Beach Hut Paint: Folkestone Harbour Case Study

With the lack of holidaying abroad due to the pandemic, Folkestone & Hythe District Council aimed to modernise the harbour to attract those visitors that were used to vacations further afield. The full multi-million pound project was to include new beach front housing, restaurants, bars and venues. The project is being delivered by Folkestone Harbour and Seafront Development Company (HHSCDC).

Promain worked with the contractors, Painting Spaces Kent, to find the best beach hut paint for the project.

The Folkestone Beach Hut Artwork

Beach huts make visiting the seaside an easy all-year-round activity. Originally, the huts on Folkestone’s Marine Walk were privately owned. As of 2020, the huts were purchased by the local authorities with the intention of renovation. With the aim of extending the row of sheds, the project designers set about to include an extra 80 new huts to the promenade.

Situated near the Lower Leas Coastal Park, the beach huts are part of the Creative Folkestone 2021 Triennial – The Plot.  The artist, Rana Begum, designed the geometric kaleidoscope colour scheme to enliven the new and refurbished beach huts. Stretching over more than a kilometre, Begum’s No 1054 Arpeggio creates an immensely joyful artwork for visitors to Folkestone.

Painting Spaces: How To Paint A Beach Hut

Initially, Promain were contacted by Rob Broomby at Painting Spaces Kent. Rob explained the requirements of the project to Ben and Mark in our technical team. After lengthy discussions regarding colours, product qualities and tinting availability, a range of products were specified.

During the Winter of 2020, the team at Painting Spaces battled the harsh weather conditions, Brexit looming around the corner and Covid-19, to prepare the beach huts for Summer 2021. With a few hiccups, the contractors set about preparing the 80 new sheds ready for painting.

To get the shed paint colours required by the artist, a tintable exterior wood paint was required. After discussion with our technical team, it was decided the best paint for wood in this coastal environment was Teknos Woodex Aqua Solid.

Teknos Woodex Aqua Solid is a durable water-borne, acrylate/alkyd based solid wood stain with a long life expectancy. Typical uses are garden offices, garden buildings, cladding, covering boards, fences, window frames, etc.

Suitable for professional decorators, Teknos provide a range of decorative paints that are environmentally friendly, low odour and quick drying. Their ranges include specialist finishes for wood  suitable for new build and maintenance projects.

Based in Finland, Teknos are aware of the stresses wood coatings have to withstand.

The colours chosen by the artist were from the NCS colour range. We’ve listed a few of them below:

Folkestone Harbour Beach Hut Colours

S0520-Y30R
S0520-Y40R
S0550-Y
S0550-G70Y
S0550-Y60R
S0580-Y90R
S1020-R10B
S1020-Y50R
S1030-B90G
S1030-Y50R
S1040-Y70R
S1050-R30B
S1070-R10B
S1565-G
S2030-R10B
S2040-R10B
S2050-R10B
S2050-R30B
S3060-B90G
S4020-R10B
S4000-N
S4040-R30B
S4550-B90G
S5040-R50B
S5040-R70B

Furthermore, for a full comprehensive list of RAL, BS 381C and NCS colours, visit our Colour Charts web page.

Safety For Wet Feet

Due to the use of the huts with bare wet feet, it was decided that a clear anti slip paint was required on the veranda floors. Therefore, the product specified was Protecta-Kote Safekote. Providing UV protection, Protecta-Kote Safekote is a low profile aggregated finish that is regularly used in marine environments such as on boat ramps. Furthermore, this product provides a good compromise between safety, attractiveness and being just right for bare feet.

The Finished Beach Huts

Finally, a picture says a thousand words – take a look at the amazing job the team at Painting Spaces did below:

Part 2: Renovating The Secondary Concrete Huts

As the next phase of the project, a collection of concrete huts required renovation. The whole area was looking quite tired, and areas of the concrete walls had suffered from the effects of the corrosive seashore environment. Firstly, extensive making good of the walls and filling in cracks by the team were performed prior to the application of paint.

After discussion with Ben in Promain’s technical team, Painting Spaces decided on using Rust-Oleum Paracem on the outer walls.

Rust-Oleum Paracem is a semi matt masonry paint that is ideally suited for application onto render, plaster and a number of other substrates. Available in over 35,000 colours, Promain were able to tint the product in-house to the specific shades requested by the artist.

The photos below show just how impressive a bit of time and care can prove to be a great thing:

During Renovation

For further inspiration, take a look at these extra photos on Painting Spaces Instagram page below:

As you can see, these beach huts are immensely photogenic, attracting wannabe influencers and families alike.

How Can I Style A Beach Hut Garden Shed?

Getting inspiration by the beach hut designs above? There is nothing stopping you if you are brave enough to do it yourself! Beach hut decor is a firm favourite for people who tire of looking at a drab shed in their gardens. Even if you don’t intend on using your shed as a beach hut, garden rooms are perfect for this post Covid-19 world.

For further beach hut paint ideas, take a look at the blog articles below to get your beach hut as you like it:

Alternatively, if you just can’t do without the sea, hire a quality beach hut from Marshalls Beach Huts and save yourself the legwork!

Inspired? Do you have a tired garden shed looking for a spruce up? Take a look at these paint categories on our web shop to find the best shed paint for you:

Finally, do you have a require a specification on beach huts or coastal properties? Contact our technical team today for the best paint and coatings advice available.

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