Common areas repainted with residents still using the building.
Lobbies, corridors, staircases and parking areas repainted block by block, with the preparation the surfaces actually need, and a phasing plan, notices and a single point of contact so residents are never guessing what happens on their floor.
- Free site inspection
- Written, itemised quote
- 1-year workmanship warranty
- Same-day callback
At a glance
What does apartment common-area painting cover?
Common-area painting covers what the association owns rather than any single flat: the entrance lobby, lift lobbies, corridors, staircase flights and soffits, stilt or basement parking, the compound wall and the security cabin. The work is phased block by block so the building stays in use, with notices, a floor-wise schedule and one supervisor the committee can call.
When this is the answer, and when it is not.
Sending you to the wrong service wastes your money and our time. This is how to tell.
This is likely right if
- The association has approved repainting the common areas and needs it done with residents still living in the building
- Lobbies, corridors and staircases have gone patchy from years of touch-ups that no longer match
- Blocks were painted at different times and you want the whole property back to one specification
- The stilt or basement parking is dark and grimy and you want a lighter finish in a washable grade, so tyre marks and hand marks at column height can be wiped down instead of repainted
Something else comes first if
- A stairwell, shaft wall or parking soffit is still wet, the leak has to be traced and stopped, and the plaster allowed to dry out, before any coating goes on
- The block is still inside the builder's defect liability period and these are the developer's snags to rectify, settle that with them first rather than painting over a claim
- Plaster is hollow, or parking soffits show rust staining and exposed reinforcement, that's repair work, and corroded steel needs a structural engineer's opinion first
What the service includes.
Scope walk with the managing committee
We walk every block with you, entrance lobby, lift lobbies, each corridor and staircase flight, soffits, stilt and basement parking, compound wall and security cabin, and mark area by area what's painting and what's repair.
Phasing plan and resident notices
A block-wise and floor-wise programme agreed with the committee, notices put up in the lifts and on the boards before each section starts, and one supervisor whose number goes into the resident group.
Protection of everything that stays in use
Lift cars and door jambs panelled, handrails, letter boxes, hydrant cabinets, name plates, intercom panels, sensors and CCTV domes masked, lobby tiles and staircase treads sheeted, and parking bays cleared or vehicles covered before work above them.
Repair, levelling and priming
Cracks cut open and filled, hollow plaster patched, efflorescence brushed off and chalky old cement paint or distemper taken back to a sound base, then putty and a primer chosen for what's actually underneath.
Finish coats to a stated specification
Coats applied to what your quotation states, with a washable grade where corridors and staircases take hand, trolley and luggage contact, and edges cut in by hand at dado lines, skirting and door frames.
Snag walk, reinstatement and handover record
Floor numbers, flat numbering, fire and hydrant markings and pipe colour coding put back where they were, an area-wise snag list closed jointly with the committee, and a written warranty issued with its conditions stated.
Not included, or quoted separately
- Exterior elevation painting of the towers, and any work needing swing stages, cradles or rope access on the outside face of the building
- Waterproofing and leak tracing, terrace, podium, planter boxes, sumps, overhead tanks and plumbing shafts are quoted separately
- Structural repair: RCC spalling, exposed or corroded reinforcement in stilt and basement soffits, and anything needing a structural engineer's opinion
- Clearing residents' belongings, cycles, cartons, shoe racks and stored material, from corridors, staircases and parking bays before a section starts
- Electrical, plumbing and civil work: replacing DB covers and conduits, tile and flooring repairs, and welding or replacing corroded railing sections
The sequence.
Scope walk and joint measurement
We measure the painted area block by block and record the condition of each surface with the committee present. Every quotation you compare should be built from the same measured schedule.
Written specification, area by area
Which surfaces get what preparation, which get a washable finish, and how many coats. Set down in writing so the committee compares quotations on the same basis rather than on one figure.
Sample panels in the real light
Colours put up as panels in the actual lobby and stairwell, looked at in daylight and again under the corridor lights at night, then approved by the committee before the whole property commits.
Phasing, notices and access arrangements
Block and floor sequence, working hours agreed with the association, lift protection and material storage, parking bays reallocated with security, and notices posted before each section starts.
Prepare and coat one section at a time
Staircases taken a flight at a time so an escape route stays open, handrails painted in stages so there's always a dry section to hold, and scraping and sanding scheduled for a stated day on each floor.
Joint snag walk and handover
We walk each completed block with the committee, list what needs closing, complete it, and hand over the area-wise record along with the written warranty and its conditions.
What moves the price on this job.
We do not publish a rate, because it would change once someone measured your property. These are the variables that decide it.
- Measured area of lobbies, corridors, staircase flights and soffits, parking ceilings and columns, not the number of flats in the block
- How much of the old coating has to come off: chalky cement paint and flaking distemper on stairwells move the preparation more than anything else
- Access, double-height entrance lobbies, stairwell voids and parking soffits need scaffolding or towers, which is slower than roller work at arm's height
- How washable the finish has to be at hand height, and how much of the total area gets that grade
- How narrow the association's permitted working hours and days are, and whether noisy preparation is restricted further
- Reinstatement work: floor and flat numbering, fire and hydrant signage, pipe colour coding and line marking in the parking areas
Apartment Common-Area Painting — your questions.
Will the staircase and lobbies stay usable while you work?
Yes, that's the point of phasing. We take a staircase a flight at a time so the escape route is never fully blocked, and we don't close a lift lobby and its landing together. Handrails are painted in stages so residents always have a dry section to hold. Wet areas are marked, and the supervisor updates the committee at the end of each working day.
How do you paint the basement car park when residents can't move their cars?
Bay by bay, with temporary parking reallocated by the committee and security, and notice given to those floors before the section starts. Where a vehicle genuinely can't be moved, we cover it and leave the slab above it, then pick that patch up in a later round. We would rather flag the gap than work over a parked car.
What about dust from scraping and sanding getting into flats?
Preparation is the dusty stage, and corridors run straight past every door. We screen off the section being worked on, keep door gaps covered and sweep damp rather than dry. Residents on that floor are told the day in advance so doors and windows facing the corridor can stay shut. Some dust still travels, we schedule it rather than pretend otherwise.
The committee has three quotations in front of it. How do you compare them fairly?
Check that all three measure the same area, specify the same preparation and state the same number of coats. Most of the difference sits in preparation, scraping, crack repair and putty, because it is invisible once the wall is painted. Ask each contractor to write down exactly what happens to the chalky old coating on the stairwells, then compare on that.
The corridor wall near the shaft keeps peeling. Will repainting solve it?
No. Paint bonds to whatever is under it, so if the plaster is wet from a leaking shaft, a terrace joint or a planter above, the new coat lifts along with the old one. The source has to be traced and stopped and the wall allowed to dry out before anything is applied. We'll say so at the scope walk rather than take the area on.
Related services
- Dampness and Seepage TreatmentWet stairwell and parking walls have to be dried out before painting.
- Gate, Grill and Railing PaintingStaircase railings, corridor grills and the main gate, done in the same round.
- High-Rise Building PaintingThe outside face of the same towers, which needs cradle or rope access.
Let us look at your walls first.
Tell us about the property and we will set up a free colour and wall inspection. You get a written, itemised quotation afterwards, with no obligation to go ahead.
- We call you back the same day to get a picture of the property and the surfaces.
- We agree a time and come out for the free inspection.
- You get the written scope and itemised quotation.
- Nothing starts until you approve it.