Decorating Tools
Rollers, brushes, masking tapes, and scrapers for painting, wallpapering, and paint stripping on a UK extension build. What to buy and how to use each one properly.
Decoration is the last job on an extension, and the one most homeowners take on themselves. It looks simpler than bricklaying or plumbing, and the tools are cheap. The catch is that a good finish depends on tool choice as much as on the paint. The wrong roller leaves texture in the mist coat. The wrong brush sheds bristles into your gloss. The wrong tape pulls the skin off a freshly painted ceiling. Each of these is avoidable if you know what to buy before you stand in the paint aisle facing forty options.
These guides cover the six tools that do most of the work in a typical decoration phase: a roller and brush for applying paint, two tapes for masking adjacent surfaces, a seam roller for wallpaper joints, and a shave hook for stripping old paint from mouldings. Cheap tools work if you pick the right ones.
Where to start
Read paint rollers first, because it covers the mist coat on new plaster, the first coat on every new wall and ceiling in the extension. Then read paint brushes for cutting in and gloss on skirting.
The guides, grouped by job
Applying paint. The paint roller for emulsion on walls and ceilings, and the paint brush for cutting in and woodwork.
Masking. General-purpose masking tape for sharp paint lines, and low-tack masking tape for delicate or freshly painted surfaces, two-tone walls and snagging touch-ups.
Wallpaper and membranes. The seam roller for flattening wallpaper joins, which is also used on flat-roof membrane seams.
Stripping old paint. The shave hook for mouldings and architraves in the existing house, with the lead paint warning for older homes.
Where these fit in the build
Nothing gets painted until plastering has fully dried. The main work happens at decoration, where the paint quantity calculator helps you buy the right amount, and the low-tack tape comes back for touch-ups on the snagging checklist.
Low-Tack Masking Tape: FrogTape, 3M Blue, and Delicate-Surface Grades
UK guide to low-tack painter's tape. When to use FrogTape or 3M Blue for two-tone walls and snagging, how PaintBlock works, and what to buy.
Masking Tape: Widths, Grades, and How to Get Sharp Paint Lines
UK guide to general-purpose masking tape for decoration. Standard crepe tape widths, how long to leave it on, and the trick for razor-sharp paint lines.
Paint Brushes: Sizes, Bristle Types, and What to Buy for an Extension
UK guide to paint brushes. When to use angled-sash vs flat, pure bristle vs synthetic, and which sizes cover cutting-in, woodwork, and gloss on skirting.
Paint Rollers: How to Choose and Use One for Extension Decoration
UK guide to paint rollers for emulsion and gloss. 9-inch frames, sleeve types, the mist coat technique on new plaster, and what to buy from under £10.
Seam Rollers: Flattening Wallpaper Joins and EPDM Membranes
UK guide to seam rollers for wallpapering and flat-roof membrane work. When to use one, how to avoid crushing paper texture, and what to buy from under £5.
Shave Hooks: Stripping Paint from Mouldings and Architraves Safely
UK guide to shave hooks for paint stripping. Triangular vs pear vs combination blades, safe technique with heat guns, and the lead paint warning for pre-1970 homes.