Painter & Decorator Quotes UK
From Vetted Local Specialists
Compare quotes from vetted local painters and decorators in your area. Interior, exterior, wallpapering and special finishes — up to 3 free quotes in 24 hours, across 519 towns.
- Ask about City & Guilds / NVQ qualifications and check them yourself
- Ask to see current public liability cover
- Interior painting from £1,300
- Exterior painting from £1,600
What do you need?
Every job below has its own page with the full 2026 price ranges, what moves the number, and a quote form matched to that exact job — so your enquiry reaches the right supplier.
Registered members: Painting & Decorating
8 businesses offering painting & decorating have a public profile with BestBuilders. Each listing is a business that registered with us directly; the details shown are the ones it declared at registration, and a Companies House number appears only where one was given.
All registered trades · Recent projects · Run a painting & decorating business? Add your free profile
How Much Do Painters and Decorators Cost in the UK?
Full cost index →3-bed home interior repaint — walls, ceilings and woodwork in white or off-white. Includes prep, two coats, and standard trade emulsion. Designer paints (Farrow & Ball, Little Greene) add 30–60%. Heritage colours and complex feature walls priced separately.
Get quotes for this →3-bed exterior repaint — render, masonry, eaves, window frames, doors. Includes scaffolding access where needed, pressure wash, masonry preparation and 2 coats of premium exterior masonry paint. Lifespan 8–15 years depending on exposure.
Get quotes for this →Hanging wallpaper in a single room (excludes paper cost). Standard 4-wall living room or bedroom typically £300–£500. Feature walls cheaper. Premium materials (silk, grasscloth, hand-printed) require skilled hangers at the upper end — expect £800–£1,125 for these.
Get quotes for this →Painting costs depend on prep needed, paint choice, access and ceiling height. Compare 3 quotes from local qualified painters for your exact home.
Get free quotes →Regional pricing note: Painting labour varies 35–50% by region. London is typically 45% above national average; Yorkshire, North East, Wales and Scotland sit 10–15% below. See our cost index for postcode-specific ranges.
Painting & decorating costs at a glance — 2026
Interior repaint, whole house — typical 2026 range by region, from this page's cost table.
Source: BestBuilders 2026 regional cost model · 519 UK towns
Painting & Decorating — What You Need to Know
Quality painting is 80% preparation, 20% application. The difference between a £1,300 and a £4,600 whole-house repaint is rarely the paint — it's the time invested in filling, sanding, caulking, masking and priming. Cheap quotes often skip these steps; the result looks fine on day one but fails within 2–5 years.
The key credentials to look for are City & Guilds NVQ Level 2 or 3 in Painting and Decorating, membership of the Painting and Decorating Association (PDA) or the Guild of Master Craftsmen, and public liability insurance (minimum £2m). For lead-paint work in pre-1960 properties, additional qualifications under the Control of Lead at Work Regulations 2002 apply.
Every painter in our network is vetted before they receive a single lead from us. We do not check insurance or qualifications on your behalf, so ask to see current public liability cover, any City & Guilds/NVQ or PDA membership, and their before/after portfolio before work begins.
How we vet painters →How It Works
Every Painter We List Is:
Preparation, Paint Choice & Lifespan
🧹 Surface Preparation
Quality starts here. Proper prep includes: filling, sanding, caulking gaps, masking, sugar-soap clean-down, and (for woodwork) primer plus undercoat. Skipping any of these steps risks adhesion failure, brush marks or peeling within 1–3 years. Allow 30–50% of total project time for prep on a high-quality finish.
🎨 Paint Choice
Trade emulsions (Dulux Trade, Crown Trade, Johnstone's Trade) cover better than retail equivalents in fewer coats. Designer paints (Farrow & Ball, Little Greene, Paint & Paper Library) have superior depth of colour but add 30–60% to material cost. Water-based satinwood has replaced solvent-based gloss as the modern standard for woodwork.
⏱️ Lifespan
Interior emulsion typically lasts 5–10 years in living areas, 3–7 in kitchens and bathrooms (cleaning damages). Exterior masonry paint lasts 8–15 years on south-facing walls, 12–20 on north-facing. Woodwork external paint lasts 5–10 years. Lifespan is dominated by prep quality, not paint brand.
Pre-1960 properties & lead paint: Existing paintwork in homes built before 1960 may contain lead. Stripping or sanding without containment is regulated under the Control of Lead at Work Regulations 2002. Test kits cost £10–£25; specialist lead paint removal adds £500–£1,500 to typical exterior repaint costs.
