Estimate for painting external windows... And info on how...

[DIYNotIan]

Hi all

Following a recent thread I made on what to do with my external wooden windows, we've decided to have them painted rather than return them to bare wood.

There are 10 windows in all, and here's a couple of pics to give an idea:

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• DIYNotIan
• 10 Sep 2012
• 2

There's one window hiding behind the rose bush in that pic!


Here's a couple of the back of the house....

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• DIYNotIan
• 10 Sep 2012
• 1

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• DIYNotIan
• 10 Sep 2012
• 1

And here is a close up of a window. I've taken one of the window in worse condition. Most the others are better than this.

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• DIYNotIan
• 10 Sep 2012
• 1

A chap has quoted us to prepare and repaint them all for £450. That does NOT include the paint (just labour). And it does NOT include the doors... Just for the 10 windows.

Never had anything like this done before so I wondered if anyone can tell me whether that's a good price?

Also, he said he would do a coat of primer followed by two coats of topcoat.... Is that a good plan? We will likely be using F and B, or Marston and Langinger paint, so if we can get away with just the one topcoat at those prices it would be much better!!!

Cheers

Max[/b]

 

[dcdec]

3 coats of paint plus filling and sanding, tidying up, working off ladders, rained off etc etc and you sound a bit begrudged at paying £45 per window?

Depending on the timber ali wood primer may be required (although it doesn't look like hardwood) or a flexible exterior primer followed by two coats of superdec.

 

[DIYNotIan]

3 coats of paint plus filling and sanding, tidying up, working off ladders, rained off etc etc and you sound a bit begrudged at paying £45 per window?

Not at all - I think the price is great. I was just trying to see how much it compares to what others might charge. If it is significantly lower, I guess it worries me a little that the work might not be great. Or it could just be a great bargain... Who knows!?!

Depending on the timber ali wood primer may be required (although it doesn't look like hardwood) or a flexible exterior primer followed by two coats of superdec.

It's soft wood, most likely pine.

I've just been reading about the Superdec and it seems like a good option. On further thoughts on that would be good.

I've ruled out F and B....

Still considering Marston and Langinger.

And I'm also looking into Beckers range of paints (Swedish) company. Any thoughts on any of those would be much appreciated.

With regard primer, I have a tin of Zinsser Bullseye 1-2-3. Would that be a good choice?

Many thanks

Max

 

[dcdec]

Ah ok, sorry, just the way i read it.

Exterior work can be a bit tricky. The important thing is to try and match products so that they will flex at the same rate. i.e. if the primer flexes but top coat doesn't it will crack. So with that in mind stick to a complete water based system or a complete oil based system. Having just looked it up the superdec is self priming so two or three coats is the way to go.

Dulux weathershield system is very good but has the drawback that drying times can be very long, plus being oil based its a long time between coats.

My normal preference is sickens primer/uc (2 coats) followed by one coat of XD. This time of year though faster drying and recoat times are needed so i'd go with the superdec.

 

[dhutch]

We've used dulux weathershield on our external windows (gloss white) and it appears to be good paint, to be honest while im not a decorator, I think most modern paints are pretty good and without knowing whats on there now I would just pick a system and use it. But I wouldnt let cost drive it too much.

Daniel

 

[DIYNotIan]

Thanks guys.

What I am finding interesting after speaking to a few people about all this is:

- Sanding. Some say just give them a light-ish sand (mostly just to key) and then go ahead and prime. Others say the woodwork should be sanded as much as possible and where ever possible returned to bare wood before doing any painting. The guy who's gonna do the work is going with the quick sand/key approach. Totally understandably, he said to sand them all properly would take an age and cost a bomb. Anyone got any thoughts on the sanding side of things?

- Priming. This is an interesting one as well because some people are saying that there is no need to prime the wood. Martson and Langinger said this. Yet I thought priming was an absolute must. Again, any thoughts?

Cheers

 

[vibrobullit407]

All the flaky stain needs to come off to a good sound surface and keyed for subsequent coats.

With regards to priming it will depend on your paint system. As dcdec states above, superdec is self priming. Read up the manufacturers info in regards to the preferred paint system of what ever product you decide to use!

 

[DIYNotIan]

OK - so work starts tomorrow! We've bought the paint.... I went for Alcro-Becker in the end because I found a local stockist who had the paint there (along with a little discount).

Here's the stuff:

http://www.paint-paper.co.uk/Paint/...-BestA-FA-nsterfA-rg-TrA-3-litre/prod_16.html

And as I already have some Zinsser BIN (for knotting) and Zinsser Bulls eye 123 (for undercoat) I'll/he'll be using those. Let's just hope that the weather is kind and that our chappie does enough prep work on the windows for the paint system to work properly....

From your side of the fence (as decorators) what do you do if working on outside wood and it has either rained the night before (and the wood is still wet), or if rain is forecast for shortly after you finish for the day? Do you postpone?

And one last thing, how much paint do you think I'll need if going for two topcoats (I can do the maths from there if more is needed!)?

Thanks to everyone for all the help.

Max