The Price to Paint a Room

I recently saw online, somebody requesting a quote for some decorating work to be taken on. They wanted the job done quickly, they wanted it done on the cheap, but they also wanted high standards. 

I don’t know anywhere on earth where these 3 factors work together. If a tradesman in any field is available for work the next day or week then normally they aren’t as good as some others may be.  So immediately you are having to suffer standards.

What I was interested in was the thought process of the enquirer. What makes them assume they can get somebody quick, skilled and cheap? 

I know for a fact that it takes years and years of on site practice to achieve high standards. You can’t just go to college and leave then see yourself as good as the rest. 

So many decorators haven’t seen the inside of college walls, they have learned their skill through years of being on tools. It’s the same with many trades. The best plasterers on average would have been spreading for over 5 years and that’s after 2 years of mucking up plaster as a labourer. 

This is however a rough guide. There are people out there who take to the trade like ducks to water and achieve perfect results in less time. 

However let’s get back to my original subject. The quote required! Let’s look at prices. Obviously prices do differ depending on regions around the UK. My example is going to be for a good decorator in the southeast. 

Waiting time: 6 weeks is the minimal you should wait. So plan your decorating well in advance. It gives you a good timeframe to choose colours etc. 

Budget: A good decorators daily rate is around £200 per day in the southeast of England. London a bit more. 

So if somebody is able to decorate a room from top to bottom for a lot less, I would take into consideration that you will loose 1 of the other factors 

Let’s base this on an average 4 metre squared room for re-decoration, with 1 UPVC window, 1 door side, 4 plain emulsion painted walls with woodwork being skirting and architrave.  

You would expect cracks in the ceiling to be raked out and filled with fibrecryl to stop them returning, rubbed down then 1 coat of flat emulsion applied. The walls would be filled and rubbed down, then 2 coats of emulsion applied. Woodwork would also be filled and rubbed down then spot primed and undercoated followed by 2 top coats of the required finish. Also internal corners, architrave edges and skirting tops would be caulked to create a smooth clean lines. Cutting in will be neat. 

This job spec would cost on average £800 plus the cost of your coloured paint, which is a completely different subject and is very important when choosing to decorate as different paint brands have different finishes. I will write about this next time. 

This job would take on average 4 days. This is an estimate and I’ve taken into consideration that the standard of decorating before was ok. 

Obviously if your room is still full of stuff that needed moving, this may increase you cost. 

If you have any questions, drop me a message and I’ll try to answer the best I can. 

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