DH Painter & Decorator decorates hallways, stairs and landings in Little Billing, NN3, around 3.2 miles north-east of Northampton town centre. Dean works on the listed old core near All Saints church and the later housing on the surrounding closes.
Why stairwells here range from simple to specialist
For most homes in Little Billing, the hall and stairs are those of a later suburban house on a close or cul-de-sac: a straight or dog-leg flight, a landing at the top and a stairwell wall that runs the full height of two storeys. A handful of properties in the old village core are a different matter. The Old Rectory on Church Lane is listed at Grade II, and its listing singles out a fine staircase and a panelled hall. The thatched cottages on Orchard Hill and Church Lane, some only one storey with attics, are the kind of house where stairs tend to be steep and boxed in between walls of coursed rubble and old plaster.
Our main hallway, stairs and landing decorating page covers how we sequence a stairwell, from ceilings down to spindles. Below we look at how the work differs between those types of house in Little Billing.
Reaching the high wall safely in a two-storey close house
The awkward part of most stairwells is the tall wall above the lower flight. In the later Little Billing houses we use a stair-specific platform or a small tower set on the treads, never a ladder resting on a banister. Access can need planning, because many of these streets are closes with on-street parking. The equipment is walked in from the road, so we tell you beforehand how much floor space we need in the hall and where it will stand.
Hallways in family homes take the hardest wear in the house: bikes and pushchairs against the wall, bags at the foot of the stairs, hands on the handrail. A scrubbable matt or a durable eggshell on the lower walls holds up better than a standard emulsion, and we suggest that on most quotes for the closes. Handrails and spindles are degreased and keyed before painting, since hand oils stop new paint bonding.
Panelling, old paint and lime plaster in the listed buildings
A panelled hall is not decorated like a plastered one. Each panel, rail and moulding is prepared by hand, and on joinery this old the lower paint layers may contain lead. We test before sanding, use wet abrading where lead is found, and keep the area screened off. The Old Rectory is now a day nursery, so any work there would need low-VOC products and timing around children being in the building.
In the cottages, stair walls are often lime plaster over rubble. That plaster needs to breathe, and vinyl emulsions trap moisture and cause flaking. We use breathable mineral or clay-based paints that let the wall dry out, and we fill uneven old plaster gently rather than skimming it flat, which would remove the character the listing protects. Changes to the character of a listed interior, including stripping or altering historic panelling, may need consent from West Northamptonshire Council.
A rough guide to the two cases
| Little Billing house type | What usually drives the job |
|---|---|
| Later houses on the closes | Height of the stairwell wall, worn handrails and spindles, wipeable wall finish |
| Thatched cottages, Church Lane and Orchard Hill | Tight steep stairs, lime plaster, breathable paint, gentle prep |
| The Old Rectory | Listed staircase and panelling, lead checks, work around nursery hours |
To see how hall and stairs work fits with the rest of the village’s houses, visit our Little Billing page. For help choosing who to hire for a listed interior, read how to choose a painter and decorator.
Last updated by Dean, DH Painter & Decorator.
