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Original poster

Was this a reasonable amount to pay for decorating?

36 replies

Sunnydaiz · 11/08/2023 12:30

I'm in the south east and have just had some painting done in my flat. I got two quotes done and went with the cheaper one. The decorator arrived on time, did the work very well, and I've paid him. All good.

The only thing is that I've been so busy and had so much on my mind lately that it wasn't until after the work was finished that I wondered why the amount per day worked out as a lot more than his stated day rate. Obviously at this point I'm not going to say anything about it - the time for discussing it was before accepting the quote.

Just simply for my peace of mind, I would like to know - was the amount reasonable, or not? The work took 4 days and cost £1550. I provided most of the paint but the decorator provided some of it. The decorator worked hard and did not waste time, so the issue is not whether he sat around spinning out the work for longer than needed. The question is whether £1550 is a reasonable amount to pay for 4 days of work, including some paint? His stated day rate is £170.

OP posts:

LightSpeeds · 11/08/2023 17:08

When you say 'some painting', how much painting was it?

Peony654 · 11/08/2023 17:12

So he invoiced you for the quote price? His day rate is irrelevant. For future - never pay for a specific number of days. Pay for the job to be done.

Toloveandtowork · 11/08/2023 17:29

I disagree that you should get a quote for the job. Surely if you pay the day rate, it works out cheaper.

I got someone to do some painting for me last year. He said it would take around 3 days and would be £600. All materials provided by me.

He declared he was finished in less than one day and wanted £600.

Original poster

Sunnydaiz · 12/08/2023 11:17

Just to reiterate what I wrote earlier - I am not going to say anything about the cost to the decorator at this point.

What I’m looking for in this thread is information from people in the south east about how much they’ve paid for decorating recently. Many thanks to those who’ve provided that - very helpful! :)

OP posts:

Ironinglady22 · 12/08/2023 11:48

Sounds like you agreed a fixed price, not a day rate? If you agree a fixed price the day rate isn't really relevant. A fixed price gives you certainty. If a tradesperson is on fixed price work and (for example) unexpected issues arise and it takes a few days days longer than anticipated then it doesn't cost the customer any more and they just have to take the hit, whereas day rate is a bit more open ended for the customer. If you had two quotes and the other was higher then I'd assume you have paid the right amount for the work.

Original poster

Sunnydaiz · 12/08/2023 11:51

Yes, I agreed a fixed price, not a day rate. I’ve been puzzled as to why the fixed price didn’t tally with the day rate but it may be as you say - it gave leeway in case the work took longer than expected.

OP posts:

Beenalongwinter · 12/08/2023 18:40

How many rooms. What size?
How many door frames?
How many windows?
What was the job specification ?
How many coats of paint?

Impossible to say without above.

stardust25609 · 12/08/2023 19:44

In London we paid about £700 for our hallway (upstairs and downstairs) and stairs to be painted. Took 2 people 1 day. They provided all the paint, but we didn't get any woodwork done which would have cost extra. I've no idea of the decorator's day cost. Totally depends on what you had done and exactly where you live as imagine the price will vary a lot, but to me that doesn't seem like a bad price for 4 days work if they did a good job.

Alltheusernamesaretakennow · 14/08/2023 10:05

Twiglets1 · 11/08/2023 13:07

How many days did it take them to do the stairs and landing?

Show quote history

Hi - we did the woodwork ourselves, and supplied the paint. Took him 2 shortish days.

Echio · 14/08/2023 10:17

Hi OP,

I'm SE (mid Sussex) and replying to your pricing.

I recently paid one person £160 a day for painter/decorator but it was a disaster and their work was appalling. He did 5 days work (over about a month) for stripping wallpaper off 1 wall, a lot of filling of holes and painting two rooms - this is a <60sqm home so the rooms are modest in size. It was a dreadful job, could have taken half the time, and the filling has all cracked and I'm going to get it re-done when I have more money.

I then paid £220 for a handyman to do general fixings like curtain poles/floating shelves (he also does decorating etc) and that was about 4.5 hours work and he brought a young apprentice with him. I felt the money was probably a bit high as it wasn't a full day's work, but the job was professionally done and I'll be using him again when I have more work to do.

I'm not sure what happened with your pricing - either an honest mistake or someone taking the piss a bit, but if you're happy with the job done that's the main thing :)

Anjo2011 · 14/08/2023 10:23

Our decorator charges £250 per day and adds sundries on top. So things like filler, plasterboard, paste etc. He breaks down the extra costs. If you are happy and it wasn’t a disaster that’s a result as you hear so many bad experiences. Saying that I would just contact him and ask for a breakdown of the costs for your records.

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