Decorating - we've been quoted £13,750 - please tell me they're taking the Michael?

[KindleMum]

We complete new week on our new house and are getting quotes for work at the moment. The first complete quote has been rather a shock and includes £13,750 for decorating - that's just papering and painting, not plastering. Please tell me they're trying to take me for a ride because if all the quotes are in that league I'll have to learn to wallpaper and do it myself.
It does have 3 receps and 5 bedrooms but they are not enormous rooms. And I'd be providing any patterned paper and top colour paint on top of that. They're only including undercoat or lining paper in that figure.

[ClutchingPearls]

I've just had a double height hallway painted, I cried at the first quote £1200. Managed to get it down to £650 after getting quotes from every company in the area and offering one guy to do it as a weekend job. I think the moneys going straight into his back pocket, but hey my halls lovely now.

I would expect my whole house to be gold leafed for that price.

[MmeLindor]

Blimey! I am quite happy with the quote of £1100 to paint our whole house now. That is only painting, and it is a 3 bed ex LA house but still.

That is almost half the budget for our whole house renovation.

[maevesport]

I paid £9000 ish for a large 4 bed,4 recep,kitchen,utility,2 ensuites ,a wc and a family bathroom.
Backing paper and then painted white throughtout.Doors and skirting board as well.
I thought that was expensive but seems not !!

[serin]

Good God that is ridiculous.

We had a whole new roof for slightly more than that (large 4 bed detached).

[AChickenCalledKorma]

We have just paid about 5000 to decorate the whole of our newly extended 4 bed house. That included all paints, including lots of woodwork, but no papering. We are in Surrey.

[Smiles26]

Kindlemum, I have a property maintenance business, where are you located?

[user1481961890]

Hello everyone. Can anyone please recommend a decorator in Twickenham? I am moving into a small flat in Marble Hill and need a trustworthy and good decorator to paint my flat? Thanks so much

[BigGreenOlives]

User - start a new thread

[BikeRunSki]

If you are in HD8/WF4/S36 part of West Yorks, I can recommend an excellent painter and decorator, who charged £450 for a 4x4m bedroom last year.

[DoubleCarrick]

Do you know "how good" they are? I just ask because dh has a fair few wealthier clients and will spend 5-7 days in a bedroom rather than just 2 days. They seek and expect perfection and he provides that. Therefore if he were to quote you, your price isn't outside the realm of possibilities. Saying that, we are in the south and he generally charges £200 ish a day for labour, then materials plus about £35 per room for sundries

[HardcoreLadyType]

ZOMBIE THREAD!

[YesThisIsMe]

ZOMBIE THREAD!

[Lifewithasixyearold]

sorry a bit of a list coming up, a fair bit of experience with this one in our house...

1. absolutely ridiculous price
   
2. yup, the missing Y chromosome, you will get your intelligence questioned time and time again, just wait they'll get your dh's number and double check he is happy with what you've said...
   
3. keep the management consistent, if you are in charge then you remain in charge, if your dh dips in and out then they can bugger you both about
   
4. get EVERYTHING in writing, itemised. every single time you change something get it in writing with a cost.
   
5. get a contract with a fixed price for their itemised list of what they are going to do. Allow them to do nothing until it is signed by both of you. this includes start and finish dates, a payment plan, agreed dates for supply of essential elements like the paint, paper etc
   
6. retain a minimum of 20% of the cost until you are happy with what they have done, any less and they can afford to walk away.
   
7. speak to as many locals as possible to get as many leads as you can and therefore as many quotes as possible. and yes, plastering the walls to make them suitable for painting will save you heaps down the line
   
8. if you go with the friend, make absolutely sure that you are going to survive the 'working for you' scenario. this so often ends badly, be certain that you are ok if its not quite right, not quite professional because your friendship will need to be worth sucking this up
   

I am sure that there are great builders & decorators out there, I am just surrounded by people who are experiencing nightmares at present (we had a fixed price contract but the builder managed to cock up some survey work and we ended up building in the winter not the summer, out of contract and he walked away from the snagging list because the 10% retained was less than the cost of putting right all his fuck ups)
if you want a laugh we also had a plasterer who wouldn't wait for the sparkie to loosen the light switches and plastered over the top of them

[notarehearsal]

Ive just had some decorating done and paid two men £180 per day. I'm in South East, one charges £80 and the other £100. If the job is quite straight forward as mine is I wouldn't pay anymore than £100 per day and that's a full day, 9-5. I've employed people in the past and their day seemed to start at 10 and finish at 4!