We paint shopfronts at the Olden Road local centre in Rectory Farm, about 4.2 miles north-east of Northampton town centre. It is the estate's only parade, so Dean plans fascia, frame and shutter work around opening hours, school traffic and the flat above.
A small parade with a big job to do
Rectory Farm has no high street and no business park. Its shops sit together at the Olden Road local centre: the Co-op Food store and Rectory Farm Supermarket, sitting beside the community centre and Daisy Chain Pre-School, with Rectory Farm Primary School on the same road. It is the only place on the estate to shop, so the frontage is seen every day by the same local customers. A tired fascia or a peeling shutter here is noticed more, not less, than it would be in the town centre.
The nearest other parade is Blackthorn’s Bridge Court centre, in the next estate to the south-west. If your business is there, the same approach applies, but this page is about the Olden Road premises.
School runs, a 20 mph road and shop opening hours
Olden Road is a 20 mph street past the primary school and the shops, and school traffic at the start and end of the day affects the local centre. Ladders and tins outside a shop door during the school run are a hazard nobody wants. We plan any access equipment for the quieter middle of the day or another time agreed with you, keep the entrance clear at all times, and fence off the working area with barriers and wet paint signs. Where possible the messiest stage, scraping and sanding, happens when the shop is shut.
Convenience shops trade long hours, so there may be no time when the shop is closed and the light is good. In that case the work is split: preparation in one quiet spell, coats over the following days, done section by section so customers can always reach the door.
What gets painted on a local-centre shop
Before anything is painted we look at what has failed and why. On a fascia the usual culprit is a missing or cracked lead or zinc flashing on top, letting rain soak into the board from above. On a timber stallriser it is splashback from the pavement and mop water from inside. Painting over either without fixing the cause buys a year at most, so the quote notes any small repairs needed first, and who would do them.
- Fascia boards and signboard backgrounds, keeping clear of lettering or branding you want to keep
- Window frames, door frames and the stallriser below the window
- Roller shutters and shutter boxes, which need a primer suited to galvanised or coated steel
- Soffits, canopy edges and bin-store doors at the side or rear
Branded chain shops may have colours and suppliers set by head office, so check with them before booking. For independent shops the colours are your choice, as no conservation area covers the estate.
The flat above the supermarket
Energy certificate records show a residential flat above Rectory Farm Supermarket. Shopfront work below a home means keeping the resident’s entrance clear, telling them which days ladders will be up, and making sure nothing blocks their windows longer than necessary. If you own or manage the building, we can paint the shopfront and the flat’s external woodwork in the same visit.
For the full process, see our main shopfront painting service. Larger interior or multi-unit work is covered by commercial painting, and the Rectory Farm area page covers the estate’s homes.
Last updated by Dean, DH Painter & Decorator.
