r/tradepainters

Hi everyone,
I’m 26 and I genuinely don’t know what direction to take anymore.
For the last couple of years it feels like every plan I’ve had has fallen apart. I studied accounting, then realised office work wasn’t for me. I tried another career path and that didn’t feel right either. I worked in construction for a while and actually enjoyed being on site more than being behind a desk.
More recently I spent months trying to start my own food business. I found a unit, spoke with solicitors, negotiated with the landlord, planned everything and invested a lot of time, only for the whole deal to collapse after months of delays and back and forth. It really knocked my confidence because I felt like I’d finally found something I wanted to build.
Now I’m back at square one.
At the moment I’m considering learning painting and decorating. My dad has worked in the trade for years, my uncle is also a painter, and I have an interview for a painting and decorating course. If that works out, I was thinking of spending some time learning the basics with my uncle before the course starts.
The problem is I keep asking myself whether this is actually the right path or if I’m just convincing myself because I’m desperate to move forward.
I don’t want to spend the rest of my life jumping from one idea to another. I want to commit to something, become really good at it and eventually build my own business. I’m not expecting success overnight, but I do want to make the right long term decision.

Has anyone else been in this position where you felt completely lost in your mid twenties?

If you had to start again at 26 with no clear direction, what would you do?

If you’re a painter and decorator, would you recommend the trade today?

If you work in another trade or run your own business, what path would you choose if you were starting from scratch?

I’m not looking for people to tell me what I want to hear. If you think I’m making a mistake, tell me. I’d rather hear honest opinions from people with real experience than spend another few years going in circles.

Thanks for reading.

We are repainting our entire house again . The builder used flat paint and we would rather eggshell . After painting a section , we don’t see a big difference . We used same brand , same color scheme just eggshell and not flat . What are we doing wrong

i think he may be in the state of shock and denial as he is just going about his work like nothing happened. how should i approach this with him. he stinks like nothing i’ve witnessed before today.

Desperate need of a professional painters that has their own tools and paint machine yearly gig paid by piece Work & paid weekly. must have osha10 card Social Security card and a drivers license and must be mobile.

Basically I'm a self employed painter and decorator and 2 years ago I booked a client in to decorate their entire house. I stripped all the wallpaper before starting the paint work. After I gave everything a mist coat I used my spray gun to paint a room. They supplied farrow and ball paint. I informed them they needed more paint. They got back to me and insisted they had to cancel the entire job because they could not afford the paint. I offered a cheaper paint alternative in the same colour but they refused. I had them booked in for at least 2 weeks work and I was paid £1300 but lost out on £3090.

Cut to a few weeks ago and I coincidentally bump into the same person after they reached out to me with a different number for a quote on a new property. They told me about how "painters don't use spray guns" and they didn't appreciate how much paint I had used. I got the impression they were looking to get away with just one coat instead of 2. None of these complaints were brought up to me. It's all on text to say they could not afford the paint cost and turned down my offer for a cheaper alternative.

I've looked into this and apparently I do have a case on my side. Even if it's not the full amount.

Has any trades people had this situation before or gone to small claims court before? Is it worth me speaking to someone even just to clarify if it be worth pursuing or not?

So far I've been really liking the painting gig I got and my boss says I'm doing a great job! Though I have some things I really want to refine right now.

One of those things is getting paint too far up the brush. Early in the day, paint is closer to where I like it (and should be) at the very edge of the brush. However later I notice it starts creeping up further and further up the bristles.

Something else I'm looking to hone in on is improving my brushskills in less than ideal places like the tight clearances invetween a vanity or baseboards. He said I can already cut a clean line which is reassuring to hear, but there's always something to improve on.

Sometime in the near future I'm hoping to get a good grip on rolling. I sorta have it down with the small ones, but the 18 in ones feel a little cumbersome.

Seeing a lot of options (trends) in floor protection. Is to wrong to still use basic Rosin paper? When finished roll up and throw away...

What is everyone using now days?

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Hi all,

I want to start a painting and decorating business offering range of inside and outside solutions as well as handy man kind of work.

Based out of county wexford and Leinster area

I am wondering if there is a demand for such business considering other competition around.

what are your thoughts and opinions ? did you have a bad experience with other contractors?