Are the decorator costs reasonable?

[mrswimpeydimple]

My 80yr old mother is buying and moving to a one bedroom retirement flat in a couple of months and the decor is a bit tired and I thought it'd be nice to have it decorated between exchange of contracts and completion. Vendor is happy with this etc etc.

I was recommended a decorator and he has been to the flat and given us a quote. The flat is one bed, sitting room, kitchen, bathroom and hall. He's quoted for 2 coats to ceiling, 2 coats to walls, undercoat and topcoat to all woodwork. Total cost £1850.

I was a bit surprised by this, thought it was a bit high. Anyone else think similar or perhaps I'm out of touch and this is ok. Am thinking about getting another quote, but because we haven't exchanged yet it's a bit of a faff iykwim!

it sounds expensive to me.

An independent decorator might have a day-rate of about £100.

In a very posh area, £150 would be high.

Paint is cheap.

It looks to me like he is charging for three week's work, which is way OTT.i

If the house is occupied it will be more trouble and take longer than if it is empty.

Ask around friends and neighbours for their recommendations, and look at samples of their work. Good decorators are hard to find, and will often be booked solid three years in advance, including repainting outdoors woodwork for their existing customer base.

Ask if they are including rubbing-down the workwork, and filling any cracks or blemishes.

What's the postcode?

Thanks for replying piglet. The flat is in Oxfordshire, it's a standard McCarthy & Stone retirement flat and will be empty when the work is done, so should be a lot easier. I may be niave but would expect for a professional decorator it would only be weeks work max. He did say that the ceiling has never been painted and that it is raw artex so will need treating with something before he paints, but even so that price would still be excessive?

In London I just paid £340 for lining and 2 (ended up being 3) coats of paint and painted ceiling in a quite large kitchen, if thats any help? Oh and that included the lining paper and (kitchen) paint.

I think expecting it to be done in a week is unreasonable, but three weeks is too long. I reckon 8-10 working days as whilst one room is drying another can be done. In which case, £1850 is too much.

Here, near Bath, good decorators are working on £135 for an 8-hour day. Would have thought Oxfordshire would be comparable.

A week doesn't sound like very much - he has 4 rooms and the hall to do (lots of woodwork + windows?)

I would think it's a bit high, but not too much TBH. It depends on how good a job you want done and what the current state is. If you can get away with a fresh coat over the top then you should get cheaper, but if there's a fair amount of prep (rubbing down, filling etc) that needs to be done properly, then if you pay much less you may find you don't get such a good finish.

Thanks everyone for your responses. I think the only way to gauge for sure is to get another quote. Still think this is high and surprised if its more than a weeks work (but am a novice at hiring professionals as my last three houses I've done all the decorating).