Dean decorates hallways, stairs and landings across Long Buckby, a hilltop village about 9 miles north-west of Northampton. The work ranges from tight two-storey cottage stairs on lime-plastered walls to tall stairwells in three-storey buildings that need a proper working platform.
Three kinds of staircase in one village
Long Buckby’s stairs follow the way the village was built. In the two-storey ironstone cottages along High Street, West Street and Nuns Lane, the stairs are usually steep, narrow and tucked against a wall. The red brick terraces of the 19th century, Holyoake Terrace, Sanders Terrace and The Banks among them, have a more regular hall-and-stair plan. Then there are the taller buildings. The Manse on Brington Road, from about 1819, rises to three storeys, and the Castle Factory on King Street, a three-storey former boot and shoe factory, is now dwellings. Each type needs a different approach to access, and to the walls themselves.
Getting equipment into a cottage stairwell
On a tight cottage stair there is rarely room for a stepladder on the treads, and the ceiling over the top flight often slopes. We use adjustable stair ladders with a short board between them, so the ceiling and upper wall can be reached standing level rather than leaning across the drop. Because these cottages open straight onto the street, everything comes in through the front door, so the hall floor is sheeted first and the route kept clear for you.
The walls are the bigger question. Ironstone and cob cottages were plastered in lime, which moves and breathes. Hairline cracks along the string and around the newel post are common, and modern vinyl emulsion over lime can trap damp and blister. Where the plaster is lime we use a breathable paint and lime-compatible or flexible fillers. Lining paper can help on very uneven walls, though on a stairwell it has to go up in long drops, which adds time.
Tall stairwells need a platform, not a long ladder
A three-storey stairwell such as those in The Manse or the converted factory homes can drop the full height of the building. Painting it safely means building a deck across the stairs, using a stair-specific platform system or a podium set across the treads, rather than resting a long ladder on fresh paint. The set-up adds time, but it is the only way to reach the head of the wall and the ceiling properly. Where a conversion keeps its large original window openings, the reveals and sills on the half landing need attention as well.
Finishes for a hall that takes the knocks
The hallway is the hardest-working space in any house. In a terrace whose front door opens straight onto the pavement, bikes, buggies and shopping all come through it, and with the rugby and football clubs on Station Road and open countryside on three sides of the village, muddy boots are a fair bet. We use a scrubbable matt or eggshell on lower walls and a durable satin on spindles, handrail and strings. Where a dado rail survives in a Victorian hall, a tougher finish below it and a softer matt above is both practical and in keeping with the house.
In the newer houses around Salem and off East Street, stairwells are generally plasterboard with an open landing, and the work is mostly filling settlement cracks, refreshing woodwork and repainting the walls. Our hallway, stairs and landing decorating page covers the full process step by step, and the Long Buckby page sets out everything else we do in the village. If you are comparing quotes, our guide to choosing a decorator lists the questions worth asking.
Last updated by Dean, DH Painter & Decorator.
