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Original poster

Is this really what decorators cost now?

25 replies

newstarticus · 14/10/2013 18:18

Just had an estimate to re-wallpaper my hall, stairwell and landing. I din't have a tiny house (4 beds) but hardly Downton Abbey. Anyway, estimate is £1200, labour only to paint and apply 15 rolls is paper.

Doesn't include stripping old paper off, that would be extra.

I'm in the north of England. Mabye I'm just being naive but was quite taken aback!

OP posts:

chickydoo · 14/10/2013 18:24

I'm not sure, but has just cost me £1400 to have large bedroom
(20ftx12ft) a bathroom and the family room ( 22ftx10ft) painted.
On top of that price I provided all the paint. They told me they had underestimated :( it was all quite unpleasant.
We are SE. Get your self several quotes and a reference or two if you can.

gamerchick · 14/10/2013 18:25

Out if interest.. how much were you expecting it to cost?

15 rolls of wallpaper is a fair bit of work. Painting as in ceilings and glossing? Have you tried different people to compare estimates?

gamerchick · 14/10/2013 18:26

Man I'm in the wrong job. I do all my own decorating :grin:

Chubfuddler · 14/10/2013 18:27

Labour generally costs about 200 quid per day. If it's five to six days work (and could easily be) then it's not extortionate.

Vickibee · 14/10/2013 18:31

my DH is a decorator and he tells me wallpapering is a time consuming job, it will maybe take a good couple of weeks to complete a big stairway. he typically charges £14 per hour ish for labour plus materials.

Look on the PDA website to find approved decorators in your area, they are vetted for qualifications and experience and follow a strict code of conduct. there is also a mediation scheme if there are disagreements.

Vickibee · 14/10/2013 18:33

Chubfuddler can't charge £200 per day in south Yorkshire (Unfortunately) I guess it is dearer down South

Original poster

newstarticus · 14/10/2013 18:34

To be honest I didn't know what it would cost. I had a bedroom done recently for around £350, but I guess that's a lot less work I realise.

Thanks for your replies. I'll get another estimate and it's helpful to have an idea of the daily labour rate.

No chance of doing it myself - I'd break my neck I think!

OP posts:

Vickibee · 14/10/2013 18:35

deccys always charge more for paper as it takes a lot longer.

BrownSauceSandwich · 14/10/2013 18:36

I'd definitely get another couple of quotes, but it's very hard to judge without seeing the place. Stairwells can be a bit of a shit... If you've got very long drops, lining up the paper might be a two man job. Painting ceilings also non trivial, but the bit I'd expect to be time consuming is the prep and painting of the woodwork... Ugh.

AngelinaCongleton · 14/10/2013 18:38

About 120-150 per day in scotland. Do the walls need lined? What's the square meter age? If you are glossing a wooden staircase I bet the cost is in that alone.

Eastpoint · 14/10/2013 18:40

I pay £140 per day in London but I've known them 20 years.

wonkylegs · 14/10/2013 18:41

We had our stair prepped (hell of a job due to really shit plastering), lined and painted (3floors) + woodwork on 2 sets of banisters, 14 doors and skirtings, they also painted large dining room Walls & ceiling and Living room ceiling for about the same as your quote. We are in NE.

wonkylegs · 14/10/2013 18:43

They did a fab job (2 blokes were needed) and for the amount of work they did for us I thought they undercharged.

valiumredhead · 14/10/2013 18:45

Yep sounds about right, stair ways/landings are expensive.

WhoNickedMyName · 14/10/2013 18:46

Wow, our £70 a day painter and decorator seems like a bargain.

Original poster

newstarticus · 14/10/2013 18:48

Wonkylegs - no doors to be done as they are all stripped wood, and over two floors. Plastering generally ok as we had it skimmed before the last time it was done ( about 10 yrs ago).

The worry is the costs evaluating eg if I struggle to get most of the paper stripped myself.

OP posts:

LEMisdisappointed · 14/10/2013 18:51

"no chance of doing it myself, i'll break my neck" That is why you have to pay someone else to do it - they will have the experience and tools to do a good job. My DP is a carpenter/builder and does do decorating (to be fair, he wont wallpaper) and his charge is £150 a day, £200 a day in london. Carpenters tend to be a bit more expensive than decorators.

It does seem a tad expensive if they are not including stripping wallpaper in the price (which can be a bloody nightmare and we always try to encourage force clients to do it themselves - in truth, its one of those jobs that can be really quick and easy to do but can be a real bastard and take ages so actually better if clients can do it themselves as its difficult to price and we only do it on a day rate).

Original poster

newstarticus · 14/10/2013 18:52

Escalating, not evaluating obviously ...

OP posts:

Lunaballoon · 14/10/2013 18:56

That sounds v. pricey even for London!

valiumredhead · 14/10/2013 19:05

They have to charge 150-200 per day our it's not worth them doing it. They need to run a van plus VAT bumps egger price up massively unless you do a cash deal

LEMisdisappointed · 14/10/2013 19:14

Valium you are exactly right: My DP doesn't have to add VAT as we are not VAT registered, so we fortunately don't have to add that to the bill. But yes, tradesmen need to factor in things like Advertising, petrol, vehicle maintainance, tools (often specialised and expensive - less so for decorating i guess), public liability insurance, time writing up estimates and sourcing specialist materials (taking into account that you don't get every job you price for but often spend hours on estimates), accounting. So when you factor all that into it £150 a day isn't really that much. These people will have studied and more importantly, built up experience that allows them to a good job - obviously if they are crap they wont get far in todays market and this is reflected in the price.

OP - as you are unlikely to be able to get all the paper off yourself (due to position) then i would insist on a quote that includes paper stripping.

eggyhead · 14/10/2013 19:22

How many days is that? Is he lining the walls first as well?

A friend of mine was a decorator. He was charging £120 per day back in 2001. He worked all week and Saturday morning and was bringing home £25k per year. His jobs were frequently longer than he estimated (so he was effectively undercharging).

Work out what his day rate is and then his salary. I think you might find it's not a lot of money to support a family on.

Mandy21 · 14/10/2013 19:25

We've just had a few quotes too - we are in the North West and the cheapest is £180 daily rate. Most are around £200.

veryconfusedatthemoment · 14/10/2013 19:28

I don't think that sounds too bad to me but I am SE and we do pay heavily for all services to home and garden. Other pps have given more info on why stairs are more.

I am just about to shell out £2500 on getting the back garden sorted. Yes it does include astroturf for a very small lawn but the rest is tidy up repointing, make &n do. I've been through the estimate. Fingers crossed the recommendations are as good as they should be for that.

Vickibee · 14/10/2013 20:16

Are the walls being lined first.? Is woodwork being glossed? Does it incl ceilings? Is it patterned paper or vinyl to be painted ? Does it include vat? More information please.

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