After the installation of all wiring (only needed if you are shifting, adding or removing power points or lighting points) and pipes (aircon and gas pipping), you can proceed to paint your house. Do read all the previous posts on “How to renovate your BTO HDB yourself” as this is a continuation posting.
Reasons to paint your house first
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Good painting finishing for all areas: It is very difficult to achieve good finishing around the area where the carpentry and the wall meet if painting is done after carpentry, for example the wardrobe is installed. Even if the carpenter dirtied some of the area while installing the wardrobe, the painter only need to do some touchup and the wall will look as good as freshly painted. This apply to the window grille as well. if the window grilles are stalled first, there will be many blind spots where the painter cannot access.
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Paint the area that will be covered up: I am sure you would love to have the wall behind your wardrobe to be painted as well even if you are not going to see it until the day the wardrobe is removed.
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Patching up the areas affected by the pipping and wiring installation: If all the lights fixtures and aircon blowers are installed, there is no way the painter is able to reach the hacked or drilled areas (these areas need proper patching up with plaster followed by painting over). Electrician and aircon installer will not patch up properly (nice and neat) for you.
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Your carpentry or window grille will not get paint stains: During the painting process, there will be many small droplets of paint flying around especially while painting the ceiling. I am sure you do not want your new wardrobe to be covered with paint droplets.
What to do before engaging the painter
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Prepare your floor plan: The reason for the floor plan is to help you to indicate the paint colours for each areas clearly. This floor plan will be given to the painter so that he will know which paint to buy. This is also to serve as a black and white (paper documentation) to prevent any miscommunication.
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Colour selection: You can select your paint colours or types using hardcopy paint catelog from hardware store or digital paint catelog from the paint supplier websites. Some paint suppliers also provide colour preview service which can be really helpful.
Picture taken from www.dulux.com.sg.
- Special painting requirements or designs: You might want to have some designs for your wall using paint, for example strips, etc. Do draw out the design clearly on a paper and indicate which wall and the colour code. Not all painters do designs or special requirements. Do check with the painter before engaging him. Do note that there will be additional cost for such requirements depending on the design and difficulty.
Commonly used paint brands in Singapore
Nippon paint & ICI Dulux paint
These 2 paint brands are the most commonly used brands in Singapore. Almost all Interior Designers and contractors uses them. They are reasonably priced with good quality paint. They also have very good reputation and are well known among all homeowners and Interior Designers. Do take note that there are many paint varieties and grades. They are all priced differently. For more information about the differences in paint varieties, do visit their websites.
Jotun paint
II include this brand because I do see a lot of their commercial in Singapore. However, I have not heard of any Interior Designer using this brand. Therefore I am unable to comment the quality or the pricing.
Common misunderstanding
Some Interior Designers or painter like to differentiate ICI and Dulux (Premium). In actual fact, both are from the same company. This is how you should differentiate between the 2 brands:
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Basic paint: Nippon 5000 Vs Dulux Pentalite (or ICI Pentalite)
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Premium paint : Nippon All in One Vs Dulux All (Previously known as ICI Supreme 3-in-1)
If you are engaging a Interior Designer, do check the quotation regarding the paint used. If you want to use the premium paint, you must include the name Nippon All in One or Dulux All in the contract.
Pricing
My painter charged me a total of $900 (contractor price) for my Dad’s BTO 3 room HDB including:
- Paint type: ICI pentalite or Nippon 5000 only
- Colours limitation: 6 colours per job
- Duration: 1 to 2 days for first round of painting and another 1 day for paint touch up (after the renovation works are completed or just before washing the house)
Reasons why I use my own painter: I trusted him and the painting work is worry free for me. He provide really good service with excellent attitude. Attitude is very important to me because it makes the whole renovation process stress-free and a happy one.
Painters putting protective sheets to protect the floor and other “paint free” areas
The strip on the left is done by my painter which I find it very well done!
Promotion from other painters
I found this pasted in the lift. I find their pricing really low. This is only a single trip painting work. Do enquire them about 2 trips painting works and their pricing. Do see at least one sample unit from them so that you can at least have a feel of their working process and finished product. If you do not like what you see, it means this painter is not suitable for you.
Promotion from paint suppliers
Dulux
Information taken from www.duluxservices.com.sg on 31 Jan 2015
Nippon
Information taken from Nipponpaint.com.sg on 31 Jan 2015
Things to take note
- Painting job cannot be perfect: Only machine can do a perfect job. If you can get 90% satisfaction from a painting job, I think the painter is already exceeding expectation.
- Mark out all the areas that needed touching up: A masking tape will be useful when identifying the “touch up” areas. Do the marking the day before the painter arrived. At least the painter will know where are the spots that you wanted corrections while he checks for others.
- Do not throw away the excess paint: You can remove the excess paints 2 to 3 months after you have moved in. This is to let you make any necessary touch up if you have to.
- Indication of correct paint used: The containers containing the paint is your only indication that the correct paint type and colour code are used. Not leaving the paint containers behind is not an acceptable excuse. Without the containers, there is a possibility that the painter is not being honest about the source of the paint.
- Not all printing works are included in the quoted price: Painting of doors, window grilles, windows, balcony railing, common area wall at your main door, carpentry or furnitures are usually not inclusive in the quoted pricing. Please check with your painter if you want those areas to be painted.
Conclusion
Different painters provide different services, reliability and painting finishing. If you are choosing a private painter, do make sure its recommended. You can also go to the paint supplier directly for their painting services. The worst is to go for a painter that is not recommended and you get short changed because the dishonest painter use a cheaper paint or leftovers from another projects. As for pricing, both private painters and paint supplier painting service provide very competitive pricing.