DH Painter & Decorator decorates rental homes in Pineham, Northampton NN4, for landlords and letting agents, on the estate beside Upton Country Park. Dean repaints walls, ceilings and woodwork between tenancies in the estate's townhouses and family houses, planned around tight changeover dates.
Let homes on a young estate
We could not find published figures on how many Pineham homes are rented, so we will not guess. What we can say is that the estate is made up of 21st-century Taylor Wimpey family houses and three-storey terraced townhouses, and where one of those is let, the decorating needs are fairly predictable. Houses here are under twenty years old and may still carry much of the original builder’s finish.
That shapes the job. A let Pineham house rarely needs the old-plaster repairs or heavy stripping that older Northampton rentals do. The work is mainly about replacing finishes that were never meant to last with ones that will.
Why builder-grade paint lets landlords down
The original walls in most Pineham houses are finished in builder’s matt emulsion. It looks fine at handover, but it marks easily, cannot be washed, and shows every scuff after a tenancy. Touching it up rarely works either, because a patch of fresh paint flashes against the faded wall around it. The same applies to the woodwork, where factory-primed MDF skirtings and doors often have only a thin top coat that wears through at the edges.
On a first between-tenancy repaint we would normally suggest moving the walls to a durable, wipeable emulsion in one consistent neutral colour, recorded for the file. Later touch-ups can then be done from the same tin, and marks can often be cleaned off rather than painted over at the next changeover.
| Area | Typical wear after a tenancy | Suggested approach |
|---|---|---|
| Living room and bedrooms | Picture hook holes, furniture scuffs | Fill, sand, two coats wipeable emulsion |
| Stairwell and landings | Hand and bag marks, knocks on corners | Scrubbable finish to handrail height |
| Bathrooms and en-suites | Steam marks, mould spots on ceilings | Clean with fungicidal wash, moisture-resistant paint |
| Top-floor bedroom | Condensation stains round the Velux | Stain-block primer, then finish coats |
| Skirtings and doors | Chipped edges, worn thin top coat | Key, undercoat, durable satinwood |
Turning round a three-storey let
A three-bedroom townhouse with two bathrooms spread over three floors has more surfaces than a two-storey house of the same floor area, plus a tall stairwell that needs staging. When the gap between tenancies is short, that matters. We work out the order before the keys are handed over, usually starting at the top floor so finished rooms are not walked through, and can split a job so the most worn rooms are done first if the gap is tight.
The top-floor bedrooms in Pineham townhouses have Velux roof windows, and condensation around those reveals is a common mark left behind by tenants. Painting straight over it lets the stain come back through, so those reveals get a stain-blocking primer first.
Working with agents and absent landlords
If you don’t live near Pineham, or the house is managed by a letting agent, we can collect keys from the agent, send photographs of the property before and after, and give a written quote that lists room by room what is included, so you can decide which rooms need full coats and which can wait. Pineham is a short drive from our Northampton base along the south-western side of town.
Our main landlord and letting agent decorating page covers end-of-tenancy work in more detail, and the cost guide explains what affects the price. For the estate as a whole, see our Pineham page.
Last updated by Dean, DH Painter & Decorator.
