Sheffield / S4
Painter and Decorator in Burngreave.
Victorian terraces, varied condition. Strong demand for affordable repaint and damp-spot treatment ahead of decoration.
Burngreave is a densely built inner district north-east of the city centre that turned from farmland into working housing through the late 18th and early 19th centuries, as rows of Victorian terraces went up for the men working the nearby steelworks and cutlery factories. It is one of the most diverse parts of Sheffield, home to around 27,000 residents, and it holds some of the better-quality Victorian housing in this corner of the city alongside the plainer worker terraces. The green heart of the district is Abbeyfield Park, originally called Pitsmoor Abbey and built in the 1840s on land owned by a local colliery owner.
The stock here comes in two tiers, and the right job differs between them. The plain worker terraces are two and three-bed through terraces in red brick, with stone lintels and sills and plainer fronts than the southern suburbs. The better Victorian houses on the higher streets are larger semis and villas with bays and stone dressings, and the surviving villa and grounds at Abbeyfield Park add a layer of grander period property. We quote each on its own terms rather than off a template, because a worker terrace and a bay-fronted villa two streets apart are not the same piece of work.
A good share of our work in this area is between-tenancy repaints, because a number of the larger houses are let as flats or rooms. A typical two or three-bed terrace, full interior with fresh emulsion through the rooms, hall, and stairs, plus woodwork, is usually 5 to 8 days with two of us, including proper prep. We will not skip the prep to hit a deadline, because magnolia rolled straight over flaking magnolia just means the next tenant sees every crack within weeks and you are paying again. Tell us the turnaround you need and we will be straight about what is realistic to do well in that window.
The district climbs away from the Don valley, so many fronts are on a gradient and catch the weather across the open valley. That changes an exterior quote two ways. Setting up a safe scaffold or ladder on a slope takes more work, sometimes a tower rather than a ladder, and the higher fronts work the paint harder. We price both the access and the exposure honestly in the quote rather than turning up and adding it on. A standard terrace front and back is usually 4 to 6 dry days, and we weather-watch before starting because masonry paint needs dry conditions to cure properly.
Most Burngreave fronts are brick, which brings the usual bare-brick-versus-paint decision. If the brick is sound and reasonably clean, the best value is to leave it bare and just pick out the woodwork and the door, because bare brick needs no maintenance. If it has already been painted, or it is spalling and patchy, then a breathable masonry paint tidies it and protects it, and once done it needs keeping up every several years. What we would not do is paint good sound brick for the first time, because that is signing up to repaint it forever.
On the earlier terraces, the plaster can catch people out. The earlier Victorian houses round here can have soft lime plaster behind later skim, and lime does not like heavy filling or a tight non-breathable sealer. Sealed too hard or filled too aggressively, patches crack or blow. We make good gently, mist-coat any patched or fresh plaster first so it bonds, then use water-based paints that let the wall move and breathe. On the better houses up the hill, original cornicing, ceiling roses, picture rails, and deep skirtings get brushed in by hand and stripped back where old coats have clogged them. We quote the detailed work separately so you can see what you are paying for.
Services in Burngreave
What we offer here
Nearby areas
Common Questions
Burngreave questions
The questions Richard gets asked most often at the kitchen door. If yours is not here, ring him.
I rent out a house in Burngreave. Can you turn it round between tenants quickly but properly?
Yes. A lot of our work in this area is between-tenancy repaints, and we have a sensible schedule for it. A typical two or three-bed terrace, full interior with fresh emulsion through the rooms, hall, and stairs, plus woodwork, is usually 5 to 8 days with two of us, including proper prep, filling, caulking, and mist-coating any patched plaster. We will not skip the prep to hit a deadline, because magnolia rolled straight over flaking magnolia just means your next tenant sees every crack within weeks and you are paying again. Tell us the turnaround you need and we will be straight about what is realistic to do well in that window.
My terrace front is brick and a bit tired. Paint it or leave it?
Depends on the brick. If it is sound and reasonably clean, the best value is to leave it bare and just pick out the woodwork and the door, because bare brick needs no maintenance. If the brick has already been painted, or it is spalling and patchy, then a breathable masonry paint tidies it and protects it, and once done it needs keeping up every several years. What we would not do is paint good sound brick for the first time, because that is signing up to repaint it forever. For the door and woodwork, a heritage colour suits a Victorian terrace far better than a bright modern shade.
My house is on one of the steep streets. Does that affect the exterior price?
It can. The wall area is the same, but setting up a safe scaffold or ladder on a slope takes more work, and sometimes a tower rather than a ladder. The streets here also climb away from the valley, so the higher fronts catch more weather and the paint works harder. We price both the access and the exposure honestly in the quote rather than turning up and adding it on. A standard terrace front and back is usually 4 to 6 dry days, and we weather-watch before starting because masonry paint needs dry conditions to cure properly.
We have one of the bigger Victorian houses up the hill with original features. Will you keep them?
Yes, and on the better Burngreave houses those features are worth protecting. Original cornicing, ceiling roses, picture rails, and deep skirtings are what make these houses stand out from the plainer terraces, so we brush them in by hand rather than rollering over and softening the detail. If a previous decorator has clogged the cornice with thick coats, we can strip it back to the plaster profile before repainting. Outside, bays, stone dressings, and panelled doors all repay careful work. We quote the detailed work separately so you can see what you are paying for.
The plaster in my older terrace cracks every time it gets painted. Why?
Often it is old lime plaster being treated like modern gypsum. The earlier Victorian terraces around here can have soft lime plaster behind later skim, and lime does not like heavy filling or a tight non-breathable sealer. If patches are sealed too hard or filled too aggressively, they crack or blow. The fix is to make good gently, mist-coat any patched or fresh plaster first so it bonds, then use water-based paints that let the wall move and breathe. Done that way the cracks stop coming back. It is slower than slapping a thick coat on, but it actually lasts.