Blog
Wallpaper or Paint? What Each One Really Costs You in Wall Prep
Paint shows every flaw in a wall, wallpaper hides a lot of them, and lining paper sits between the two. Here is how each choice changes the prep work, the durability in Dutch kitchens and stairwells, and what it costs in labour when you change your mind later.
Walk-In Shower or Bath? What Actually Decides It in a Dutch Bathroom
In most Dutch bathrooms the choice between a level-entry walk-in shower and a bath is settled by two physical facts: how much depth you have in the floor for a drain and trap, and where the existing soil stack sits. Accessibility, resale and the tiling all follow from those.
Screed and Subfloor Prep: Why the Layer You Never See Decides Your Floor
A floor covering can only be as flat, as dry and as stable as whatever sits under it. Here is how screed (dekvloer) differs from levelling compound (egaline), why residual moisture must be measured rather than assumed, and what fails when a floor is laid too early.
Roller painting or airless spraying?
Airless spraying is faster on large empty surfaces and leaves no roller texture; the roller wins in occupied homes and detailed rooms. Masking time decides most of it.
Repair after water damage: a step-by-step guide
Stop the source, document and report, dry the structure properly, and only then rebuild. Why rushing repairs after a leak costs more, and what is specific to Amsterdam buildings.
Renovating an apartment in an old Amsterdam building
Renovating in an old Amsterdam building means dealing with timber joists, damp, settlement and the building association. What to survey first and in what order to work.
Removing construction waste after demolition
Separating rubble, wood and plasterboard, getting it to a licensed processor, and handling the logistics of an old Amsterdam building. What the job covers and what drives the cost.
How to prepare walls for painting
Preparing walls for painting means cleaning, repairing, sanding and priming. In older Amsterdam buildings this stage decides how long the finish actually lasts.
How to prepare a property for demolition
Preparing a property for demolition is about arranging and protecting: surveys, approvals, disconnected services, a planned waste route and everything you keep covered up.
How to prepare a home for plastering
Preparing a home for plastering means clearing the room, stripping the walls, ruling out damp and protecting floors. Here is what to do yourself and what to leave to the trade.
Post-Renovation Cleaning and Handover: Snagging List, Waste and Final Payment
Construction dust is fine mineral particulate that ordinary vacuuming and wiping spread around rather than remove, so closing out a renovation needs a staged, top-down clean. It also needs a written waste agreement, a proper oplevering with a snagging list, and a final payment you release only once that list is closed.
Plastering or drywall: which should you choose?
Plaster gives a solid, seamless wall; drywall is faster and hides crooked surfaces, pipes and insulation. In older Amsterdam homes the answer is often both.
How long should plaster dry before painting?
Fresh plaster must be dry all the way through before paint goes on. What drives the drying time, how to check it, and why painting early always costs more.
Laminate, PVC or Parquet? Choosing a Floor for a Dutch Home
Three constraints decide your flooring before taste does: moisture in the room and subfloor, underfloor heating, and whether your VvE restricts hard floors. Here is how laminate, vinyl and wood actually behave in Dutch housing.
Insulating an Older Dutch Home: What to Do First, and What Can Go Wrong
Roof and floor first, walls last, and moisture diagnosed before anything is fixed to a wall. Where the heat really leaves an older Dutch house, why internal wall insulation carries a genuine condensation risk, and why ventilation belongs in the same project.
Floor levelling before laminate or PVC
PVC needs a flatter base than laminate. How to tell whether levelling is required, how the work is carried out, and what drives the cost in older Amsterdam homes.
Brick Facade and Repointing: How to Tell What Your Wall Actually Needs
How to read failing pointing on a Dutch brick facade, why hard cement mortar wrecks soft old brick, and which cracks mean movement rather than cosmetics. Plus how to sequence exterior work around scaffolding and the weather window.
Building a Stud Partition Wall: Framing, Soundproofing and What It Won't Fix
A practical guide to splitting a room with a plasterboard stud wall in a Dutch home: structural checks, frame spacing, single versus double boarding, decoupling for sound, and an honest answer on neighbour noise.
Damp and Mould in a Dutch Home: Find the Cause Before You Treat Anything
Condensation, rising damp, a leak and a cold bridge all look like the same black mould on a wall, but each needs a different test and a different repair. Here is how to tell them apart, why painting over mould fails, and the order of works that stops it coming back.
How to calculate wall area for painting
Length times height per wall, minus the large openings, plus an allowance for coats and waste. A simple method that lets you check a painting quote instead of guessing.