Does £2500 sound reasonable for this decorating job?

[Aprilinspringtimeshower]

I have just finally managed to find a painter and decorator to do some decorating. I have accepted his quote but it seems a very large sum for the work based on last painting job I had done in my previous home/area that was similar work and under £1000

I’m in northwest- middle of road in terms of property price. And the job is for the landing, stairs and a sitting/diner/kitchen open plan room. Walls in white emulsion ( already white but dirty ) and white gloss woodwork including banisters and 7 doors in total.

Does this sound about right - am I being over charged? Compared to prices right now.

If I am being overcharged I have to do it myself and I’m fed up of painting- 4 rooms done by myself and I’ll have another 2 rooms to do even after getting someone to tackle these! I’m so fed up with painting😥 so I’m hoping it is ok, but it is just so much more than I expected and can really afford.

I had one tradesman quote £3500 for two average sized bedrooms.
He obviously didn’t want the work

I don’t understand those who are saying that materials have gone up in price but we’re talking about decorating - what materials are required - paint, filler and sandpaper!
We’ve had a lot of decorating done over the last year and none of those have gone up much in price if at all!
I think the situation in London is obviously not as bad as elsewhere in the country as trades are still available with only a few weeks wait and rates don’t seem to be as high as some other areas.
OP - do you have membership of Nextdoor.co.uk - ask on there for recommendations. Another solution would be to employ a labourer to help you - you seem to know what you’re doing. Get him/her to do all the hard work like filling, sanding, undercoating, sanding again and then you do the top coats at your leisure. A labourer in my expensive part of SW London costs £100 a day but I imagine in your area it should be cheaper.

@Qc16

I don’t understand those who are saying that materials have gone up in price but we’re talking about decorating - what materials are required - paint, filler and sandpaper! We’ve had a lot of decorating done over the last year and none of those have gone up much in price if at all! I think the situation in London is obviously not as bad as elsewhere in the country as trades are still available with only a few weeks wait and rates don’t seem to be as high as some other areas. OP - do you have membership of Nextdoor.co.uk - ask on there for recommendations. Another solution would be to employ a labourer to help you - you seem to know what you’re doing. Get him/her to do all the hard work like filling, sanding, undercoating, sanding again and then you do the top coats at your leisure. A labourer in my expensive part of SW London costs £100 a day but I imagine in your area it should be cheaper.

ThAnks for those suggestions. I will follow up on them

The ignorance of a lot of posters on this thread is astonishing. As a professional decorator of 30+ years, I've lost count of the amount of potential customers who tell me they usually decorate themselves to a good standard. It's disrespectful to professional decorators like me who have spent years perfecting their trade listening to DIY decorators telling us we're over charging. I've list count of the people who seem to think decorating to a good standard is easy. It's not a matter of splatting paint on a wall. It's all about the preparation, knowledge of materials, having good quality tools (which can cost a fortune) What is more interesting is how much people will spend on plastering, carpentry etc before they ruin in with their DIY decorating. I charge £200 per day, never less and my work is impeccable. Comments like, I wouldn't pay more than £100 per day are demeaning and disrespectful to good honest decorators. Good luck, the majority of you wouldn't a clue but think your houses look great. Just remember, a decent decorator will walk away from a job the moment they hear a self professed know it all tell them how to do their job. Most of you don't have a clue. Good luck, you'll need it. Oh and I'm booked up for 18 months 👍

@mikeydecor whilst I agree with you most people have to decide...do you I pay someone £200 a day and have it done perfectly...or I can't afford it so I will do it myself accepting it won't be as nice but will be nice enough.

@MikeyDecor

The ignorance of a lot of posters on this thread is astonishing. As a professional decorator of 30+ years, I've lost count of the amount of potential customers who tell me they usually decorate themselves to a good standard. It's disrespectful to professional decorators like me who have spent years perfecting their trade listening to DIY decorators telling us we're over charging. I've list count of the people who seem to think decorating to a good standard is easy. It's not a matter of splatting paint on a wall. It's all about the preparation, knowledge of materials, having good quality tools (which can cost a fortune) What is more interesting is how much people will spend on plastering, carpentry etc before they ruin in with their DIY decorating. I charge £200 per day, never less and my work is impeccable. Comments like, I wouldn't pay more than £100 per day are demeaning and disrespectful to good honest decorators. Good luck, the majority of you wouldn't a clue but think your houses look great. Just remember, a decent decorator will walk away from a job the moment they hear a self professed know it all tell them how to do their job. Most of you don't have a clue. Good luck, you'll need it. Oh and I'm booked up for 18 months 👍

I wouldn't let a man like you through my front door so I suppose we're even.

