks and loose areas rather than trying to skim everything flat.
Narrow cottage stairs also leave little room for a ladder. We bring compact step-ups and boards rather than a tower that will not fit, and we protect the treads and handrail before anything else happens.
Taller wells and the big houses
The three-storey stone and brick houses on The Green and along the High Street have tall stairwells where the top landing ceiling can sit well above head height from the stairs. The grandest example in the village is the double-height staircase hall at Flore House on The Avenue. Spaces like that call for a properly set-up platform or tower and a slower pace, because every pass of the roller is made at height. Where a building is listed, we agree the finish before starting; painting over original surfaces or changing a historic scheme may need listed building consent.
Getting the kit to the front door
Access to the house is part of the plan. A stair tower comes in sections and has to be carried from the van, so on The Green, Kings Lane or Sutton Street, where front doors open almost onto the carriageway, we fix the drop-off point and the carry route when we visit. On Brockhall Road or the newer estates the van can usually pull up close.
Finishes for a hall that takes the knocks
Hallways in family homes on Brockhall Road, The Crescent or the new estates take the most wear in the house: bikes, bags and muddy boots. We usually suggest a washable matt or eggshell on walls, with satin on spindles, strings and skirtings. Our main hallway, stairs and landing decorating page covers sequencing and protection in more detail, and the Flore page explains the village’s building periods.
Last updated by Dean, DH Painter & Decorator.
