Repair Care Training Course Review

I booked myself and a couple of guys from my decorating team onto the Repair Care Trained Contractor Course, after speaking to their rep at the Painting and Decorating Show last year and getting the half price discount.

It was something I’d been intending on doing for a while so the fact it was half price at £75 per person was a massive bonus. I thought I’d take the time to sit down and write an honest Repair Care training course review. I hope you find it useful.

My Time on The Repair Care Training Course

We arrived at 8.00am at the Chingford Training Centre. We were warmly greeted by the two guys running the course and invited in to have a tea/coffee before starting. To begin with they explained the story behind Repair Care and its uses.

We then watched a presentation showing various examples of uses, as well as the before and after images of repairs. Although interesting, the video may have been better if it was slightly shorter. It’s funny isn’t it; we sit in a classroom all day / every day when we’re growing up. Now as a decorator, I struggle to sit through a couple of hours. Although tedious, I suppose it’s important. Concentration started to wane, but this could have been due to working late the night before and having to be up at 5.30am to make it there in good time!

Up at the workbench we were then shown the different Repair Care product types – with the length of curing time and depth of repair being the main factors to consider when choosing the best product for your job, and the tools used to remove the rot/damaged timber.

The practical was good fun, with us all pairing up and taking turns to use the products. There was a small sales pitch midway, to try and tempt you into buying their branded tools, but it wasn’t a hard sell. The filling knives are really clever when you do the repairs on shaped timber mouldings. They really help, especially when put together with the techniques you learn.

The remainder of the day consisted of making 4 or 5 different types of repairs, and applying putty to the Perspex. At the end of the course, you come away with a very tidy part of a window that acts as a sample to show prospective customers (not so tidy in my case, as I turned it round and managed to stick my finger in one of my repairs whilst still wet!)

All in all, a decent day, and well worth £75. It would have been worth paying full price if I’m honest. It is certainly something you could pick up yourself with no prior knowledge and be able to use it. But as with most things, a little bit of knowledge from those experienced in the techniques can help you get better results from the off.

You also get a certificate and Repair Care contractor card, which is a nice touch, and that enables you to offer a 10-year guarantee on all repair care repairs to your clients. Decent day all round.

The other thing I found useful is the guide they give you for pricing timber repairs. It gave me an idea and a simple scale to use when quoting. I can even add these rates to my terms and conditions when pricing exterior decorating work in case there are unforeseen problems.

Repair Care is an awesome product and as a decorator, it will save my clients money on repairs, when otherwise they’d need to pay for a joiner to come in. The repairs are solid and will expand and contract with the timber around them. Easy to use too.

Summary

This blog was written by James Wildish – Professional Painter and Decorator