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Original poster

Is our builder being cheeky asking for more than his quote?

65 replies

bananashoes · 21/09/2025 12:37

Hi, we're having some painting work done and were given a quote that covered "Prep and paint dining room, kitchen and downstairs hallway including all materials."

We've recently been invoiced for an additional £1000 based on the fact that two extra coats of white paint beyond what was initially planned for were required on the dark grey walls to get them light enough.

In my mind, this is the decorators problem for miscalculating the time/materials it would cost to do the job and we may well have sought out additional quotes if this was the price we were initially given?

Am I being an arse or is the decorator taking the mick?

OP posts:
Orangepate · 21/09/2025 12:40

i doubt the quote is binding, there will always be a caveat for extra work that is discovered once they get going. Why not offer to split the difference?

Lollytea655 · 21/09/2025 12:41

Would you have been happy for him to just leave it without doing those extra two coats? If not,
pay for it.

caringcarer · 21/09/2025 12:57

I thought a quote was binding. The builder should have spoken to you and told you this is what I quoted for but would you like more coats of paint for an additional £1k.

MrsSkylerWhite · 21/09/2025 12:58

Was it a quote or an estimate?

Original poster
bananashoes · 21/09/2025 13:03

MrsSkylerWhite · 21/09/2025 12:58

Was it a quote or an estimate?

quote

OP posts:
Original poster
bananashoes · 21/09/2025 13:03

caringcarer · 21/09/2025 12:57

I thought a quote was binding. The builder should have spoken to you and told you this is what I quoted for but would you like more coats of paint for an additional £1k.

Yes, I agree/ we would have liked to be informed.

OP posts:
surprisebaby12 · 21/09/2025 13:05

the quote is the total. if he wants to add extra bits then he’d have to renegotiate. Push back as I reckon he’s taking the mick

TheOtherAgentJohnson · 21/09/2025 13:05

A professional decorator should know that it takes several coats to go lighter over dark paint. It's his problem.

R0ckandHardPlace · 21/09/2025 13:07

An additional £1K is a lot! How much was the whole quote? Was it for one room? £1K is 4 days work for a decorator where I live.

Original poster
bananashoes · 21/09/2025 13:09

R0ckandHardPlace · 21/09/2025 13:07

An additional £1K is a lot! How much was the whole quote? Was it for one room? £1K is 4 days work for a decorator where I live.

The original quote was for roughly £2800- it’s for 3 rooms and a hallway

OP posts:
ChocHotolate · 21/09/2025 13:09

£1k for 2 coats of paint??
Im in the wrong job

ShesTheAlbatross · 21/09/2025 13:10

Orangepate · 21/09/2025 12:40

i doubt the quote is binding, there will always be a caveat for extra work that is discovered once they get going. Why not offer to split the difference?

Assuming he looked round before he quoted, it’s not really extra work being “discovered”. He saw how dark the walls were already, and presumably knew the colour going on top was light.

BurntBroccoli · 21/09/2025 13:11

He’s being cheeky. He is supposed to be a professional and should know you need at least 3 or 4 coats to cover anything dark. Even I know that!

BurntBroccoli · 21/09/2025 13:12

bananashoes · 21/09/2025 13:09

The original quote was for roughly £2800- it’s for 3 rooms and a hallway

Show quote history

How long did he spend on those?

HelloGreen · 21/09/2025 13:12

How is he justifying the £1k? Two coats of paint is a couple of hours work surely, is he saying his labour is £500 an hr?

DisplayPurposesOnly · 21/09/2025 13:12

Blimey, I hope the quality of his work is outstanding...

How much extra time has it taken him? As per PP, I would expect a professional to know how many extra coats would be required to cover a dark base. (Five coats in total for my formerly terracotta dining room. Luckily its a small room!)

R0ckandHardPlace · 21/09/2025 13:14

Were the two extra coats across the hallway, kitchen and dining room? If so, to be fair that would be a lot of extra work. But as a professional he could see how dark the walls were, and he should know how many coats it would need. They work with the stuff day in day out.

He has screwed up on the quote. But have a chat with him, tell him you’d not budgeted for the extra cost and if you’d known, you wouldn’t have accepted the quote. He might knock it down a bit.

SirHumphreyRocks · 21/09/2025 13:15

Quotes are binding once accepted by both parties BUT exactly what did the quote say (in detail)? Because if it specfied number of coats, and there were extra coats required, and you agreed to those extra coats, then it may be that you have also taken some liability for the extra costs.

ACynicalDad · 21/09/2025 13:16

Did he discuss the extra quotes before doing them?

Original poster
bananashoes · 21/09/2025 13:27

Sorry going to add it’s £250 for the extra paint and £680 for the labor

OP posts:
MagpiePi · 21/09/2025 13:38

£250 for paint?!
So another six 5 litre tins, considering the price of Dulux? Or are you using paint that is hand mixed with unicorn tears?

Seaside3 · 21/09/2025 13:46

How can anyone know if it's too much? If you've used something like farrow and ball, it's going to cost a lot. And we have no idea what size your rooms are. Mine arent massive, but our hallway is very tall (victorian) so would take a lot of work, especially if going up the stairs.

I think you need to look at the original quote, if he said one coat then he under estimated the work. Even with good paint, I would always do at least two coats, generally 3 to get the best coverage. He has done the work, maybe agree to paying for the paint and agree a price dor the work.

And suggest he speaks to the next customers before he goes ahead and does the extra work.

GingerPaste · 21/09/2025 13:47

TheOtherAgentJohnson · 21/09/2025 13:05

A professional decorator should know that it takes several coats to go lighter over dark paint. It's his problem.

This.

queenrollo · 21/09/2025 13:52

Did you request a specific paint? My decorator refuses to use certain brands as he doesn’t like the coverage they give and when he’s compromised in the past it’s often led to complaints over finish and extra costs.

But generally a quote is binding, and if this issue of coverage came up during the job he should have talked to you at the time about any additional costs it would incur.

PsychoHotSauce · 21/09/2025 13:53

He can't vary the terms once you're in contract. I'm assuming he didn't put how many coats it included within the quote?

If he did, and it only included 2 and 'needed' 4, he had to get your agreement before doing 4 - so you could decide if it was fine as it was or needed the extra.

If he didn't, then he should have stopped at 2 coats and explained. Consumer law would have been on your side here due to the ambiguity his quote.

What he cannot do is quietly do 'extra' and then bill you for it.