What do I charge?

[Nige F]

You could always get a capable but unskilled teenager to do the "hard" work allowing you to do the skilled stuff. That way speed will not be an issue.

Indeed - get someone who is willing to pumice stone woodwork with cold water , mid winter - and you`ll get as good a decorator as my Grandfather, died a poor man tho

 

[grant.mackay]

You could always get a capable but unskilled teenager to do the "hard" work allowing you to do the skilled stuff. That way speed will not be an issue.

Indeed - get someone who is willing to pumice stone woodwork with cold water , mid winter - and you`ll get as good a decorator as my Grandfather, died a poor man tho

God that brings back memories, Soda blocks, in the days when most kitchens and bathrooms were glossed and were washed with a soda block to kill the gloss and give a key. Two of you sent to decorate a room on a Monday morning, sheets down, two pairs of steps or trestles, baton across and two of you with 6 to 8 inch brushes getting a coat on the ceiling before 10 o'clock tea break. No rollers back then.

 

[joe-90]

Who invented the roller? One of the best inventions ever. (No Nige - nothing to do with 60s hair styles).


EDIT:

"The basic device was invented in 1940 by the Canadian Norman Breakey (born 1891- died aft. 1940).[1] Breakey was never able to produce his invention in large enough numbers to profit from it before others made small changes to the paint roller's design and were able to market it as their own invention.[2] One of the others was Richard Croxton Adams who held the first U.S. patent on the paint roller. He claimed to have developed it in his basement workshop in 1940 while working for the Sherwin-Williams Paint Company."

 

[grant.mackay]

Who invented the roller? One of the best inventions ever. (No Nige - nothing to do with 60s hair styles).


EDIT:

"The basic device was invented in 1940 by the Canadian Norman Breakey (born 1891- died aft. 1940).[1] Breakey was never able to produce his invention in large enough numbers to profit from it before others made small changes to the paint roller's design and were able to market it as their own invention.[2] One of the others was Richard Croxton Adams who held the first U.S. patent on the paint roller. He claimed to have developed it in his basement workshop in 1940 while working for the Sherwin-Williams Paint Company."

Remember seeing them on American films back in the 60's, might even have been an Elvis film but we weren't introduced to them until either late 60's or early 70's. I recall talking to a guy who was a painter in a local big hotel telling me that they were only allowed to use them for around 4 hours a day, as they were such hard work. Anyone got favourite rollers? I used to swear by sheepskin and being a sole painter, as long as I rotated them, they lasted a while but after many disasters with umpteen "simulated" sheepskin sleeves, I eventually came upon 1st Decorator (Dulux) Polyamide sleeves and i've been very happy with those, last for ages.

 

[opps]

I must admit that I have never used a quality sheepskin, i have tried crap ones though. I am awfully lazy with regard to cleaning rollers. can't really do them on site if the client is there and can't do them at home if she who must be obeyed is in.

I am always in awe of the old boys that work for me from time to time- their rollers are years old yet look new

I like the 9" Purdy rollers sleeves- a fiver each singularly but about £3.50 in combo packs. They don't need defluffing and I dont mind binning them along with the trays at the end of the job. I keep the white paint ones in the tray in sealed rubble sacks till the next job.

Wooster sleeves are good but they use their own birdcage system. The rad rollers (agin birdcage) are great- they have a massive range, even flock ones that wont expand with shellac BIN

BTW toolstation do 9" trays for a quid.

I have girlie arms so i always use an extension pole so that I can use my body weight rather than one arm.

Can't imagine life before rollers. mind you go back a couple of hundred years and decorators had very short life expectancies because of the evil stuff in the paints (urine, blood, arsenic, mercury, lead etc).

Thank god for power sanders, without them I would be in a different trade.

 

[opps]

Sherwin-Williams Paint Company."

Ahh the people that make peelAway- i think