A finish that stays put
Preparation and the right primer are why the coating lasts rather than flaking off.
Painting & DecoratingPrepared Properly FirstCardiff & Newport
Most paint and paper jobs fail at the preparation, not the finish. We fill, sand, treat, prime and size before a brush or a roll goes near the wall, so the room still looks right in five years.
Fixed-price quotes · tidy, protected work areas · fully insured
15 years
in the trade, trading as MB Construction since 2019
10-year guarantee
workmanship guarantee on completed work
Fully insured
public liability & employer's liability
Fixed-price quotes
free, in writing, never a day rate
24/7 emergencies
emergency roof repairs, day or night
Painting & Decorating, What's Involved
We paint and decorate inside and out: walls, ceilings, woodwork, doors, stairwells, wallpapering and feature walls indoors; masonry, render, fascias, soffits, gutters and railings outside.
The part that takes the time is preparation. Cracks filled, old flaking material scraped back, bare surfaces primed, damp or rust treated, and everything sanded and dusted down. That is what determines whether the finish still looks right in five years.
Every job is quoted as a fixed price after we have seen the rooms or the elevations, so you are not paying by the hour while a brush goes back and forth.
We work as painters and decorators across Cardiff, Newport, St Mellons, Penarth, Caerphilly and the Vale of Glamorgan: from a single hallway or stairwell through to a full house repaint, a rental turnaround or the exterior of a rendered property.
Because the same team also handles roofing, rendering, kitchens and bathrooms, the decorating is finished to the same standard as the building work behind it, under one fixed price and one 10-year workmanship guarantee.
- Who it's for
- Homeowners refreshing rooms after building work, landlords turning a property around between tenants, and anyone with exterior woodwork or masonry that has started to flake.
- When it's needed
- After plastering, rendering or a fit-out; when exterior paint is peeling or chalking; when a room has been patched and repaired and needs pulling together again.
- Why a professional job matters
- Correct preparation, the right primer for the substrate and the right paint for the exposure. Exterior masonry, bare timber, previously oil-painted woodwork and new plaster all need different treatment, and getting that wrong shows within a season.
What Happens If It's Left
Nothing outside a house gets cheaper to fix by waiting. Here is how this one escalates.
Paint over a bad surface peels
Topcoat applied over dust, flaking material or bare filler lifts in sheets, and you pay for the whole job twice.
Exposed timber rots
Once exterior woodwork loses its coating it takes in water. Repainting is cheap; replacing rotten fascia, window boards or door frames is not.
Damp keeps coming back through
Painting over a damp patch without finding its source gives you a clean wall for a few weeks and a stain again after the next downpour.
Bad cutting-in is what you notice
Wavy lines at ceilings, sockets and skirtings are the first thing anyone sees in an otherwise finished room.
Common mistakes we're called in to undo
- Skipping preparation to save a day and losing the whole finish a year later.
- Using interior paint outdoors, or a non-breathable coating over render.
- Painting over damp or mould without treating the cause.
- Not priming bare plaster, filler or timber, so the topcoat soaks in patchy.
- Leaving furniture, floors and fittings unprotected.
Our Process
The same five steps on every job, so you always know what happens next.
01
Site visit
We look at the rooms or elevations, check the condition of the surfaces and talk through colours and finishes.
02
Fixed price in writing
A free, no-obligation quote covering preparation, materials, number of coats and making good.
03
Protection and preparation
Floors, furniture and fittings covered, then filling, scraping, sanding, treating and priming as each surface requires.
04
Painting & papering
Coats applied in the correct order, ceilings, walls, then woodwork inside; top down outside, with proper drying time between them.
05
Inspection and clean-up
We walk the job with you in daylight, touch in anything flagged, remove coverings and leave the space clean.
What You Get
Timber protected
Sound exterior paintwork keeps water out of fascias, frames and doors, which is far cheaper than replacing them.
Clean lines
Cutting in done carefully at ceilings, skirtings, sockets and frames.
Tidy work
Everything covered before we start and cleaned down before we leave.
Fixed price
Materials, preparation and coats in one written figure, not an open-ended day rate.
One team for the whole job
Because we also render, fit kitchens and bathrooms and do the building work, the decoration is finished to the same standard as what is behind it.
Painting & Decorating in Detail
Materials, methods and the variations we cover across Cardiff, Newport and the wider South Wales area.
Interior work
Walls, ceilings, woodwork, doors, stairwells and hallways. New plaster gets a thinned mist coat before full coats; previously oil-painted woodwork is de-glossed and primed; kitchens and bathrooms get finishes rated for moisture and washing down.
Exterior masonry and render
Breathable masonry coatings over render and brickwork so moisture in the wall can still escape. Surfaces are washed down, loose material removed, and any algae or organic growth treated before painting.
Exterior woodwork and metal
Fascias, soffits, bargeboards, doors, frames, gates and railings. Timber sanded, knots treated, bare areas primed; metal wire-brushed and treated for rust before a suitable coating.
