Painter and decorator cost

mudslide73

Hello lads. Sadly it turns out I have to paint some rooms soon. Having done a load of renovations at work over the summer I can't face the thought of doing it all over again. 

What's the ballpark cost for a pro to paint a room and doors/frames? I have literally no idea. Any help would be gratefully received.

Iamnobody

Not all pros are the same - you’ll get some that are high end, some that flash paint on new builds and work fast with little regard for quality. Therefore try and get someone recommended and expect to pay around £150 a day plus materials unless you are in London.

Danny1969

Well you generally rub down all woodwork and in some cases clean with sugarsoap. Then you need to fill any gaps with decorators caulk or filler depending on where it's needed. 
Then you put a coat on the ceiling and undercoat the woodwork. then a coat on the walls. The next day you coat the ceiling again and the walls, break for dinner and then gloss up the woodwork and you've done generally. So normally 2 days work at a cost of around £300 for labour and the average room needs 5L of emulsion for the ceiling at £18 ish and 5L of colour for the wall. Magnolia can be got for as little as £18 for 10L but a nice colour will be £25 ish for 5L then £15 for undercoat and £15 for gloss plus another £10 for sandpaper and filler. 

So around £400 ish but depends on room size and whether windows are UPVC or Georgian etc  

viz

Iamnobody said:

Not all pros are the same - you’ll get some that are high end, some that flash paint on new builds and work fast with little regard for quality. Therefore try and get someone recommended and expect to pay around £150 a day plus materials unless you are in London.

There are pros and cons

yep, go for someone recommended and trustworthy and pay a daily rate. A room will probably be 2 days. If there’s time left over, he/she would probably willing to touch up other bits here and there. 

mudslide73

Thanks everyone - very much appreciated. I'll start looking then. 

jonnyburgo

Probably a bit more than you'd imagine in my experience. But you are paying for something that you can do yourself, just not as quickly or to the same standard probably (hopefully!)

more

I just had the outside of my  house painted . The painter charged £110  a day plus costs . That was the cost of the  materials and the cost of renting a tower . Some might charge more, but that is a  ball park cost . 

Dominic

^ You won't get anybody decent for that rate in London ; we have to pay labourers more than that per day.
Anybody decent wants price work not to hire themselves out for a day .You may find an odd job man but not a professional decorator at those rates .........as they say in the trade "Anybody can work for nothing "

ftumch

Danny1969 said:

Well you generally rub down all woodwork and in some cases clean with sugarsoap. Then you need to fill any gaps with decorators caulk or filler depending on where it's needed. 
Then you put a coat on the ceiling and undercoat the woodwork. then a coat on the walls. The next day you coat the ceiling again and the walls, break for dinner and then gloss up the woodwork and you've done generally. So normally 2 days work at a cost of around £300 for labour and the average room needs 5L of emulsion for the ceiling at £18 ish and 5L of colour for the wall. Magnolia can be got for as little as £18 for 10L but a nice colour will be £25 ish for 5L then £15 for undercoat and £15 for gloss plus another £10 for sandpaper and filler. 

So around £400 ish but depends on room size and whether windows are UPVC or Georgian etc  

Pretty much this, unless the room is in good condition. If it's not in too bad a state (no large holes and the house Is dry it can be done in one day.

skunkwerx

I need to do my bedroom.. 

Thought about getting someone in as I really cant be arsed.. but at the same time seems a waste to pay someone.. 

markblack

It can add up. And I've been burned by two that were s**t. I'm not overly fussy, but they wanted to get it done as quick as possible and it showed. Stuff I'd done looked better. Yes it took me time. I was like you just couldn't face it after doing a load of work on the house. So i thought I'd treat myself to a pro paint job. Never again. I can do a room in two days, but i do buy good paint, roller and cutting in brushes.

That said I'm sure if you find a good one it would look great. 

Snap

if you don't know anyone, checkatrade.com is a good place to go.

up here in the North, 150-200 a day plus materials is about average. Have paid less, but it was crap. If someone is good, they will be busy and not the cheapest, usually. 

boogieman

Snap said:

if you don't know anyone, checkatrade.com is a good place to go.

up here in the North, 150-200 a day plus materials is about average. Have paid less, but it was crap. If someone is good, they will be busy and not the cheapest, usually. 

You do still have to sift Checkatrade results. Go for someone who’s got decent feedback over a long period of time, rather than loads of recent 5 star reviews.... that will probably just mean their family and mates have been bumping up their ratings. 

markj

I charge £95 a day for interior and £120 for exterior. Completely booked up until 2021. 

Snap

markj said:

I charge £95 a day for interior and £120 for exterior. Completely booked up until 2021. 

not surprised at that price!!

SPECTRUM001

We have them in right now. Actually one guy - Alan. He is quite exceptional and charges £165 a day (which for London is amazing value).

He is also good at fixes and extra stuff that you don't want to get some else in for. Lucky to get him as he had some annual leave owing from his care work.

ToneControl

just got a 3 bed house done for £800 + materials
All rooms, covering dark painted walls
In the north west

Danny1969

ToneControl said:

just got a 3 bed house done for £800 + materials
All rooms, covering dark painted walls
In the north west

Is that all walls, ceilings and all doors, frames and skirting too or just the walls ? 

ToneControl

Danny1969 said:

ToneControl said:

just got a 3 bed house done for £800 + materials
All rooms, covering dark painted walls
In the north west

Is that all walls, ceilings and all doors, frames and skirting too or just the walls ? 

everything, it's nearly done

the builder claims he would have done it for less btw

fastonebaz

My wife has the painter and decorators in at the moment.  I'd ask her how much but she's very grumpy currently. 

GoldenEraGuitars

£80 a day around these parts