Filling, sanding and crack repairs so every surface is sound and smooth before a brush goes near it, because a good finish starts underneath.
Paint doesn’t hide a bad wall: it shows every crack, bump and patch straight through. A lot of Oldbury homes have older plaster with the cracks and tired patches that come with age. We fill, sand and seal so you get a flat, sound surface, then paint onto something that actually looks good afterwards.
In the post-war Oldbury houses around Rounds Green most walls are plasterboard, and the damage is dents, cracked joints and old wall plugs. In the older terraces near the centre it is traditional plaster, which cracks and blows in a different way. Knowing which a wall is decides how it is prepared before any paint goes on.
Filled, sanded and made good so the finished paint is flat, not a map of old cracks.
Water marks and old stains sealed with a stain-blocking primer so they do not bleed through the finish.
Proud or sunken patches from old repairs filled and sanded flat, and anything that needs a plasterer flagged before decorating starts.
The prep that decides whether the final coat looks flawless or rough. We don’t skip it.
A crack along a board joint comes back if it is only filled. It is opened up, taped and filled so it stays closed.
Holes left by shelves, curtain poles and old TV brackets are cleared out and filled flush, so the new paint shows none of them.
Then it needs a plasterer before it is decorated, and you will be told that plainly. Cracks, holes and small patches are filled and sanded as part of the preparation.
Yes: filling and making good cracks, holes and old patches is a standard part of prep before we paint.
Often, with filling, sanding and lining paper on sound but uneven walls. Where a wall needs replastering, that is a plasterer, and you will be told what it realistically needs.
If it runs along a plasterboard joint, filler alone will crack again as the boards move, so it needs opening up and taping first. A crack that keeps widening in any wall is worth having looked at before it is painted over.
Loose plugs are pulled out, the hole is cleaned and filled in layers so it does not shrink back, then sanded flush. Large holes get a patch first.
A decorator can deal with cracks, holes and small patches. In an older Oldbury house, a wall that needs skimming all over or plaster that has come away in large areas is a plastering job, and you will be told honestly which yours is.
A single room is usually one to two days for filling, sanding and priming. A room with damaged plaster or old lining paper takes longer. If a plasterer is needed first, the days are planned around theirs.
Send a photo or a quick video of the room on WhatsApp. Or ask for a free fixed quote with no obligation. We will tell you straight what it needs.