Preparation and making good
Cracks raked out and filled, holes made good, nail heads spotted, damaged plaster patched and sanded flat. Where the damage is structural or damp-related, we tell you what is causing it.
Paint selection
Matt, eggshell, satin and gloss chosen for the room and traffic level; exterior products chosen for exposure; a west-facing Cardiff elevation takes far more weather than a sheltered rear wall.
Wallpapering
Standard papers, lining paper, vinyls and feature walls. Walls are cross-lined where the surface needs it, batch numbers checked, pattern repeats set out from the most visible corner and seams rolled.
Woodwork and joinery finishing
Skirtings, architraves, doors, frames, window boards, stairs and spindles: filled, de-glossed, primed and finished in matt, satin or gloss to suit the room.
Finishing after building work
Decorating is the last stage of most of our projects: after a bathroom, a kitchen, plastering or an internal alteration, the room is made good and decorated as part of the same job.
Rental and pre-sale turnarounds
Neutral, hard-wearing finishes applied quickly between tenancies, or a cosmetic reset before a property is listed.
Residential and commercial
Houses, flats and rentals, plus small commercial premises, offices and units where we can work around opening hours.
South Wales weather and exposure
Coastal and west-facing elevations around Cardiff, Penarth and the Vale take driving rain and salt air. Exteriors are washed down, treated for algae and coated with breathable, weather-rated products rather than whatever is on the shelf.
Older Cardiff and Newport housing stock
Victorian and inter-war terraces bring old distemper, lime plaster, deep-profile skirtings and picture rails. These surfaces are stabilised and primed for what they actually are instead of being coated over.
Where we carry out this work
We work from Crumlin Drive in St Mellons across Cardiff, Newport, St Mellons, Vale of Glamorgan, Caerphilly, Penarth and the surrounding South Wales area. See the areas we cover, browse all of our services or head back to the MB Construction homepage.
Painting & Decorating, Common Questions
How much does painting and decorating cost?
It comes down to the number and size of rooms or elevations, how much preparation and making good is needed, whether you want papering and how many coats. We look at the job and give you a free fixed written price.
Do you strip old wallpaper?
Yes, stripping and making good the wall underneath is part of the job and is included in the quote.
Do you supply wallpaper?
You can choose and supply the paper, or we can price it in. Either way we check batch numbers before hanging.
Can you match an existing colour?
Yes. Tell us the colour or leave us a sample at quote stage and we will price the correct product.
How long will it take?
A single room is usually a day or two including preparation; a full house or exterior is longer and is scheduled in the quote.
Do you supply the paint?
Yes, materials are included in the fixed price. If you want a specific brand or colour, tell us at quote stage and we will price it in.
Do I need to move out?
No. We work room by room, protect everything and keep the rest of the house usable.
Can you paint in winter?
Interior work, yes, year round. Exterior painting needs dry conditions and a workable temperature, so we schedule around the weather rather than force it.
Will you fix cracks and damage first?
Yes. Filling, sanding and making good is part of the job, not an extra.
Is the work guaranteed?
Our workmanship carries a 10-year guarantee and we are fully insured, with both public liability and employer's liability cover.
Which areas do you cover for painting and decorating?
We work from Crumlin Drive in St Mellons across Cardiff, Newport, Penarth, Caerphilly and the Vale of Glamorgan, plus the surrounding South Wales area.
Can you decorate a rental between tenants?
Yes. Neutral, hard-wearing finishes applied room by room to a set date, quoted as a fixed price so you know the cost before the void period starts.
Are your quotes really free?
Yes. We come out, look at the job properly and put a fixed price in writing. There is no charge for the visit and no obligation to go ahead.
Do you charge a day rate?
No. Every job is quoted as a fixed price. The figure you agree is the figure you pay, whether the work runs quicker or slower than we expected.
Is the work guaranteed and are you insured?
All of our work carries a 10-year workmanship guarantee, and we hold both public liability and employer's liability insurance. Ask to see the documents before work starts and you will get them.
Which areas do you cover?
We are based on Crumlin Drive in St Mellons and work across Cardiff, Newport, the Vale of Glamorgan, Caerphilly, Penarth and the surrounding South Wales area.
Related Services
Bathroom Fitting
One firm from the first tile off the wall to the last bead of silicone: no chasing three trades, no waiting weeks between stages, and a fixed price agreed before we start.
View Bathroom Fitting →Rendering
Render is weather protection first and a facelift second. We prepare the substrate properly, detail the beads and stops crisply, and price the whole elevation as one fixed figure.
View Rendering →Kitchen Fitting
Units scribed to walls that are never straight, worktops jointed tight, appliances in and running, and the tiling and making good done: one fixed price, one team, one finish date.
View Kitchen Fitting →Get a fixed price for your painting & decorating
Free visit, a written price covering preparation and materials, and a tidy job that leaves the place clean.
- Free, no-obligation site visit and fixed price in writing
- 10-year workmanship guarantee on completed work
- Public liability & employer's liability insured