Redecoration Project Fast Tracked Through The Winter

WITH MACPHERSON POWERKOTE

When Dave Rees of D J Rees Decorating Services Limited embarked on an external redecoration project for Merthyr Tydfil District Council last December, the weather was not exactly promising. His company had been contracted to paint the exteriors of 31 two-storey, three-bedroom semis on Galon Uchaf, a council housing estate situated in a high and exposed location overlooking Merthyr. Below-freezing conditions had been forecast all the way through to the New Year...and as it turned out, the meteorologists were right.

Had Dave’s team of four men been using conventional masonry paint, they would have had little chance of getting the work completed before spring, but Mike McNulty, team leader in the Estates Department Specification team had specified Powerkote from Macpherson Trade Paints. This high adhesion Pliolite® based masonry coating will dry in temperatures as low as -5oC, which means that it can be used all year round and can always be relied upon to cure to a durable high performance finish. It not only cures in temperatures well below freezing, it’s a quick drying coating that becomes showerproof in just 20 minutes, so contractors can carry on working for longer, even if rain clouds are beginning to gather on the horizon.

The 31 properties to be painted were all of a typical late ‘40s construction and traditionally rendered. It had been at least ten years since they had benefitted from redecoration and most were looking weathered and ‘unloved’. Minor repairs to the render on some of the houses were needed, and all had to be treated with fungicide and powerwashed before decorative coatings could be applied.

Once the surfaces were sound and all organic growth had been eliminated, Dai’s men were able to proceed with the paintwork, applying three coats of Macpherson Powerkote. As the local authority operates a tenants’ choice scheme, the residents were offered a selection of standard Macpherson and BS colours and each house was painted according to their wishes.

Like the rest of the UK the weather on the Galon Uchaf housing estate was exceptionally cold for much of December and January but it also stayed surprisingly dry which meant that Dave’s men were able to maintain a good pace of work, make the most of the (short) days and finish their project on schedule.

Mike McNulty commented: “Dave has done a good job for us on Galon Uchaf and all the houses now look a great deal smarter, brighter and in better shape than they did just a few weeks ago.”

He added: “We swear by Macpherson Powerkote because it’s so quick drying and because it can always be relied on for a quality finish no matter how cold it gets here in Merthyr. After using the product continuously for over 8 years we can speak with some authority on its benefits. We have over 4500 buildings, including domestic properties and schools, to maintain to a high standard and we can’t afford to have our contractors stop work whenever the temperature drops below a certain level. It’s very reassuring to know that our contractors can carry on working all year round if necessary providing the rain holds off, which is another matter entirely here in South Wales of course!”