Painter Balk: skilled work from Mirns, about 9 km away

Balk is part of the area where we work most: De Fryske Marren and Súdwest-Fryslân. Our address on the Murnserdyk is about 9 km from the village as the crow flies, so a site visit is easily planned. We paint window frames, doors, cladding and fascia boards outside, and walls and ceilings inside. If there is rot in the wood, we repair that first. We also do small carpentry jobs and wallpapering ourselves, so you do not have to juggle three different firms.

If it is mainly about the outside, read what is involved in exterior painting in Balk.

Balk lies on the Luts, the waterway that runs straight through the village, and close to the Slotermeer. A little further on, the woods and cliffs of Gaasterland begin. Lovely to live in, less easy on woodwork. Under trees a wall dries slowly after a shower, and on the north side a green film of algae forms sooner. The open west side of the same house takes the full force of wind and rain.

So we look at what each wall needs. We clean and degrease the shaded side extra thoroughly, because paint does not bond to a layer of grime. On the west side we pay particular attention to sills, where water tends to sit.

Along the Luts stand stately houses from the days when trade moved over the water. You find old windows with a lot of profile and several layers of paint on top of each other. Sanding then has to be done with care, so the profiles stay crisp. We use Festool with grits 150, 180 and 240. If there is any doubt about old lead-based paint, we do not sand dry.

In the newer streets it is different. There are fewer layers on the wood, but fascia boards and wooden parapets have often been painted over for years without anyone checking what was underneath. A screwdriver soon tells you whether the wood is still sound.

Around the Slotermeer and in the woods stand many holiday homes. Owners often live far away and only notice something is wrong when the paint is already flaking. So we arrange a lot by photo and phone, and after the site visit you do not need to be there all the time. We prefer to schedule the handover for a moment when you are visiting anyway.

Wooden chalets have often had a different paint system from a brick house, so we first look at what is on there. You can read more at having a holiday home painted. If you rent the house out, tell us the bookings, so the work fits in between guests.

Around Balk we work just as much in the smaller villages. In Sloten, the smallest of the Eleven Cities, it is all about narrow streets and historic façades. Oudemirdum and Bakhuizen are set in greenery, with many detached houses and holiday homes. And in our own Mirns the lines are shortest.

That short distance is practical. When a run of dry days follows a wet week, we do not have to cross half the province to make use of it. If your neighbours have plans too, mention it. Then we look at everything in the same site visit.

A good quote starts with a few photos. This helps us before we come to look in Balk:

• photos of every wall, plus close-ups of sills and corners
• rough dimensions, or the number of window frames and doors
• the year the house was built and when it was last painted
• the colour you have in mind, or your doubts about it

If you do not know something, that is no problem. During the site visit we look at the surface ourselves and discuss the colours.

The price mainly follows the condition of the wood, the number of wall sections and how easy they are to reach. A house at the edge of the woods with a lot of grime needs more prep than a detached house that has been neatly maintained every seven years. As a national market guide, exterior painting starts from €35 per m2, an exterior window frame from €50 each and wood rot from €50 per spot. At MJA you get a fixed price after the site visit.

On homes that are two years old or older, Dutch VAT on painting is 9 percent. The scaffolding appears as a fixed item on the quote, because it is our own: no daily hire, even if it rains for a week.

At MJA you have one contact: Mohamed Ajubi. You tell us what you want, we come to look at the surface and colours, you get a fixed quote, and after the work we walk through everything together. In the reviews, customers mention the clear communication and the neat masking in particular. On Google we have 4.8 from 25 reviews.

We are a member of OnderhoudNL and a recognised training company. We work with Sikkens, Sigma and Wijzonol, and with Repair Care for wood rot. One customer who had been left in the lurch by another contractor also wrote a review about us. Anyone who has been through that mainly wants to know that agreements will hold.

We do exterior work on dry days between 5 and 30 degrees, so anyone who calls early in the year has the most choice. Interior work can be done all year round. Call or message Mohamed on 06 3006 0558, or send your photos through the form. Then we agree when we can come and look, and afterwards you get a fixed price on paper.

Not sure whether it is time yet? Send a photo of the spot you do not trust. Mohamed will tell you honestly whether it needs doing now or can wait another year. For a house at the edge of the woods, a yearly look at the sills and the bottom of the doors is worth it anyway, because that is usually where it starts.