Dean paints the insides of houses and flats in Thorplands, the NN3 estate about 3.3 miles north-east of Northampton town centre. Most homes there date from 1967 to 1975, so the job is usually less about colour and more about dealing with fifty years of overpainting, patch-filling and tired gloss.
What a 1971 home in Thorplands tends to have inside
Thorplands belongs to the early years of Northampton’s New Town growth. On Great Holme Court, Waterpump Court, Midfield Court, Farm Field Court and Holmecross Road, 1971 is the median build year in EPC records. They are mainly mid- and end-terrace houses, with low-rise flats grouped into the same courts. Inside, that usually means compact living rooms, small bedrooms, a straight-flight stair in the houses, and softwood window boards, door linings and skirtings that have now been in place for around half a century.
After that long, a wall rarely has one clean coat on it. It has layers: repaints by several occupiers, holes filled and never sanded, a ceiling crack rolled over two or three times. The sources we use do not record whether a particular home has plaster or plasterboard linings, so Dean checks each room with a light held flat against the wall before pricing, rather than guessing.
Small rooms show every flaw
In a compact room you are never far from a wall. A filled hole that dries as a dull patch, or a ridge of old paint along the ceiling line, is obvious from the sofa. So in a Thorplands terrace the hours go into raking out and filling cracks where walls meet ceilings, sanding back old runs, spot-priming filler so it does not flash through, and sealing any water or nicotine stains before the first coat of emulsion goes on.
The joinery needs the same honesty. Fifty-year-old skirtings and door linings under many coats of gloss chip at the edges and often turn yellow. A quick top coat over that only highlights the chips. We key the old gloss, fill the dents and finish with a waterborne satin or gloss that stays white far longer than the old oil-based paints. You can read how we work through a room, step by step, on our interior painting page.
Painting a flat that shares a stair
There are 34 flats on Waterpump Court and 42 on Great Holme Court, and they share entrances and stairwells. Painting inside one means carrying steps, dust sheets and tins up a stair your neighbours use, so we keep that route clear, lift sheets off shared floors at the end of each day and agree start times with you. Parking is in shared court bays rather than on driveways, and there are walkways between blocks, so before the first day we work out where the van goes and how far everything has to be carried.
A large share of homes here are rented, and on Great Holme Court social housing is the majority. If you rent, check with your landlord or housing provider before redecorating, as some set rules on colours and finishes. Owners getting a property ready between tenants can see our landlord decorating service.
Matching the paint to the room
| Room | What we often find | What we would use |
|---|---|---|
| Living room | Patch-filled walls, scuffs at seat height | Durable matt emulsion that can be wiped down |
| Kitchen | Grease and condensation on small wall areas | Kitchen and bathroom emulsion with a soft sheen |
| Bathroom | Mould spots, flaking paint on the ceiling | Mould wash, stabilising primer, moisture-resistant finish |
| Children’s bedroom | Knocks, pen and sticker marks | Scrubbable matt that tolerates cleaning |
| Doors and skirtings | Chipped, yellowed layers of gloss | Keyed, filled, then waterborne satin or gloss |
Getting a quote
From our Northampton base, Thorplands is a short drive out towards Lumbertubs Way and Talavera Way. Dean comes out, looks at the rooms in daylight and gives you a written quote that says what preparation is included. Cost depends on condition as much as size, and our painter and decorator cost guide explains what moves the figure. Call Dean on 07539 779 036, or see the Thorplands area page for the other work we do on the estate.
Last updated by Dean, DH Painter & Decorator.