Also Mikey...there's lots that people could get a tradesperson to do but do themselves, put up shelves, sew their curtains, lay down carpet, I don't see what's wrong with doing it yourself.

MikeyDecor I completely agree with you. I've no idea where people are finding labourers for £100 a day

I’m in Greater Manchester. Typical rate here is £175 per day Even my 'aunty Pat' (not my real Aunty just my mums best friend) son charges me £125 family rate but I only use him when desperate and do actually pay him the going rate

As you say having the correct tools make a massive difference to the speed and the quality of the job.

Also nothing wrong with doing it yourself and not paying someone to do it. It’s the choice you make

My issue isn't whether you decide to do it yourself. 9 out of 10 people will create a complete mess after paying thousands for a new extension, new bathroom suite, newly plastered ceiling etc etc and think it looks wonderful. My issue is that there is a general consensus that paying someone to decorate to a professional standard is not worth the money you have to pay. However, after 30 years experience, I'd say I've come across too many customers who have paid a fortune to other trades to leave their houses in a terrible state, who don't clear up after themselves and then scimp in decorating costs. There is a lack of respect for our trade in general but I just walk away from people who tell me I'm not worth paying the price I charge. Don't yourself bit that's exactly what you'll get, a substandard DIY job. Suit yourself and post your failings on Facebook😆

I most likely wouldn't work for you either 😆

I've not a problem with people doing their own work. It's the belittling of the trade that is disappointing. I just find it higly amusing how many people think the work they do is of good quality. My own brothe tiblaw lives in a milliopoind house and once told me he wouldn't pay what I charge, yet I sit there every Christmas feelingug at the mess he's made of his million pound mess of a house. Some people have no idea 😆

🙄

We are having hall stairs and landing doing ( 3 floors) and a large bedroom. No wallpaper, just painting. Lots of " making good". £2800.
Happy to pay that..its a big job, the guys have excellent reviews which is why I've waited 8 months for them.

Sounds reasonable (NW too)

I don't think it's an unreasonable quote.

A few years ago, I paid £150 a day per decorator, excluding materials. I did get irritated that they started at 8am, had an hour break for lunch and left at 2pm. However, I'd agreed a fixed price at the start, so didn't pay extra when the job ran over by a couple of days at the end.

Seems reasonable. It’s a day rate of less than £200 which is pretty standard for someone good.

My dad is a painter and decorator for the last 20 years and he said that's way too much

We are SE and paid 2200 (including all materials) for 3 bedrooms, hall/stairs/landing and living room

I don't think that's too bad, taking into account all the woodwork which will need rubbing down too. Doors AND bannisters (the latter I can vouch for being very time consuming)

It sounds reasonable to me, but we’re in the SE. The key is to ask how long he is planning to take to do the job - from your list I’d say it’s about 3 weeks, which again would be reasonable if the walls and woodwork need a reasonable amount of prep. When we had our hallways done he spent about 3/4 of his time on prep, and the remainder on actual painting. In any case I’d be really surprised if you could get a thorough job done with a good finish for much under 2k.

@wintercoffees

My dad is a painter and decorator for the last 20 years and he said that's way too much

Really? Even though it includes sanding emulsion paint off banisters on the stairs and a galleried landing and then preparing and painting them? If they are fancy banisters that alone would take ages if done properly.

@OnTheBoardwalk

MikeyDecor I completely agree with you. I've no idea where people are finding labourers for £100 a day

I’m in Greater Manchester. Typical rate here is £175 per day Even my 'aunty Pat' (not my real Aunty just my mums best friend) son charges me £125 family rate but I only use him when desperate and do actually pay him the going rate

As you say having the correct tools make a massive difference to the speed and the quality of the job.

London - I have paid that to various labourers in the last few months.

Obviously skilled tradesmen have been more expensive!

I am having similar decorating done, and have been quoted £2,500, and he cannot start work until November. I would say your quote is about right. I am in the South West.

Our quote for hall, landing and stairs plus banister and 12 doors is £1400 but a normal room is £300-£500 depending on size (south west England with guy who we know isn’t cheap but is reliable). Paint has massively gone up in price though.