Why nobody gives you a straight number
Ask five decorators what a room costs and you will get five answers, because the price is driven almost entirely by things you cannot see in a photograph: how sound the walls are, how much woodwork there is, how many coats the colour change needs, and how much moving and covering has to happen before a brush is picked up.
That said, "it depends" is a useless answer. So here is how it actually works.
Day rate or job price?
Most decorators work one of two ways.
Day rate is straightforward and suits small or unpredictable jobs, such as making good after a leak, where nobody can say up front how long it will take.
Fixed job price is what most homeowners actually want, and it is what we quote for. You get one number for the whole job after a site visit, and it does not move unless you change the scope or we find something genuinely unexpected behind a wall. If that happens, we stop and price it with you before carrying on.
The important thing is that a fixed price is only meaningful if the decorator has actually seen the property. A number given over the phone, sight unseen, is a guess that will be revised later.
What we charge
We publish guide prices rather than making you ask. Our Rental Refresh package, a neutral repaint of walls and ceilings to get a property let-ready, is £1,900 for a 1-bed flat, £2,600 for a 2-bed property, and £3,300 for a 3-bed property, including VAT and materials.
Full woodwork (skirting, doors and frames) is an add-on at £500 to £750, and heavy preparation such as deep filling and repairs is £300 to £500 depending on what we find.
Those figures are current as of this article. The [pricing page](/pricing) always has the live version, and every job gets a fixed price confirmed after a free site visit.
What moves the number
- Condition of the walls. Sound walls need filling and sanding. Walls with failed plaster, old wallpaper or damp need considerably more, and that is labour, not materials.
- Woodwork. This is the single biggest swing. A room with skirting, architrave, a panelled door, a window surround and a picture rail takes far longer than a room with skirting alone.
- Colour change. Going dark to light often needs three coats instead of two.
- Ceiling height. Hallways and stairwells need tower or ladder access, which slows everything down.
- Access and protection. An occupied family home takes longer than an empty property, because everything has to be moved, covered and put back each day.
Why the cheapest quote is often the most expensive
Preparation is the part of the job you cannot see once it is finished, which makes it the easiest place for a quote to be cut. A quote that comes in well under the others has usually saved the money by skipping filling, skipping priming, or applying two coats where three were needed.
You will not notice on handover day. You will notice within a year, when the finish marks easily, the filler shows through, or the colour looks patchy in daylight. At that point the work has to be done again, properly, and you have paid twice.
When you compare quotes, compare what is written down:
- How many coats?
- Is preparation itemised, or just implied?
- Are materials included, and which paints?
- Is woodwork in or extra?
- What happens if the walls need more work than expected?
Two quotes that look £400 apart are often not quoting the same job at all.
Getting a real number for your property
Guide prices are useful for budgeting and useless for committing. The only way to get a number you can rely on is for someone to walk the property, look at the walls, count the woodwork and tell you honestly what it needs.
That visit is free and there is no obligation attached to it. [Get in touch](/contact) and we will come and look.