Exterior window decoration quote

lostinrates

19 windows, 8 of which are upstairs, 2 doors...outside only....I'm hoping the quote of £7.5k is OTT....

some are in a bad state and need re-puttying. quote includes this and the (expensive ) paint and scaffolding.

junkyardjim

Hi Lostinrates

The quote does seem a tad high. However, it would depend of several factors.

I would imagine accesibility is a large proportion the cost. Scafolding does not come cheap, also local authority permits are sometimes required at a cost, dependent on where you are/where the scafold is.

A 'Georgian style' box sash will take longer to prep/paint than a more modern casement window. This will obviously reflect the price.

Does a specialist paint or varnish have to be used? - is the building listed?

I would obtain at least two more (itemised) quotes and go from there.

Cheers

lostinrates

junkyardjim wrote: »

Hi Lostinrates

The quote does seem a tad high. However, it would depend of several factors.

I would imagine accesibility is a large proportion the cost. Scafolding does not come cheap, also local authority permits are sometimes required at a cost, dependent on where you are/where the scafold is.

A 'Georgian style' box sash will take longer to prep/paint than a more modern casement window. This will obviously reflect the price.

Does a specialist paint or varnish have to be used? - is the building listed?

I would obtain at least two more (itemised) quotes and go from there.

Cheers

Yes, the property is listed. No permit is needed for the scaffolding. Three of the windows are sash, the rest are casements with large panes. Expensive F &B paint is being used.

Thank you for the advice

tomterm8

How many storeys does the building have?

It's fairly simple to do downstairs yourself... the higher you get, though, the more difficult things are. You can do the first storey off a ladder, but IMHO anything on a second storey, you are taking a big risk.

So... if you do the downstairs yourself, you have cut the number of windows down to half, without necessarily taking any risks.

lostinrates

tomterm8 wrote: »

How many storeys does the building have?

It's fairly simple to do downstairs yourself... the higher you get, though, the more difficult things are. You can do the first storey off a ladder, but IMHO anything on a second storey, you are taking a big risk.

So... if you do the downstairs yourself, you have cut the number of windows down to half, without necessarily taking any risks.

two. In fact downstairs has more than half of the windows.

leveller2911

Its getting a bit late in the year for Exterior decorating,its not ideal conditions, damp mornings etc.If your going to stump up over £7k LIR I would wait until late next Spring.

If the ground is pretty level most decorators will paint from ladders , like Tomterm says 2nd storey is a bit high.I can't comment on the price of scaffolding as it depends on the area,difficulty and permits etc.

Does the quote include guttering(if cast Iron) fascias and soffits or exposed rafter feet?.

ormus

cost of painting a house exterior is about 350-3000 quid.
with an average of £900 quid.

even allowing for fancy posh paint, that quote seems way OTT.

lostinrates

leveller2911 wrote: »

Its getting a bit late in the year for Exterior decorating,its not ideal conditions, damp mornings etc.If your going to stump up over £7k LIR I would wait until late next Spring.

If the ground is pretty level most decorators will paint from ladders , like Tomterm says 2nd storey is a bit high.I can't comment on the price of scaffolding as it depends on the area,difficulty and permits etc.

Does the quote include guttering(if cast Iron) fascias and soffits or exposed rafter feet?.

Thanks . Yes, I know its late....we just had other things that needed doing first. sigh. I think waiting if we go ahead with a professional is a very good suggestion. Thank you.

We have one window where I accept access would be difficult and scaffold would be required..

two storey house....I wonder if I have this right in UK parlance! I mean a ground floor and a first floor...

The ground is reasonably though not perfectly level lawn on two sides and level concrete on the other side.

Its JUST windows, and JUST the outside of them. The guttering is in better condition than the windows and does not yet need attention.



A further question...for really bad bits of cracked paint would slapping on some exterior gloss over top with no prep help holding out the weather till spring?

I'm thinking of various options including doing the downstairs windows myself/ourselves(thanks tomterm!), doing them all ourselves.....

Ormus, its not the outside f the house, but the outside of the windows on the house....which I guess is more fiddly.

keystone

Yes its far too late in the year to be starting this to get any decent sort of finish. I suppose you could repair any damage and get it to an undercoat stage now but if you gloss at this time of year you'l be redoing it in the spring anyway.

From what you say I can't see how scaffolding is required for just one single window (pic might help to educate me). If its problematical for a ladder thrn a tower is only £ 150 a week.

Its way over the top even supplying F&B paint. Ye gods you could pronbably get a whole set of replacement windows for that! I don't think he wants the job TBH.

Cheers

ormus

i know that. i was just giving you a price guide.
20 windows isnt going to take any more than a week to paint. dont care how complicated they are.
average cost of a painter is 500/750 per week.
add yer paint and scaffold (if required) and it dont come anywhere near 7.5k!


very very few painters earn 50k pa.

ormus

ps
any decent painter will own a tower.
so the extra cost of scaffolding is virtually nil. if the tower can be used on the job?