New construction painting, with the plaster cured first and the last coat after the last trade.
Putty, primer and finish coats on fresh plaster, staged around the electrical, flooring and ceiling work so the final coat goes on after the trades that would mark it, and only once the plaster is dry enough to hold it.
- Free site inspection
- Written, itemised quote
- 1-year workmanship warranty
- Same-day callback
At a glance
When should painting start on a new building?
Not when the plaster looks dry, when it meters dry. New cement plaster holds water and free alkali long after the surface looks pale, and seal it too early and the primer saponifies, chalks and lets go. We meter every wall before priming. Putty and primer follow the electrical chasing, and the final coat waits until flooring, false ceilings and fittings are in.
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
- Plastering is complete or nearly complete, and you want painting written into the fit-out programme rather than squeezed in at the end
- A residential project needs a sample flat approved before the remaining units are painted to the same specification
- Walls and ceilings are bare cement plaster, gypsum or RCC and need the full build-up: crack filling, putty, primer and finish coats
- You want one contractor to hold the coat count, colour schedule and measurement sheets across every unit, floor and common area
Something else comes first if
- The plaster has just gone on and is still holding water, priming now traps moisture and alkali under the film, and the coat chalks and peels. It has to cure and meter dry before we seal it
- The plaster is out of level beyond what putty can take up, or sounds hollow, or the RCC is honeycombed, that's a civil correction by the plastering contractor before putty starts
- Rain is still reaching the walls because the roof, terrace waterproofing or window glazing is not done, water coming through from behind lifts anything we apply, so the shell needs closing first
What the service includes.
Moisture and alkalinity check
Every wall and ceiling is metered before primer goes on. Plaster that reads wet, or is still throwing salt to the surface, is left to dry. We don't seal water in and call it done.
Stage sequencing with your site team
We agree which painting stage follows which trade: putty and primer after conduit chasing is filled and dry, first finish coat before flooring and false ceilings, final coat after fittings and carpentry.
Ceiling and plaster preparation
Shuttering oil sanded off RCC soffits so putty can bond, shrinkage cracks opened and filled after curing, chase lines made good, then putty in the agreed number of coats and sanded true.
Alkali-resistant primer
Fresh cement plaster gets a primer meant for it, one that stands up to the alkali that would otherwise attack the emulsion binder, applied only once the wall meters dry, never to a schedule.
Sample unit and colour schedule
One unit or one wall finished to full specification and signed off by you and your architect, then the same schedule of colours, sheens and coat counts applied to everything that follows.
Joint measurement and running bills
Area measured with your engineer at each stage and recorded on measurement sheets, so running bills match what's on the wall and the handover snag list is closed against the same record.
Not included, or quoted separately
- Plastering, replastering and correcting undulations beyond what putty can hide
- Civil repair of honeycombed concrete, hollow plaster or structural cracks at column and wall junctions
- Roof, terrace and external wall waterproofing, quoted separately and done before we prime anything below it
- Repainting damage caused by later trades after a stage has been signed off, recorded and quoted as a separate item, not absorbed as touch-up
- Site power, water, lighting and scaffolding beyond the access agreed in the quotation, and clearing other contractors' debris
The sequence.
Site walk and programme
We walk the building with your engineer, check what stage the plaster is at and whether the shell is closed, and agree where painting fits between chasing, flooring, ceilings and fittings.
Moisture check and sample
Walls metered, and a sample unit or wall completed to full specification so colour, sheen and coat count are approved before the bulk work starts.
Putty and primer stage
After conduits are filled and the plaster reads dry: crack filling, putty coats, sanding and alkali-resistant primer. This is the stage that decides whether the finish holds or lets go.
First finish coat
One coat on, normally before flooring and false ceilings, so the trades that follow work against a sealed wall rather than raw putty that absorbs dust, grease and hand marks.
Final coat after the trades
Once flooring, ceilings, electrical fittings and carpentry are in, the last coat goes on whole walls, not patches, so nothing flashes at handover.
Joint measurement and handover
Measured with your engineer, snag list walked and closed, and a written warranty with its stated conditions handed over with the coat and colour schedule.
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 across all units, floors and common areas, with ceilings and exterior counted only if they're in scope
- Condition of the plaster, how many putty coats it takes to bring it level, and whether we're waiting on it to cure
- How many separate mobilisations the programme needs; every return visit after another trade is a cost
- Whether the exterior is included, and the scaffolding or access it needs
- The emulsion grade specified, and whether lobbies, staircases or the facade carry texture or a special finish
- How much protection and rework is caused by other trades working alongside us rather than ahead of us
New construction painting — your questions.
Can you start painting as soon as the plaster is done?
No, and the risk is not cosmetic. Fresh cement plaster is alkaline and holds water. Seal it with primer too early and the alkali attacks the binder in the paint: it chalks, goes patchy and peels, and salts push through as efflorescence. We meter each wall before priming and wait until it reads dry. How long that takes depends on plaster thickness, ventilation and the season, and in a Bengaluru monsoon it takes longer.
Why not paint everything at the end, once all the trades are gone?
Because putty left bare for months absorbs everything: tile-cutting dust, hand marks, grease from carpentry. It then takes primer unevenly and the patchiness shows through the finish. One finish coat early gives the later trades a sealed surface to work against. The final coat then goes on after flooring and ceilings, on whole walls, so the finish you hand over hasn't been walked into by anyone.
What's the white powder appearing on the new walls?
Efflorescence: salts carried to the surface as water leaves the plaster. Brush it off dry, don't wash it, because water dissolves the salt back into the wall. If it keeps returning, the plaster is still drying or water is getting in from outside, and paint applied over it will lift with the next bloom. We wait for it to stop before priming, and we say so if that means waiting.
Will hairline cracks in the new plaster come back through the paint?
Shrinkage cracks appear as plaster dries, so we fill them after curing, not before, or they reopen behind the putty. Cracks at the junction of masonry and RCC columns or beams are different: the two materials move at different rates, and a rigid filler cracks again with them. Those get a cut groove and a flexible filler. If a junction crack is wide or still growing, we ask for a structural opinion before we touch it.
Do you work to a sample flat?
Yes, and we would rather do it than not. One unit finished to full specification, putty, primer, colour, sheen and coat count, approved by you and your architect before the rest is started. It settles disagreements while they're easy to settle, and it becomes the reference every remaining unit is checked against at handover. Changes after the sample are recorded as changes to the schedule, not absorbed quietly.
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.