Fit-out and refurbishment

Protecting new floors and joinery while decorating

New flooring and fitted joinery represent a large share of a fit-out budget, and they are usually finished before decorating's final pass, which puts them directly in the path of ladders, paint kettles and dust sheets for the rest of the job.

Rigid correx protection taped over a newly installed timber floor beside a step ladder

Floor protection that survives the whole visit

Hardboard or correx taped at the joints, rather than loose dust sheets, stops both spillage and abrasion from equipment being dragged across a new floor. On carpet and carpet tile, a breathable protective film avoids trapping moisture underneath while still stopping paint transfer.

Rigid board protection on hard floors, taped rather than loose
Breathable film on carpet to avoid trapping moisture
Protection extended to the full working radius, not just directly under a ladder

Joinery protection during painting and beyond

Fitted joinery — reception desks, kitchen units, meeting room credenzas — gets masked or sheeted for the duration, not just while the immediate wall next to it is being painted, since ladders and equipment move around a room over several days. Corners and edges of new joinery are the most vulnerable point and need dedicated corner protection, not general sheeting alone.

Removing protection at the right moment

Protection stays down until the last dust-generating or wet trade has left the room, which is sometimes after decorating rather than immediately following it. Taking floor protection up too early to make a room look finished for a photo is one of the most avoidable causes of late-stage damage.

How we work on this

We tape rigid board protection at the joints rather than leaving loose sheets that shift underfoot.
We fit dedicated corner protection to new joinery edges, not just general dust sheeting.
We leave protection in place until the last trade due into the room has finished.

Questions we are asked about this

What do you use to protect new carpet during painting?

A breathable protective film taped at the edges, which stops paint transfer without trapping moisture against the carpet fibres.

Do you protect joinery for the whole job or just while working next to it?

For the whole visit, because equipment moves around a room over several days and joinery near one wall is still at risk while another wall is being painted.