Hallway & Staircase Repaint, Altrincham

A busy family hallway and staircase in Altrincham, three children, two adults working from home, and a constant flow of traffic up and down the stairs. The previous decoration had taken a beating: scuffs along the wall at hand and bag height, marks on the spindles, paint pulling away from the skirtings, and the original ceiling-line cornicing partly obscured by sloppy previous cut-ins. The brief was a refresh that would actually hold up to family life, not a finish that would look tired again within twelve months. Walls were filled where needed, caulked along edges that had pulled away, and lined where the surface had taken enough damage that the new paint would have telegraphed every previous knock. Two full coats of a scuff-resistant matt emulsion went on — chosen specifically for high-traffic areas where standard matt would mark within weeks. The cornicing was carefully cut in by hand to restore the clean line at the wall-ceiling junction. All the woodwork — spindles, handrails, newel posts, skirtings, architraves and the panelled doors off the hall — was prepared, knots sealed, primed and finished in water-based eggshell. The staircase was kept usable through the job by working on it in halves: lower flight first, dried and cured enough to walk on, then upper flight. The full job took four working days, scheduled around the family’s working week so the staircase was always passable at the start and end of each day.