Beginners, gardeners, and other amateurs.

I see a lot of criticism from decorators on the DFUK Facebook forum directed at people asking so-called “beginners questions”, usually followed with the predictable ‘gardener’ insult.

I’m not a qualified decorator and only do it as part of my property maintenance business (which does include gardening), so would probably be put in the “gardener” category.

Yesterday I was painting the underside of a coach house. A year ago, I’d have just slapped a coat of Sandtex masonry paint on it and job done.

Having asked on the DFUK Facebook forum, I got some decent advice. So, for this job, I ended up using Johnstone’s Pliolite masonry paint, properly prepped and cleaned the area, applied is nicely with my Hamilton perfection roller, really took care in cutting in, and took pride in what I did.

All my work now is a much higher standard and I’m taking a lot of pride in that. I’m even going to buy a Mirka to sand interior walls, even though my clients (landlords) aren’t bothered at all.

Yes, there are a lot of beginners with ‘dumb’ questions, but we are all learning and surely you all want the decorating trade to be as professional as possible? I’m much better thanks to the advice on here, I’m not taking your work away from you, but I am giving the trade a better name and a bit more respect.

There’s a good balance of skill levels here and a lot of knowledge. Let’s keep helping each other regardless of how much we know and give this trade the reputation it deserves. Handymen and multi-trades can make awesome decorators.