Dean decorates hallways, stairs and landings in Parklands, NN3, about 2.5 miles north-east of Northampton town centre. Many semis here have a second flight up to a roof room, which makes the stairwell taller than usual and calls for stair platforms rather than ladders.
A stairwell that rises through two flights
The stair in a standard two-storey house ends at the first-floor landing. In a lot of Parklands Avenue and Parklands Crescent semis it doesn’t. Energy certificates record rooms in the roof across these streets, and where a roof room has been formed the stair carries on up a second flight. That gives a stairwell wall that runs from the hall floor almost to the top of the house, plus a second, narrower landing under the roof slope.
That height is the main thing we plan for. The upper wall cannot be reached from a stepladder on a tread or a plank laid on the banister. We set up an adjustable stair platform with staging boards across the drop, and rebuild it for the second flight. The stairs stay passable, and we tell you in advance which parts of the day a flight will be closed while the top section is cut in.
Order of work, top to bottom
- Top landing and roof-room stair. These walls sit under a poorly insulated roof, so we check for condensation staining or black mould. Any marks are cleaned and sealed with a stain-block, and the walls are finished in a mould-resistant emulsion.
- Main stairwell wall. The tallest section, done from the platform. Ceiling first, then walls, so drips never land on finished paint.
- First-floor landing. Usually several bedroom doors and a bathroom door in a small area, with frames painted in the same visit.
- Hall and woodwork. Spindles, handrails, strings and skirtings last, once nobody needs to carry anything past them.
Working down like this means the dust and the heavy gear move towards the front door as the job ends, rather than being carried back through new paint.
What wears out in a Parklands hall
These are family houses, mostly owner-occupied, on streets close to Parklands Primary and the nursery on Spinney Hill Road. Halls take school bags, bikes and pushchairs, and the stairs to a roof room take furniture going up and down. Low on the walls and along the handrail is where paint fails first. We usually suggest a scrubbable matt or a durable eggshell for the lower walls, and a satin for skirtings and strings.
Suspended timber floors are recorded in the energy certificates too, which means skirtings and stair strings move a little with the floor. Cracks between the string and the wall come back if they are filled with something rigid, so we use flexible caulk there. The detail on access equipment and finishes is on our main hallway, stairs and landing page.
Coppice Drive bungalows and maisonettes
Not every Parklands home has a stairwell. The semi-detached bungalows on Coppice Drive have a short single-storey hall, quick to decorate with a hop-up platform, though the loft hatch and its frame are worth including. The top-floor maisonettes above the Coppice Drive parade are reached past working shops, so we plan arrival, parking and carrying gear in around the shop hours and customers below.
Colours for a tall, narrow space
With no conservation area on record for Parklands, the choice is yours inside and out. In a stairwell that climbs to a north-facing roof room, a warm light tone helps the upper landing, which can feel dim. Some owners paint the lower half a darker, harder-wearing colour and keep the upper wall light. More on the estate is on our Parklands page, and our guide to choosing a decorator covers what to ask before booking stairwell work.
Last updated by Dean, DH Painter & Decorator.
