We repaint shopfronts in Phippsville, about 1.3 miles north-east of Northampton town centre. The units here are small local shops and services on the Kettering Road frontage and St Matthews Parade, and we plan the work around opening hours and the main road outside.
Local units rather than a high street
Phippsville is mainly residential. St Matthew’s parish describes local shops and essential services within the area, while most residents work elsewhere. The commercial frontage that does exist is on the Kettering Road and at St Matthews Parade, and it is made up of small units serving the people who live nearby rather than a run of chain stores.
That shapes the job. A small shop usually has one door, one window and one fascia, and losing the entrance for a morning can mean turning away regulars. So we plan the work in short, defined stages and tell you before each one which part of the frontage we are working on that day.
What a Kettering Road frontage needs before paint
The A5123 is a bus route with heavy traffic, and every shop facing it collects a layer of road grime. On a shopfront, that film sits on the fascia board, the window frames and the stallriser below the window, the low panel that also takes kicks, bags and splashes from the pavement. New paint laid over grime peels at the edges within a season.
Preparation on these fronts therefore runs in this order:
- Wash and degrease the whole frontage, including the underside of the fascia where dirt collects.
- Scrape and sand flaking paint back to a firm edge, and fill dents in timber or metal.
- Prime bare timber, and use the right primer on any metal or previously coated surfaces.
- Apply hard-wearing finish coats, with the stallriser given a tougher, more washable finish than the fascia.
If your signwriting or a vinyl sign is staying, we mask around it carefully. If it is being replaced, we coordinate with your sign maker so the fascia is painted and dry before they arrive.
Keeping the door open
We agree working hours with you before starting, putting the noisiest prep at quieter times of your day and painting the entrance first or last so customers can always get in. Wet paint signs go on anything a hand or coat might touch. Exterior paint also needs dry weather and reasonable temperatures, so we watch the forecast and move a day rather than paint a fascia in drizzle.
Bus stops along this stretch restrict loading and parking outside the units, which also affects your deliveries. We plan the van, the ladders or a small tower and any pavement protection so that pedestrians, bus passengers and your customers can get past at all times.
Colour is your choice, and on a small unit it carries a lot of weight. A darker fascia hides traffic grime longer than a pale one, and a satin or eggshell finish on the stallriser wipes clean more easily than flat paint. If you have brand colours, bring the references and we will match them; if not, we can paint sample boards to look at against the window display.
Inside the shop, and other premises nearby
A tired interior can undo a fresh exterior, and some owners ask us to repaint the sales floor or back office in the same booking. The parish also includes residential and nursing homes, which need low-odour, washable finishes and work phased around residents; that sits under our commercial painting service.
For more on how we approach shopfronts, see our main shopfront painting page. We cover Phippsville from our base in Northampton, and our cost guide shows how a shopfront quote is built up.
Last updated by Dean, DH Painter & Decorator.
