Is this decorator quote taking the mick?

[IfInDoubtPout]

Just got it sent through the post after he visited last week. We live in a normal three bed semi and it's for the downstairs hall and landing upstairs. Not a big area (the hall is thin and narrow) and includes lining paper, all paint etc etc and painting 8 doors. The hall downstairs have wood chip under wallpaper, so this all needs taking off. He said he doesn't use a steamer and does it by hand. He's very well recommended on check a trade and fully booked for months. It doesn't include wallpaper for upstairs landing. He said it would take him about a week and a half. We live in the South East in a village in the commuter belt.

Dh was expecting about 1.3k I was expecting nearer 2k. The quote has come in at 2.4 k. Is this right/ the norm? I'm

It cost us 1.1k to have hall stairs and landing done, including 7 doors and all bannister etc. We're in East of England and he was pricey but good. In fact, we had different decorators in recently (first one wouldn't wallpaper) and realised how good he was in comparison. It took him 4 days but he had help with the doors. He used diamond for the woodwork and said he wouldn't recommend anything else. It was about £40 a tin

We've been quoted almost £2k for three decent sized rooms painted and one wall of wallpaper. No stripping or anything to do though.

Easy.

How much of the quote is for materials?

What do you think a sole trader painter/decorator should earn in a week?

Work it out from there.

For context, I know a self employed gardener who charges £30 per hour and a self employed electrician who charges £33 per hour unless on emergency call out. In London.

A week and a half is roughly 60 hours. 60 x £30 = £1800.00, for eg.

WTF at all these prices for a bit of decorating!

We've just had the exterior of our house painted, 3 bedroom semi detached with a single storey extension on the side. Cost £689 including the paint! Had to pay £300 for the scaffolding over the extension and now forking out £280 for the blown plaster to be repaired on the front of the extension. Total £1269 to completely sort the exterior out, and it looks fab. I'd never pay someone these prices to do a bit of painting inside!

I had a quote for painting and wallpapering two rooms, plus a small area of tiling. One quote was £2200, the other £600, plus the cost of white emulsion for the ceiling. Now I dont know how much emulsion costs, but I'm pretty sure it wont be £1500!!!

So get a few more quotes, you might be surprised.

This diamond paint that is spoken of. I've just googled it. Is it dulux diamond paint? If so, why is it suppose to be better?

I have a tall, thin hallway in a 3 storey house. 2 years' ago I was quoted £2,520 to paint over existing lined walls and woodwork (most doors are pine, so just skirting boards) plus ceilings. I guess they'd be charging even more now that every road around here has at least one skip on the go.

We decided that was too expensive and I had a miserable couple of weeks doing it myself (I swear my husband bribed somebody to arrange a load of meetings on the opposite side of the country!). With hindsight I wish I'd paid!

Ok, interestingly have had a reply re cost breakdown. He is giving his labour as £2075, the rest is materials. So very roughly speaking as an estimate if he charged that much for all his jobs he'd be earning in the region of £50k. This seems a lot

£2075 labour, what's the day rate?

The £50k is assuming he's working constantly? Many aren't. Though I'm not surprised by or against a top decorator earning in that region or more. Obviously he'd need to actually be top though, and not just charging as though he is- and of course it's up to you if you want that level of finish!

We had a quote for a hall a few years ago, hall has high ceilings, as in 5m high, paper was stripped off it. It was needing a little bit of plastering but not a lot, just patches really. To paint roof, cornices (which weren't intricate) put up lining paper, 2 coats of emulation On walls and paint skirting and door facings, in gloss, which had already been stripped - £3100. This included materials.

bloody hell i paid 900 pounds for 5days work! glad i live up north.

Well, I divided the total labour charge by 8 (said it would take a week and a half) and then x by ten for per year to allow two months for holidays. Didn't factor in consumables like brushes or tax etc. we're in the process of getting a second quote. Will be interesting to compare please don't let the next one be so high too

180/200 a day is expensive (if he thinks it'll take 10/11 days) for a decorator though. It's, what, £16/18 an hour after tax?

He'd better be good! I think your other quotes will be lower.

Kilmer we live in Scotland sit down south. Decorators aren't cheap here.

My mate is a painter decorator and he charges £100 a day labour. He might up it a bit if he has to factor in petrol. He also does plastering.

He's in West Sussex and very good.

I think you're being ripped off.

Defo a rip off so glad I live up north!! We had that terrible textured wall paper taken off hall and stairs, (walls and ceilings) plastered (skimmed) and painted for a couple of hundred quid + probs 100 for materials!

Find a teenager and pay them £20 a day.

My dh is a p and d , he did a whole house ina bit of a state for 1800 , it was an elderly person who had passes away and hadn't been touched in years, this included stripping wood hip layers. We are in Yorkshire

Why doesn't he use a special steamer/stripper machine? Even amateur DIY friends of mine hire one to use when stripping things, to save time.

Apologies if this has already been mentioned, but could you remove the woodchip yourself. It is an absolute pig of a job and takes time, but it does't require any specialist skills. If I was a paid decorator, with a fair number of jobs on the go, it would be the one where I had to remove woodchip that I would do an extortionate quote on.

I'm not a professional decorator by the way, but I have removed lots of woodchip in my time.

Find a teenager and pay them £20 a day.

Noooooo, don't do that!

I'm not knocking teenagers (I learnt to decorate when I was in my mid teens), but no way would I have employed me at that stage if you want a good job done.

To be honest even if a decorator was earning £50,000 I don't think it's that much. It is a skilled job and a good decorator is worth their weight in gold and I don't see why they shouldn't earn good money.

I'm sorry but 50K is more than the salary of a junior doctor in training say like an eye doctor who has spent years learning how to do life changing surgery like (cataract surgery) often on your own doing consultants list... I'm staggered at the amounts people expect for work that with some practice most people can do

Sorry I know it's completely off topic but had to say

Idoc, somewhat patronising post there.

market forces decide the price of services and if that means that lowly tradespeople can earn more than doctors then that's as it is. If it's so easy to do, do well and maintain a thriving business, give up your clinical career and buy a van!