To ask how long you'd expect someone to take to decorate one room?

[seasidefishwife]

Small double room. One wall to be papered, two walls white. One dark grey. One hole to fix. Plus skirting boards.

I ask as DH had all last week, and he's still not halfway through. WTF is taking him so long???

@Adacoleman raises a good point about preparing the room what was on the walls before he started?

Sounds like he is procrastinating. Could be because he can't be arsed, but more sympathetically maybe he wasn't really up for doing it this half term, or was shattered and desperate for a break.

Would it help to swap jobs at the weekend? You sound more motivated than he is.

Probably week

Day 1 filler and sand skirting - would leave 2 days for filler to dry
Day 2 clean dust and base coat skirting
Day 3 leave filler to dry
Day 4 undercoat everything and ceiling
Day 5 next coat walls in the two colours
Day 6 wallpaper

If you rush too much each layer or filler hasn’t got time to dry

Yes we're presuming walls were previously just painted and in good nick?

Took me 2 days, but I had furniture in the room to switch around and was pregnant

I've been doing this since I was 15 and have done every room in our house.

3 days max.

Walls in good nick bar one hole.
One small wall in dark grey, which took three coats.
Someone mentioned cleaning up dust? Well that made me snort. There is dust flipping EVERYWHERE!!!

Doing the room was his "break" last week. He wanted to do it. I'm genuinely terrible at that kind of job so he's better placed than me. (I'd rather just pay someone) plus he really does want to do it and really thinks he's good at it.

5 days ought to be enough if there are no nasty surprises lurking.
1 day - take stuff out, sand skirtings, filler
1 day - sand filler, wash down walls, 1 coat of paint
1 day - second coat of paint
1 day - wallpaper (can be tricky), 1 coat of paint on skirting
1 day - finish skirting and clean up

Mind you my bathroom is still not finished and it ought to have taken about 4 days (no tiling etc, just freshening the bad paint job done by prev owners) but DH just wouldn't get on with it and then got miffed when I started doing it myself 🤷‍♀️

Day 1 - clean, prep and filling
Day 2 - ceiling, 2 coats
Day 3 - first coat of paint
Day 4 - second coat of paint
Day 5 - wallpaper
Day 6 - touching up, tidying up

So about a week, but I wouldn't be spending all day doing it.

Painting 2 days max
Wall paper 1 day
Skirting 1 day maybe two if it needs glossing

It would take me 3-4 days. Most of day one clearing and cleaning room filling holes prepping woodwork (even if just a pre paint wash), taking up anything needed and covering carpet. Possibly undercoat on gray wall.
Day 2 rubbing down filled hole, second coat gray wall skirting and windows.
Day 3 white walls (good one coat white on white I’m hoping) and paper wall. Remove any taping. Allow to dry.
Day 4 I can see some going into a 4th day/touching up/cutting in better/cleaning stuff up. Allow everything to dry fully. Late in day move stuff back in.

If no window involved then a good half day quicker.
If I don’t have everything I need to start then add half a day for getting stuff.
I am a bit careful and slow when decorating.

If I employed someone I’d expect 2 days ish?

Depends how much prep work is needed.

Prep:-
Emptying room
Fill and sand holes
Remove previous wallpaper
Sand woodwork ready for painting
(2 days)

Decorating:-
Paint three walls first coat
Wallpaper
(1.5 days for the above)

Paint three wall second coat
(1 day max)

Paint all woodwork plus third coat if needed
(1 day, maybe 1.5 days)

I'm counting a day as 9-5 with a healthy lunch break to be with the family. Decorating my own home I'd blast through working longer days to make sure I did fewer days as possible.

@AuntieDolly

My husband would take a week, but it would be a lovely job at the end. I’d be screaming ‘just finish it! ‘ as he went round the edges with a tiny brush...

Same here. Me: 2 days but a bit sloppily done. DH: a week but done really carefully and prepped properly too.

Couple of hours.
Best thing I did when I moved in. Got rid of every scrap of wallpaper.
Now fancy a change, check for holes, open tin and crack on painting.

It would take me 1-2 days. I’m good though!

This has given me the itch to get in with my kitchen and sitting room however I know I don’t have everything I need and can’t stand doing a half arsed start and then being in chaos longer than necessary. Hmmm

Is this the new MN thing? Competitive decorating. A couple of hours my hairy arsehole it'd be a fucking atrocious job if so.

Fair enough OP. Size of the job also depends on whether you include ceiling and woodwork... which I know it probably should, but we often don't.

I have been so much better at buying paint than I've been at actually decorating this lockdown...

A week with no disruptions is ridiculous.

Laughing at a couple of hours though.

I’m intrigued by the posters saying they do the woodwork before the walls. I’ve always done the woodwork last of all.

Also, whoever mentioned Zinsser 123...it’s amazing stuff!

Does he have to move loads of stuff or is it empty?

And he's not doing the ceiling, BTW.

Me? A day. But then I fucking hate decorating and would do a fast shit job to get it over with as quickly as physically possible.

I'll out myself here but my DH is known for taking weeks if not months to complete a room. He's massively pedantic and every inch of the room has to be done. Light pendants off the ceiling, all switches and sockets removed, everything sanded or rubbed down at least twice. It used to drive me to insanity but after 30 years I'm used to him now. I just let him crack on with it