Painting, restoration
and mould remediation in Verona

The price depends on how much work there is before the paint: a sound wall that needs freshening up, one that needs filling and skimming, and one with mould to be treated are three different jobs, and the colour costs the same in all three. That is why the figure comes after the site visit, which is free, together with the timescale we commit to.

An exposed façade takes traffic grime, algae, rain and frost. A well-executed exterior system keeps water out and lets the vapour coming from inside escape: it is that balance that decides whether the render underneath stays dry. On façades across the province of Verona we often work with siloxane systems, chosen according to how that wall is built and how it is exposed.

Spring and autumn. Exterior products need mild temperatures and a dry substrate to form their film properly: below a certain threshold the bond is compromised, and a night frost on a freshly finished façade can ruin it. At the other extreme, full August sun on an exposed wall dries the surface too quickly compared with the layers beneath. The rain of the previous days matters too: a wall that has absorbed water must be left to dry before it is closed off with a finish.

It depends on the height and on how the wall can be reached. On a single storey or on accessible surfaces, mobile towers or platforms may be enough; on taller buildings scaffolding becomes the normal route, because it allows safe, continuous work over the whole surface. When the scaffold takes up pavement or road, a public-land occupation permit from the local council is needed and must be applied for before starting. It is something to allow for at the site-visit stage.

No. The site visit is there to look at the wall with our own eyes: to understand what state the substrate is in, whether there are cracks, damp or old finishes to remove, and which steps are really needed. Only then can a quote be put together that stands up. Until that point there is no commitment to make.

Almost everything depends on one thing: how much wall has to be rebuilt before you get to the paint. A sound façade that needs renewing and one whose render is coming away are jobs of a different order of magnitude, and no figure given over the phone can allow for that. For the same reason you will not find a price per square metre on this site: it would be a number that takes no account of your wall. The site visit and the quote are free.

We do not say in advance, and the reason is that putting a figure on it without having seen the site would mean making it up. It depends on the system (a mould remediation and a repaint are two different jobs) and on the drying times that the products' technical sheets impose, which we do not squeeze: if a product needs a day, it gets that day. What we do is state the timescale in the quote and commit to keeping it; if for any reason that turns out not to be possible, we tell you as soon as we know.

Redoing the same colour normally counts as routine maintenance. Changing the colour, or working in a historic centre or on a listed building, is a different matter and has to be checked with the local council before starting. If in doubt, we check it together during the site visit.

Four things, in writing. That the colour holds — that it does not shift, streak or fade. That the materials are compatible with the surface they go on. That the work is carried out to professional standards, following the manufacturers' technical sheets. And that the site stays clean and tidy, during the work and at the end. For reference, liability for the works is governed by article 1667 of the Italian Civil Code and by what is written in the specification.

The owner is on site every day, tools in hand. With him there is one permanent colleague, and the team is sized to the project: as many people as that job needs. It is a question worth asking anyone: knowing who is going up your scaffolding is different from knowing the name of the company.

Hardly ever. We work room by room: an area is cleared, protected, sealed against dust, and we move on, so the house stays liveable. The order of the rooms is agreed together before starting, taking into account where people sleep and eat. We ask you to leave the house empty in two cases only: when the rooms are cramped and there is no way of working round things, and when there are several people at home. The less commotion, the better and the faster the work goes.

It depends on the product and above all on how much the air is changed. With the water-based wall paints we use, the smell is very limited compared with solvent-based products, and the widespread good practice is to wait at least one night with the room aired, two if you can. If the smell lingers, it is worth airing a little longer before using the room again.

We move it, cover it and protect it: it is included. What cannot be moved goes to the middle of the room and is covered, and the floors are protected completely: protection is part of the job. Working in empty rooms remains the best condition, and if we need you to clear the property we tell you at the site visit.

It depends on which of the four causes lies underneath, and that is the reason we do not give a figure over the phone. Treating a wall with surface condensation is one job; rising damp or water ingress are another category, and often call for another trade. The figure comes after the diagnosis, because it is the cause that decides the work. The site visit with the diagnosis is free.

