Ballpark cost of getting in decorator for one-bed flat

zoothornrollo_2

So having decorated our new loft extension and stairwell, I'm thinking it will just take too long to decorate throughout. As we are contemplating letting out the flat, we're thinking it might be worth just getting someone in.

Can anyone suggest what it would cost to have a 500 sq ft flat decorated (1 bed, 1 living room, 1 kitchen, 1 bathroom, hallway and stairwell) - walls, ceilings and woodwork?

Preparation should not be too onerous as we would just want to paint over the off-white painted walls, leaving the lining paper on.

We need to be realistic, i.e., not what it 'should cost', but what it will cost given that we live in south-west London and probably don't have time to get five quotes.

Thanks

Silvertabby

We're about to pay our decorator £150 per day (labour only) but we don't live anywhere near London. I expect you will be looking at at least £200 per day for a decent guy. Timescale? It depends on how much woodwork needs painting, as that takes the longest - but it will certainly run well into at least week 2.

zoothornrollo_2

Thanks Silvertabby, yes I fear that once materials are included we are looking at best part of £2k?

Annie1960

I've recently had some decorating done with a Dulux accredited decorator. The total of the rooms I had done was over double the area you are considering, and my work was more extensive as it involved removing all the old paper, fixing a problem area on a couple of the ceilings, 1400 lining paper, feature walls in 2 bedrooms, and the total was over £5k.

For the work you mention I would expect to get it done well within £2k. The majority of the work was in the preparation, and once he started fitting the new wallpaper the rest of the work was much quicker.

If you can be sure that your rooms will be empty this should bring the price down slightly, but if you need the decorator to move furniture let them know in advance so they can price this in.

I'm in commuter belt Hertfordshire, so almost London prices.

cattie

I've recently had a quote from someone my neighbour used for my very large open plan living & dining room, plus small hall & my smallish kitchen to be redecorated.

Ceiling & walls to be repainted (very minimal preparation needed if any), decorator to supply ceiling paint & skirting paint, but the wall paint I've already bought in myself. Skirting boards & door surrounds to be sanded & painted, but no room doors as they are wooden, so just the front door to be painted. Decorator will move all furniture, pictures, take down curtains & put everything back when finished

He reckons it'll take him 4-5 days if all goes well & should cost around £700. I'm located on SE London/Kent border & was very pleased with the quote indeed.

zoothornrollo_2

Thanks cattie, gives me a rough guideline

always_sunny

I decided to get some painting done (2 rooms) cause I couldn't stand to see magnolia anymore and cattie's seems pretty fair. You can post the job online and get quotes and decide (based on reviews well). In hindsight I would choose to supply materials and only hire for labour.

I ended up painting the rest myself