Painter and Decorators apply paint, wallpaper, fabric and other finishes to interior and exterior surfaces of buildings and other structures. They also repair cracks and holes in walls and prepare work surfaces by scraping, sanding, sand-blasting, hydro-blasting and steam-cleaning. Painter and Decorator is a nationally designated trade under the Inter-provincial Red Seal program. (Find out about Red Seal in the Trades Lingo section.)

What do these workers do?
(Source: BC Work Futures)

In this competitive industry, painters and decorators usually specialize in either painting or decorating. Depending on your area of specialization, you may be called on to do some or all of these duties:

Hang wallpapers and apply other wall coverings. Prepare the surface of the wall, size up the pattern and draw up a placement sketch that uses the fewest possible runs of paper. Getting this right can take a lot of practice. A wall with few visible paper joints and a perfectly matched pattern looks aesthetically pleasing and is one reason why people choose to have expensive wallpaper applied instead of paint.

Prepare wall surfaces. The secret to a good finish is 90% preparation. Preparation requires careful filling of nail holes, cracks and rough spots, which must be carefully sanded and, if necessary, primed to ensure even colour saturation of the top coats.

Paint ceilings and wall. Rollers are used to cover large areas and brushes are used to cut in the detailed areas and edges. You use masking tape and cloth to get clean lines and avoid painting windows and newly installed oak floors.

Apply faux and other decorative finishes. These finishes can make a painted surface look like marble, wood or stone. These finish require specialized skills, and the painter's speed and accuracy will determine profitability.

Apply spray-on coatings to large buildings. Pressurized paint sprayers are used to paint large buildings, such as warehouses and factories. Sprayers quickly cover a lot of area and give an even coat.

Assemble and take down scaffolding and staging. This makes up a large part ot a painter's day, particularly on industrial and institutional jobs.

Operate scissor lifts and genie lifts. To speed up the work, and therefore lower the cost to the customer, painters rent mechanical lifting machines for large jobs. Scissor lifts allow painters to drive around the building or structure and paint as they go.

Read the full Painter and Decorator profile (40Kb pdf)

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