Almost always yes, but it depends on what is underneath. If the existing finish is well bonded and does not chalk, the base is prepared and we proceed. If it is coming away, feels chalky to the touch or has blisters, it has to be removed: new paint applied over an unstable base comes off together with the old one. Going from a dark colour to a light one takes more coats, and some very saturated shades remain visible through the new paint unless the base is sealed first.

Skimming is needed when the problem is the surface itself. An uneven plaster, full of patches, old wall plugs or shrinkage cracks cannot be hidden with paint: raking light shows them up, and the more satin the finish, the more they show. In those cases the wall is skimmed to bring it back flat. If instead the wall is sound and even, we fill what needs filling, sand and paint.

We do not apply. Humidity and temperature outside the product's limits ruin the bond, and the defect shows up months later. A façade job lives with the weather: it is planned knowing that, and we wait when waiting is needed.

They are two opposite compromises, and the choice is made on the wall in front of you. Matt forgives the imperfections of the base but marks more easily. Satin and washable finishes stand up to cleaning but under raking light show every flaw in flatness, so they need a better-skimmed base. A hallway with children and a bedroom wall do not need the same thing.

It makes some, and almost all of it comes from the preparation: sanding, filling, skimming. It is managed by containing it as it is produced: rooms not being worked on closed and sealed, openings protected, and the protection taken down and cleaned at the end of every day.

They are two qualities that answer two different problems. A washable paint has a tighter, more compact surface: it resists rubbing and can be cleaned, which is useful where walls get touched and dirty (hallways, kitchens, children's rooms). A breathable paint, on the other hand, lets water vapour through, so the moisture that forms inside the house does not get trapped under the finish. The more washable a paint is, the less breathable it tends to be: that is why the choice is made room by room, looking at how the wall is used and what state it is in.

The best product is the right one for that wall. Outside, the choice comes down to two properties that pull in opposite directions (keeping water out and letting vapour escape), and the balance between them is decided by looking at how the substrate is built, how it is exposed and what was there before. It is a choice we make and take responsibility for: the quote says which system we propose and for which characteristic of your façade.

Because the stain is the symptom of something else. Mould takes hold where a surface stays damp for long enough: condensation on a cold wall, a thermal bridge, water getting in from outside, a room that is never aired. Repainting covers the mark but touches none of those conditions, and the problem comes back. The first step is to work out where the moisture is coming from: as long as that remains, no finish can do the job of insulation or a repair.

By looking at where the stain is and when it appears. Condensation forms on the cold spots of the room (external corners, behind furniture pushed against the wall, around windows, on the ceiling) and shows mainly in the cold months, when there is vapour indoors and the wall is icy. Rising damp starts from the bottom instead, with a continuous band climbing up from the skirting that stays even in summer, often with crumbling plaster and whitish salt deposits. They are two problems with two different remedies: confusing them means treating the wrong place.

No, and it is worth saying clearly. An anti-mould paint contains active ingredients that hinder the growth of the fungus on the surface: it is a help that works on the last layer. If the wall keeps getting wet (through condensation, a thermal bridge, water getting in), the mould finds a way back. Finishes of this kind make sense after the cause has been dealt with, as the final layer of work that has already been done.

It helps a lot, but it is not always enough. Changing the air takes out the vapour produced by cooking, showers, drying laundry and breathing, and reduces condensation on cold surfaces: it is the first thing to do and it costs nothing. It falls short where the wall is cold because of how it is built, or where water comes from outside: there the vapour is only one of the sources, and the problem remains even with the windows open.

We tell you, and we do not take the job. Rising damp, water coming in from the roof or a terrace, a leak from a pipe: these are jobs of a different kind, and painting over them means paying twice. In that case we leave you a written note of what we found and who it is worth turning to: we have trusted professionals we refer cases to, and we point you to them in person, case by case.

Yes, and it is also the time when the problem shows best: condensation is a winter phenomenon, and a wall that looks fine in summer tells the truth in winter. Temperature and humidity readings taken in the cold season say far more than the same readings taken in August.

It depends on the cause, and that is why the diagnosis matters more than the quote. As a rule mould is a defect of the property and falls on the landlord, who must hand over a home fit for use; it falls on the tenant when it depends on how the property is lived in, for example rooms never aired or laundry dried indoors. We do not decide who is right: we establish the technical cause and put it in writing, which is the document both sides need.