We repaint shopfronts, sign fascias, window frames and shutters for New Duston businesses in NN5, 2.8 miles out on the north-west side of Northampton. Dean plans each job around your opening hours, and on Main Road around the school run at Eldean too.
Five parades rather than a high street
There is no high street in New Duston. Its shops are spread across several small local centres, and the Duston Neighbourhood Plan protects the Port Road local shopping centre under policy B3. Between them they cover most kinds of frontage a painter meets:
- Port Road: the protected local shopping centre at the heart of the old settlement
- Harlestone Road: a post office, a Londis convenience store and The Hart of Duston pub, facing the A428
- Quarry Road: units including a hair and beauty salon, a convenience store and a foot clinic
- Main Road: a parade opposite Duston Eldean Primary School with a Co-op food store, fish bar, Chinese takeaway, convenience store and hairdresser
- Woodley Chase: a funeral director, a hair salon and a beauty salon
Each of these is small, and that shapes the work. A shopfront here is usually one unit in a short row, with neighbours either side who are still trading, so containment and tidy working matter as much as the paint.
Planning around the school gate and the evening trade
The Main Road parade faces Eldean School, which means the pavement fills with parents and children twice a day. We keep ladders and open tins out of the way at drop-off and pick-up, and plan the parts of the job that block the footway for the quieter middle of the day. Takeaways and the fish bar are different again: they are often closed or quiet in the morning, so frontage work can be done before the evening rush and left dry by opening. Salons and the foot clinic run on appointments, so we work out which hours have the fewest clients coming through the door.
A funeral director’s premises call for a calmer approach still. We agree in advance which days or times to avoid, keep noise and equipment to a minimum and leave the entrance clear throughout.
Signage boards, surrounds and shutters
Signage is a live issue locally. A review of signage applications in Duston counted 22 between 2010 and 2013, six of which were refused. Simply repainting an existing sign fascia or shopfront in its current colours does not normally need consent, but new or illuminated signage can, and a big colour change on a prominent unit is worth checking with West Northamptonshire Council first. We can paint the board and surround ready for your sign-writer or for a new panel to be fitted, and mask existing lettering carefully where the sign itself is staying.
Roller shutters and their boxes are steel, so they get the same rust treatment as any metalwork: clean, abrade, prime bare spots and finish in a tough coating. We agree a time with you when the shutter can stay in one position until the coating is dry.
Main-road frontages and the pub
The Harlestone Road centre and The Hart of Duston sit on the A428, where traffic dirt builds up on window frames, stallrisers and sills. Washing that film off is the first step on any frontage there, and a washable finish lets staff keep it clean between repaints. Parking a van beside a busy main road takes thought too, so we agree loading and ladder positions before starting.
Larger premises and fit-outs are covered by our commercial painting service. Our standard approach to preparation and finishes is on the main shopfront painting service page, and the full list of local work is on the New Duston page.
Last updated by Dean, DH Painter & Decorator.
