Painting, Decorating, Tiling,
House Renovation

Professional Background

Jack has an arts foundation to his working history, having spent many years early on in his career, as a commercial artist. He broke with this to complete a B.A.Hons Humanities degree at Trent Park Middlesex, and again in a climate of recession and to help care for his two children.

The influence of computers in commercial art forced a transition from the traditional drawing board-based job of an artist to that of a PC work station opperative. Jobs could be executed in a fraction of the time by revolutionary computer software applications. The brushes, paints and drawing tools had become “virtual”.  Jack, not then keen to embrace the new technology and wary of a life harnessed to a PC but still, with the necessity to earn a living,  entered the world of building and decorating, which as far as he could tell would always be a hands-on profession.

As with his art career, most of his knowledge, skills and technique were acquired by practical application (work and repetition) developed year on year over a period of many years now.

Jack was given invaluable help, and many diverse, and often what then seemed impossible tasks, in the crucial early years, by his brother Don, who already ran his own business, and nowadays runs his own successful loft conversion company in North London:
www.londonloftconvertions.co.uk .

Jack honed his floor and wall tiling skills on countless bathroom re-furbishment projects in Ealing and North London in conjunction with his friend Bryan Edwards, of the long established and respected  London based plumbing and heating company BG Home Heating. Anyone who has ever come into contact with Bryan will not have been able to escape his company without falling prey in some way to his comic ploys. Clients and colleagues alike have been led a merry dance. Even the most challenging and frustrating of projects would still be fun to do with Bryan on the team though this never resulted in compromised working standards.

Prior to combining his skills with those of Bryan Edwards, Jack had developed a thriving and loyal client base in the Crouch End area of North London, maintaining and improving exclusively Victorian houses.

In 2005 Jack moved his working region to Howden East Yorkshire for family reasons. Having said good-bye to his London clients and connections he has been actively building a whole new client base in the North.

The greater part of Jack's work is within Howden and its nearby villages but commissions have been completed in Harrogate and York and travelling further afield for work is never ruled out, depending upon work load and the type of task in hand.

Working Practices

Jack's mode of practice incorporates attention to detail, correct preparation procedures and the use of high quality products to achieve the best possible result.
Like anything really, but particularly with practical tasks the best  result is always achieved through careful preparation. For instance a smart, clean, durable tiling job can only be arrived at by virtue of careful planning and accurate preparation. Walls should be as far as possible plumb, square and present a sound surface for good adhesion. The positioning of every tile should be considered before the first tile is laid. Grouts and adhesives should be the correct quality and specification for the project. Neglect any of these basics and the finished job will surely be and look sub standard.

When it comes to paintwork or indeed paperhanging the same principles apply. Correct surface preparation and the right products are essential to achieve a good and lasting finish.

"I want to walk away from a job satisfied with my efforts and content to know that the client is pleased with the end result"

On iz 'olidays...

And when would those be? Blink and you'd miss them.