House painter and decorator

{{Short description|Tradesman who paints and decorates buildings}}

{{multiple issues| {{globalize | date = December 2010}} {{cleanup rewrite | date = August 2016}} }}

{{infobox occupation | name = House painter and decorator | image = House painters in Capri (cropped).jpg | caption = House painters working in Capri, Italy | type = [[Skilled trades|Vocational]] | activity_sector = Construction | competencies = Patience, steady hand, physically strong | employment_field = Construction | related_occupation = [[Plasterer]] | formation = [[Apprenticeship]] }}

A '''house painter and decorator''' is a [[tradesperson]] responsible for the painting and decorating of buildings, and is also known as a '''decorator''', or '''house painter'''.<ref>{{cite book|title=Painting and Decorating |author= Alf Fulcher|year= 2005|publisher=Blackwell Publishing|isbn=1-4051-1254-9}}</ref><ref name="TMD">''The Modern Painter and Decorator'' volume 1 1921 Caxton</ref> The purpose of painting is to improve the appearance of a building and to protect it from damage by water, corrosion, insects and mold. House painting can also be a form of artistic and/or cultural expression such as [[Ndebele house painting]].

== History of the trade in England ==

In England, little is known of the trade and its structures before the late 13th century, at which point [[guild]]s began to form, amongst them the Painters Company and the Stainers Company. These two guilds eventually merged with the consent of the [[Lord Mayor of the City of London]] in 1502, forming the [[Worshipful Company of Painter-Stainers]]. The guild standardised the craft and acted as a protector of the [[trade secret]]s. In 1599, the guild asked Parliament for protection, which was eventually granted in a bill of 1606, which granted the trade protection from outside competition such as [[plaster]]ers.<ref name="TMD" />

The Act legislated for a seven-year [[apprenticeship]], and also barred plasterers from painting, unless apprenticed to a painter, with the penalty for such painting being a fine of £5. The Act also enshrined a maximum daily fee of 16 [[old pence]] for their labour.<ref name="TMD" />

Enforcement of this Act by the Painter-Stainers Company was sought up until the early 19th century, with [[master craftsman|master painters]] gathering irregularly to decide the fees that a [[journeyman]] could charge, and also instigating an early version of a [[Public employment service|job centre]] in 1769, advertising in the [[London]] [[newspaper]]s a "house of call" system to advertise for journeymen and also for journeymen to advertise for work. The guild's power in setting the fee a journeyman could charge was eventually overturned by law in 1827, and the period after this saw the guild's power diminish, along with that of the other guilds; the guilds were superseded by [[trade union]]s, with the Operative United Painters' Union forming sometime around 1831.<ref name="TMD" />

[[File:Housepainting.png|thumb]]

In 1894, a national association formed, recreating itself in 1918 as the National Federation of Master Painters and Decorators of England and Wales, then changing its name once again to the British Decorators Association before merging, in 2002, with the Painting & Decorating Federation to form the Painting & Decorating Association. The Construction Industry Joint Council, a body formed of both unions and business organizations, today has responsibility for the setting of pay levels.<ref name="TMD" />

== Activities of the trade == [[File:The Employment of Women in Britain, 1914-1918 Q31052.jpg|thumb|Two painters applying a coat of paint to the exterior of a train station]] Historically, the [[painter]] was responsible for the mixing of the [[paint]]; keeping a ready supply of [[pigment]]s, [[oil]]s, [[paint thinner|thinner]]s and [[Oil drying agent|drier]]s. The painter would use their experience to determine a suitable mixture depending on the nature of the job. In modern times, the painter is primarily responsible for preparation of the surface to be painted, such as patching holes in [[drywall]], using masking tape and other protection on surfaces not to be painted, applying the paint and then cleaning up.<ref name="TMD" />

Larger firms operating within the trade were generally capable of performing many painting or decoration services, from creating an [[accent wall]] to [[signwriter|sign writing]], to the [[gilding]] of objects or the [[wood finishing|finishing]] or refinishing of [[furniture]].<ref name="TMD" />

Painter-work is described in the 1911 [[Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition]] where the relevant skills include preparing surfaces, mixing paint, [[gilding]], [[Distemper (paint)|distemper]], and faux-finishes including [[marbleizing]] and [[graining]].<ref>{{cite EB1911|wstitle=Painter-work|volume=20|pages=457–459}}</ref>

More recently, professional painters are responsible for all preparation prior to painting. All stucco or popcorn or texture scraping, [[sanding]], [[wallpaper]] removal, [[caulk]]ing, drywall or [[wood]] repair, patching, [[stain removal]], filling [[nail (fastener)|nail]] holes or any defects with plaster or [[putty]], cleaning, [[adhesive tape|taping]], preparation and priming are considered to be done by the professional [[independent contractor|contracted]] painter.

== Gallery ==

<gallery> Esther Mahlangu in 2015.jpg|South African artist [[Esther Mahlangu]] painting in the distinctive [[Ndebele house painting]] style. building Painting 6252.JPG|A painter working on an exterior wall in [[Kolkata]], 2010 </gallery>

== See also == * [[Accent wall]] * [[Adhesion testing]] * [[Coating]] * [[Environmental impact of paint]] * [[List of tools and equipment#Painting tools and equipment|List of painting tools and equipment]] * [[Painting and Decorating Contractors of America]] * [[Popcorn ceiling]] * [[Volatile organic compounds]] * [[Wallpaper]]

== References == {{reflist}}

==External links== {{commons category|painters (artisans)|position=left}}

[[Category:Construction and extraction occupations]] [[category:IARC Group 1 carcinogens]] [[category:interior design]] [[Category:Mobile businesses]] [[category:paint and coatings industry]] [[category:painting]]