Employing a painter/decorator - is this normal?

[SingleAHF]

In case it's relevant, I live in a small seaside town in England.

I recently employed a painter-decorator who charged me £25 an hour.

I was wondering whether the following is normal or usual.

I had to supply the brushes, rollers and trays, white spirit as well as the caulk, filler, silicone and all the primer, undercoat and paint. Any little thing he bought he charged me for.

After he had left and I had a chance to look at his work there were loads of things not done properly. For example wall paint on electrical switches and sockets and hinges and skirtings, whilst the skirting paint was on walls and dripped on the vinyl flooring. Bits of wood left rough and clearly not prepped properly. I had to spend ages taking photos and making a list explaining what was wrong. He came back and spent a whole day (unpaid) putting right what he'd done wrong.

I would have thought that, at £25 an hour he should not need overseeing, supervision or instruction, nor why he didn't just do it right the first time.

The previous painter I had charged me £20 an hour and did a perfect job first time every time. Sadly he has now retired which is why I looked for this new one.

£25 an hour is very cheap for a professional painter - you got what you paid for, IMO.

He would have made no money if he had included materials in that price, £25 an hour is cheap for any sort of professional service.

Honestly, I’ve paid around £200 a day for a good painter and decorator.

My previous painter (2020-2024) included cheap things like caulk and white spirit in his price and used his own brushes and other equipment.

What is a day?

6 hours, 7 hours, 8 hours work?

£25 an hour is £200 a day

I've used many different decorators and never had to supply my own brushes/white spirit/caulk. They usually quote for the total job, and usually include white paint in the price. Then I supply my own (colour) paint and or wall paper.

That’s what OP paid - which is still pretty cheap.

Normal to pay for paint as these would be used purely in your house but not normal to pay for caulk etc. Very unusual that a professional decorator wouldn’t use his own brushes and trays etc.

Cost would vary based on the where you are in the country and whether it was going through the books or not.

I think that’s a cheap price, I’ve never been quoted per hour but rather just for the job so say £600 to decorate a room but then how long that takes is how long it takes. Providing paint is usual obviously and I don’t think it’s unreasonable to provide the other things asked for.

I guess it is if working 8 hours a day - but I’ve not known a painter inside do that. So I pay about £1000 a week if I worked it out but agree generally it is cost for a job.

I’ve just paid for outside to be done and that was £2800 and took a week. Different though obviously.

As I explained in my OP he isn't what I call "good". He is sloppy, misses bits, slops paint everywhere, cannot keep a clean line, does not prep correctly and has to come back and do it all over again.....

Oh I just remembered, I also had to buy the masking tape and sandpaper.

This isn't just about what he charges, it's about him needed supervision, needing to have his work inspected, complaints raised, then he has to come back and do it all over again because it wasnt done properly the first time.

It was hard for him to quote for the job because there were little bits and pieces all over the house that needed small repairs and touch-ups because of being bashed and scratched over the years.

For self employed people, generally less that £40 an hour means you're operating at a loss, when you take into account overheads and so on. So £25 per hour is cheap. You get what you pay for.

Say he did 6 hours that’s £150 a day and a fair price although as PP said I would get a total charge per room to cover any issues

i got got shouted at by my sadly retired painter saying 'you want me to paint blue walls and the skirting boards just after you've had new carpet laid' there wasn’t a spot of paint anywhere out of place

it's not right him having to put so many things right and I’ve never heard of a decorator not providing his own paintbrushes.

get him to put right and don’t use him again

Ours charges £20 per hour but just quotes for the full job and he includes/ provides everything. I only know it’s £20 because I didn’t think he’d charged us enough and he said that’s what he bases his price on. He’s an absolute wizard, really skilled at what he does, and I definitely think he could charge more and still be in demand.

I think professional painters tend to use their own decent tools don’t they!? That’s what I’ve always known. Is there a chance he wasn’t quite as professional as you thought?

He's also been hassling me to post a review online. I ignored him at first but he keeps messaging me. Should I leave an honest review and recommend people avoid him or just not say anything?

Seems like maybe he isn't an experienced professional who's been doing it a long time and has his own tools etc, but someone relatively new to the business.

I used to flip houses so have used a fair number of decorators. All have charged by the job and all I do is supply the paint. They take door knobs off, loosen light sockets and switches and clean up every day.

Once he’s put everything right I’d just tell him that with the work that had to be redone you wouldn’t feel comfortable leaving him a review

Supplying brushes etc is an odd one as they've normally got their own kit and preferred brands of kit.
I'd be suspicious if he was a bonafide painter and decorator.

8 hours a day at £25 per hour is £200 😂😂

He wasn't a professional decorator. They have their own tools and equipment. I also usually tell them what paint I want and they supply.

Why does everyone automatically assume a painter would be working 8 hrs a day?

if they’re doing one room for example they can’t paint the walls twice and the gloss in one day. Each needs to dry etc.

if you pay £600 for a room to be redecorated that would be £200 a day if it took three days. Two days would be a massive push. That wouldn’t be 24 hrs work though.

then only paint on top