How long did it take to decorate new home?

sterl1ng

Buying a 1 bed garden flat, haven't done any painting for well over a decade and was tempted to hire a painter but turns out very expensive! So I'm going to do myself but no idea how long it would take, it's about 500sq ft but main areas are living room, bedroom and hallway along with all woodwork and ceilings. I'm hoping to get it all done in about 3-4 days is that realistic?

G_M

My house? 18 years and not finished yet....

Last BTL? 6 days with a friend including getting 7 new double glazed windows fitted.

dgtazzman

4-bed house, close to 1400 sq ft, 2 weeks. Had the builders do most of the painting as they owed me one, the time mostly went into putting furniture together, hanging curtains/blinds/lamps and putting pictures on the walls and such.

Small 2-bed took just over a week, painting and all with my father helping. To be fair, we were pulling 14-16 hour days for it, though...

trailingspouse

4 bed house, 10 rooms, 4 storeys - we're on to room 8 after 15 months. As you're no doubt beginning to realise, much depends on how big the house is, how much time you have to spare, and whether you can call in any favours.

harrys_dad

What sort of estimates have you had? Once you factor in your time (I suspect at least 7 days flat out), cost of materials, including dust sheets etc to protect furniture,and the fact that a professional will do a better job than you, it might not be quite so "expensive".

If you still decide to DIY I would caution against trying to do it all in one go and do it a room at a time spread over 3-4 months, otherwise the quality of finish will deteriorate as you get tired.

getmore4less

I think you are optimistic if you want to do a good job.


7days more like it unless you pull very long days.


The painting is the easy bit, but that will need to be done over 2 days to let the undercoats dry and do any touch up work missed first time round.


Prepping everywhere will depend what state things are in and how much stuff you have in the rooms and if you want to clean up every night.


How much work do the walls need, could be just a day getting them ready, then sand the next day


woodwork need more than a sand? any gaps that need filling.


Sanding is messy so make sure you have plenty of sheets etc.
Don't use your best vacuum.




B&Q sale starts tomorrow might be a chance to pick up some decorating stuff cheap.(see the hotukdeals)


Doing it all in one go will give some economy of scale and you can plan the jobs to overlap while the paint dries.


Get decent equipment and paint, wide rollers so much quicker on the ceiling and walls.


Long time since we have done any but the last full 12x12 bedroom took two days from starting to clear the furniture to finishing that was just the walls& ceiling, stripping and making good and painting 2 coats.




We had people in to do our small, hall stairs landing with 9 doors onto it, £700 took 1.5 people 4 days(decorator days 8:30-3:30ish) + had to get them back to do a touch up 2 walls were bad and needed lining (probably should have got them skimmed).

Anatidaephobia

It depends exactly what needs done. For example, our living room required four coats of paint. After each coat, we started painting another room and left that coat to dry overnight - so it took five days before the room was finished (four coats of paint plus woodwork). Obviously if your rooms only need one coat of paint then that will save a lot of time, and it depends how long you allow each coat to dry as well.

We started redecorating our house over a year ago and still not finished yet!

Soot2006

About 5 years in, I have finally hired a professional to redecotate the bedroom.

We did DIY everything in the first few weeks, stripped wallpaper, fixed plaster, repainted, etc ... but it really wasn't the best job in all honesty, so we're slowly working our way back through the house "properly".

I don't regret it as couldn't have afforded it at the beginning, nor all at once, but it's always been a "unfinished" job at the back of my mind.

PasturesNew

If you're insisting on doing it ... do all the ceilings when you get the keys. Then move in. Then tackle one wall/week so it doesn't become too much, boring, tedious, soul-destroying and awful.

sterl1ng

Thanks, I was quoted £2000 for 3 rooms so I figured way above my budget and that I'll just do myself, I guess over time so like many said here not too exhausting. I was going to do ceilings, then walls then woodwork. Don't have any furniture but how will I paint given the moggies that's going to be a challenge which is why I was gong to give it about 4 days between rental and new place so ready for them and furniture I get as I can't let moggies out till they are comfy with surroundings so bit of a challenge! I'm excited though to paint!!

Southend1

I don't think 4 days is realistic. Everything takes at least 4 times as long as you think when decorating. You will doubtless uncover lots of things that need fixing along the way. Preparation is the hard part and depends how bad things are to begin with. The actual painting could be done by a couple of people in a day or two depending on weather and how many fiddly bits like stair spindles are involved