Day job costs for a painter/decorator

nickj_2

CouponWoman wrote: »

In my last house I paid a painter and decorator to do my hall, stairs and landing. Walls had been stripped and were in good condition so no filling or preparation to be done.

I provided the 11 rolls of wallpaper and all the paint. He came with a ready mixed bucket of wallpaper paste. There was a total of 8 doors to be painted and wood ranch style banisters.

He was brilliant and believe it or not he had painted the landing ceiling and put up one strip of paper before I had boiled the kettle to make him a drink. He refused a drink and said once he starts he does not stop. It actually took him just over 6 hours and he did a perfect job.

Sadly he died a couple of years ago.

Worth every penny I paid him.

he must have been brilliant to do all that in 6 hours

sillywilly

CouponWoman wrote: »

In my last house I paid a painter and decorator to do my hall, stairs and landing. Walls had been stripped and were in good condition so no filling or preparation to be done.

I provided the 11 rolls of wallpaper and all the paint. He came with a ready mixed bucket of wallpaper paste. There was a total of 8 doors to be painted and wood ranch style banisters.

He was brilliant and believe it or not he had painted the landing ceiling and put up one strip of paper before I had boiled the kettle to make him a drink. He refused a drink and said once he starts he does not stop. It actually took him just over 6 hours and he did a perfect job.

Sadly he died a couple of years ago.

Worth every penny I paid him.

That is truly incredible to do all that work in 6 hours for a perfect job - sounds like a lot of work. My nan used to have a similar guy, John, lovely old school guy - he always seemed to be about 70 even though I knew him for 20 years! Papered ceilings without a murmur on his own and he did a perfect job too.

Some of the "painters and decorators" my parents have had have been the laziest bstards I have ever known. I used to come home from college and they would be sitting there drinking tea, smoking, and then make out they were just on a break. They hadn't done anything since the morning!! Didn't bother with basics like prep and sanding stuff down.

Another guy papered a large landing and stairs on his own with very expensive Laura Ashley paper. Was a case of spotting the JOIN - not the gap!!

Another guy who had the relatively easy job of prepping wooden facias and soffits - that was scaffolded round the whole house!!! - caught him more than once on my return asleep in the sunny van!!

I am not tarring them all with the same brush. Anyone with any pride will be happy to let you know what they intend to do to prep etc. £20 an hour minus tax and costs seems like a mighty fine deal if they do a good job!!

sillywilly

Sphynx wrote: »

I have just paid a bloke to put up lining paper in two rooms, one double, one box and also paper one small wall of our bedroom in printed paper. He charged £220 it took him a day and a half and he has done a fantastic job, a million times better than we could have done ourselves. He also supplied the paste and the lining paper. I am pleased we decided to get it done by a pro. It may not be a job which needs qualifications but defo a skill.

Glad you are happy - seems a good price. Wallpapering - even lining paper is not as easy as it may seem.

nickj_2

[QUOTE=sillywilly;37516364

Some of the "painters and decorators" my parents have had have been the laziest bstards I have ever known. I used to come home from college and they would be sitting there drinking tea, smoking, and then make out they were just on a break. They hadn't done anything since the morning!! Didn't bother with basics like prep and sanding stuff down.

Another guy papered a large landing and stairs on his own with very expensive Laura Ashley paper. Was a case of spotting the JOIN - not the gap!!

Another guy who had the relatively easy job of prepping wooden facias and soffits - that was scaffolded round the whole house!!! - caught him more than once on my return asleep in the sunny van!!
![/QUOTE]

i take it they worked for a company rather than for themselves , no painter who is on a price would sit around drinking tea or have a sleep , time is money , and if you want to get more work , you do a good job so you get reccommended

geoffky

i have just paid 2k for the whole inside of the house to be painted...it was extra for paint and materials....its not cheap but they have done a good job

jafsie

McKneff wrote: »

Nothing annoys a professional painter and decorator more than a customer saying ' well, it'll only take a couple of days'
The painter will tell you how long it takes, he is the professional which is why you are employing him and he knows exactly how long it will take

If he was charging £20 per hour that would mean it was a 45 hour job that's almost 6 days, I don't think so.:mad:

keystone

jafsie wrote: »

I don't think so.:mad:

:rotfl::rotfl:

I refer the Honourable Gentleman to post #17. No fibbing now.

Cheers

nickj_2

jafsie wrote: »

If he was charging £20 per hour that would mean it was a 45 hour job that's almost 6 days, I don't think so.:mad:

unless you know what is involved then how can you possibly comment on the amount of time taken . if there are just a couple of doors and a straight forward job then it could be done in a couple of days , on the other hand i've done stairs landing and hall which have 15 or so doors , lots of fiddly work on the stairs and it has taken me 6-7 days