How to quote for painting and decorating

Painting looks like the easiest job in the world to price: a tin of paint, a roller, a day's work. Then you turn up to walls full of cracks, woodwork that needs sanding back, and a customer who thought two coats over a dark colour would just cover. The money in decorating lives in the prep and the number of coats, not the paint itself. Here is how to survey the job, what to count, and how to build a quote that holds up.

Go and see the actual surfaces

You can't price decorating from a room count over the phone. Walk every room and look at the state of the surfaces, because that's what decides the labour. Filled and sound walls that just need two coats are a quick job. Cracked plaster, peeling paint, woodwork that needs stripping or a dark colour you're trying to cover are all slower, and the customer rarely realises that.

• Check the condition of walls and ceilings: cracks, flaking, damp patches or previous bad work all add prep.
• Look at the woodwork: skirting, architrave, doors and frames need sanding, filling and often more than one coat.
• Note the existing colour. Covering a strong or dark colour with a pale one can need an extra coat.
• Count the rooms, the ceiling heights and anything needing access equipment, like a stairwell.
• Agree who's supplying the paint, and to what spec, because trade and premium paints cover very differently.

Prep is where the price really sits

The rolling-on is the quick, satisfying part. The cost is everything before it. Be clear with yourself, and on the quote, how much prep the job needs, because that's where a cheap-looking room turns into two days of work.

• Filling cracks and holes, sanding back, and caulking gaps along skirting and frames.
• Washing down greasy or dusty surfaces so the paint actually adheres.
• Priming bare plaster, stained patches or new woodwork before the topcoats.
• Masking, protecting floors and furniture, and a proper clean-up at the end.

Count coats and areas, not just rooms

Price the work from the surfaces and the number of coats, not a flat figure per room. A room is a meaningless unit: a small bedroom with sound walls and a tall hallway with a stairwell, cracked ceiling and three doors are not the same job. Work out the wall and ceiling areas, the linear metres of woodwork, and how many coats each genuinely needs, then price your labour from the realistic time that takes.

Price your own labour and materials

Work your labour from the days the prep and the coats actually take, then price your paint and materials from your suppliers: paint, primer, filler, caulk, sandpaper, masking, dust sheets and brushes. Price your own materials and labour for the rooms in front of you, because a square-metre rate copied from someone else ignores the prep and the coats, which is exactly what drives the cost. If the customer wants a premium paint, that's their choice to pay for, so price the spec they've actually asked for.

Be clear about scope and exclusions

Decorating generates disputes over what "done" means and how many coats were included. State it plainly: which rooms, which surfaces (walls, ceilings, woodwork), how many coats, and to what finish. Spell out exclusions just as clearly. If you're not moving heavy furniture, repairing major damp, stripping wallpaper, or filling every hairline crack, say so. If the customer is supplying the paint, note you're not responsible for poor coverage from a paint you didn't choose. A clear scope here is the difference between a happy handover and an argument about a third coat.

For the standard sections every quote should carry, see what every professional quote should include. And if you're following a plasterer in, our guide on how to price a plastering job explains why fresh plaster needs to dry fully before you can decorate over it.