Westminster Painters & Decorators
Planning common parts redecoration
A shared-building decorating instruction needs to define what belongs in the work, who may authorise it and how people will continue to reach their homes. Start with a measured list of surfaces and a route through the building.
Discuss your projectLocal blocks have different retained finishes
The Westminster Cathedral audit records marble steps and mosaic porch floors at Ashley Gardens. The Millbank audit describes estate blocks with internal courtyards and painted sash windows. These examples show why a common-parts brief should identify retained materials before applying a standard decoration schedule.
Photograph the entrance, stair and each landing, including thresholds and the joins between different finishes. Mark surfaces to protect as clearly as those to paint. Record each door separately and identify any components outside the proposed instruction.
Define ownership and authority
Ask the owner or managing agent to confirm the scope, the authorised contact and any building-specific requirements. Keep private flat interiors separate from shared circulation and exterior elements. Obtain the applicable specification before proposing a different treatment for a shared door or window.
Record who may instruct changes and how those changes will be documented. Consultation, lease and other authorisation questions need to be resolved by the responsible parties before work is ordered; this decorating brief does not determine those obligations.
Check conservation and earlier decoration
For a listed building, Westminster’s consent test concerns work affecting its special interest and includes the interior. Check the actual block rather than drawing a conclusion from the age or status of another building nearby.
Note significant plaster, joinery and earlier decorative surfaces in the survey. Ask for advice before including their removal or alteration in routine preparation. Keep conservation decisions, sample approvals and the final paint schedule together so that the instruction remains clear to everyone reviewing it.
Plan resident access and deliveries
Agree the working sequence with the building contact, identifying routes that need to remain available. Include protection, temporary movement of items, daily clearing and the condition required when a landing is returned. Establish whether a lift or separate entrance may be used and how deliveries are booked, if required.
At the street, Westminster’s loading rules require active loading where it is allowed. Arrange the vehicle’s longer stay separately and check the relevant signs. A convenient doorway does not establish permission to store materials in the entrance or courtyard.
Review the proposal by floor and surface
Check that preparation is described for each substrate, with repairs and uncertain conditions identified. Match sample colours and sheen to the surface schedule, and state which retained finishes remain untouched.
Agree a completion review against that schedule, including doors, rails, corners and the reinstatement of protected areas. Keep product and colour information with the building records. The common-parts services and nearby area guides below provide a starting point for an enquiry about a specific block.