Painting Cost by Job Type and Region (2026)
Live cost ranges from the Best Builders 2026 Cost Index, aggregated across 519 UK towns. Interior is a 3-bed whole-house repaint including walls, ceilings, woodwork. Exterior covers a 3-bed semi-detached including masonry, render and woodwork (excludes scaffolding). Wallpapering is per single room (excludes paper material cost).
| Region | Interior (Whole House) | Exterior (Whole House) | Wallpapering (Per Room) |
|---|---|---|---|
| London | £2,000 – £4,600 | £2,400 – £5,950 | £450 – £1,125 |
| South East | £1,800 – £4,200 | £2,150 – £5,400 | £425 – £1,025 |
| Southern | £1,600 – £3,800 | £1,950 – £4,850 | £375 – £925 |
| Eastern | £1,600 – £3,800 | £1,950 – £4,850 | £375 – £925 |
| West Midlands | £1,500 – £3,500 | £1,800 – £4,500 | £350 – £850 |
| East Midlands | £1,500 – £3,500 | £1,800 – £4,500 | £350 – £850 |
| Yorkshire | £1,400 – £3,200 | £1,650 – £4,150 | £325 – £775 |
| North West | £1,400 – £3,200 | £1,650 – £4,150 | £325 – £775 |
| South West | £1,400 – £3,200 | £1,650 – £4,150 | £325 – £775 |
| North East | £1,300 – £3,100 | £1,600 – £3,950 | £300 – £750 |
| Scotland (North) | £1,400 – £3,200 | £1,650 – £4,150 | £325 – £775 |
| Scotland (South) | £1,400 – £3,200 | £1,650 – £4,150 | £325 – £775 |
| South Wales | £1,300 – £3,100 | £1,600 – £3,950 | £300 – £750 |
| Merseyside & N. Wales | £1,300 – £3,100 | £1,600 – £3,950 | £300 – £750 |
Source: Best Builders 2026 Cost Index · Designer paints (Farrow & Ball, Little Greene) add 30–60% to material cost. Listed buildings, lead-paint removal and heritage colours all add cost. See full cost index →
How to check a decorator before you commit
We match you with local trades and step back — the hiring decision is yours. These are the checks that separate a good decorator from an expensive mistake, and they take about ten minutes.
Get the quote in writing
An itemised written quote covering labour, materials, waste removal and VAT — not a figure over the phone. If two quotes differ a lot, it is usually because they cover different work, and only the written detail shows you where.
Check the insurance yourself
Ask for the public liability certificate and check the policy is current and in the same trading name as the quote. A logo on a van or a website is not evidence. If the work is notifiable, ask who is registering it.
Ask for recent local work
Two or three jobs of the same type from the last six months, close enough to go and look at. Someone who does good work will offer these before you ask. Be wary of anyone who only has photographs.
On payment: never pay the full amount up front. A deposit against materials is normal; after that, stage payments against completed work are the standard arrangement. Pressure to pay in cash, in full, or on the day is the single most common warning sign.
Painters & Decorators Across 519 UK Towns
Each town page shows local vetted painters, town-specific cost ranges and nearby areas.
Painting & Decorating FAQs
Question this page didn't answer?
Ask a specific question about your painting and decorating project. A member of our editorial team will answer and publish it (your email is never shown).
Complete your project
Homeowners planning painting & decorating often line up these trades too — get free, no-obligation quotes in the same few clicks.
Our sources for this guide
Cost ranges, credential standards and regulatory information on this page are compiled from:
- Best Builders 2026 Cost Index — regional painting cost ranges from our 2026 regional cost model (national cost guides × regional labour index) across 519 UK towns, refreshed quarterly
- PDA — Painting and Decorating Association — UK trade body
- City & Guilds — painting and decorating qualifications
- Guild of Master Craftsmen — quality assurance scheme
- HSE — Control of Lead at Work Regulations 2002
- Dulux UK, Farrow & Ball, Little Greene — paint manufacturer guidance
Editorial standards & how to reach us
This page is maintained by the Best Builders editorial team. Cost figures are reviewed quarterly against published trade pricing and our regional cost model. Regulatory information (Lead at Work Regs, paint product standards) is checked against current UK government guidance at each refresh. We do not accept payment for editorial coverage; painter listings are earned through our vetting process.
If you spot an error or have feedback, email editorial@bestbuilders.co.uk.