Repair and painting of a communal staircase in Joanic, Barcelona

Starting point

Initial condition

The walls showed wear, scuffs, impacts and flaking. In some areas the paint was coming away together with the filler, so simply applying a new coat was not enough.

• Some areas had lost adhesion between the existing finish and the substrate.
• Loose material had to be removed before repairing and repainting.
• The community has two homes, but the stairwell runs across three floors plus access to the terrace.

Objective

Aim of the work

Restore the damaged surfaces and renew the paint throughout the stairwell, within a 92 m² scope and four working days.

Assessment

Main construction challenges

• The work covered three floors plus access to the terrace, effectively almost four staircase levels.
• This was not just a repaint: areas with detached paint and filler had to be made sound and restored before finishing.
• The staircase geometry and the number of junctions made masking the entire space for spray painting inefficient.

Engineering decisions

Chosen solutions and the reasons behind each priority

Cost of this project

Project price: €900 + VAT

The price of this project was €900 + VAT and included labour, purchasing the materials and transport to the site. Interior paint, ready-mixed filler and primer were used; the paint bucket used cost approximately €50. This amount applies to this specific job and is not a fixed rate for other staircases.

• Labour.
• Purchase of materials.
• Transport of materials to the site.
• Making sound and repairing damaged areas.
• Primer and two roller coats of paint.

Result

The completed transformation

After making sound and repairing the areas with adhesion problems, the surfaces were primed and finished with two roller coats. The 92 m² job was completed in four working days.