# Painting & decorating – what to charge in 2026 (UK)
Painters and decorators live or die on prep time and day rate. If you're under £200/day in 2026, you're probably paying yourself less than a labourer once you strip out costs.
1. Day rates – painting & decorating in 2026
Figures are labour‑only, pre‑VAT.
Checkatrade and Decorators Forum UK discussions put the "average" painter/decorator day rate around £250–£325/day, with Checkatrade quoted at £325/day in recent guides. A London cost guide shows sole traders at £200–£350/day, and small companies at £250–£400+ per decorator per day.
Newly qualified / first year self‑employed
- London & South East: £180–£220/day
- Midlands: £160–£200/day
- North of England: £150–£190/day
- Scotland / Wales / rural: £140–£190/day
Experienced (around 3–5 years on your own)
- London & South East: £220–£300/day
- Midlands: £190–£250/day
- North of England: £180–£240/day
- Scotland / Wales / rural: £170–£230/day
Highly experienced / specialist (high‑end, heritage)
- London & South East: £280–£380+/day
- Midlands: £230–£320/day
- North of England: £220–£300/day
- Scotland / Wales / rural: £210–£280/day
Decorators Forum UK have broken down that a £150/day rate can end up as ~£8/hour take‑home once you strip overheads and unpaid time, while £250/day ends up closer to a fair self‑employed equivalent of a modest PAYE wage.
2. Common decorating jobs and 2026 prices
Numbers below are typical labour + standard materials prices in 2026.
Paint a small bedroom (walls, ceiling, woodwork)
- London: £400–£700 including walls, ceiling and woodwork (two coats).
- Outside London: many decorators will sit more like £250–£500 depending on prep.
- Price goes up if: Heavy prep, stripping, bad walls, lots of cutting‑in.
Paint a double bedroom (walls, ceiling, woodwork)
- London: £500–£900.
- Elsewhere: typically £300–£600.
- Includes: Filling, caulking, sanding, undercoat/topcoat on woodwork, two coats on walls/ceiling with trade paint.
- Price goes up if: Feature colours, heritage paints, high ceilings.
Paint a lounge / dining room
- London: £600–£1,100 for a standard lounge/diner.
- Elsewhere: £350–£800.
- Price goes up if: Big rooms, cornice/coving, lots of woodwork, poor surfaces.
Full redecoration – 3‑bed house (internal)
- London: £5,000–£12,000 for a full 3‑bed terrace, depending on condition and finish.
- Elsewhere: commonly £3,000–£8,000 for standard spec.
- Price goes up if: Stripping walls, heavy prep, heritage products, fancy finishes.
Hall, stairs and landing (strip & repaper, gloss woodwork)
- Typical price: ~£800 to strip and repaper an average 3‑bed semi hall/landing/stairs and gloss all woodwork.
- Price goes up if: Multiple landings, high stairwells, loads of spindles, awkward access.
Exterior front elevation (standard house)
- Typical price: £500–£1,500+ depending on size, condition and access.
- Includes: Scrape back loose paint, spot prime, undercoat and topcoat on masonry and woodwork.
- Price goes up if: Lots of prep, rotten wood, scaffold needed.
Hourly / day‑work rates
- Many decorators still quote by the room but work off a day rate of £200–£325/day behind the scenes.
- If asked hourly, typical ranges are roughly £25–£40/hour depending on region and whether it's a company or sole trader.
These align with what homeowners see in 2026 decorator cost guides and London regional breakdowns.
3. What painters and decorators actually earn (2026)
Employee benchmarks:
Jobtome puts average painter salaries at about £36,000/year, with a range from ~£18,200 up to £52,500 depending on experience and location.
Self‑employed:
- If you're charging £250/day, billing ~180–200 days/year, your top‑line is £45,000–£50,000.
- Knock off overheads (van, fuel, tools, insurance, marketing, quoting/admin time), and your real take‑home can easily drop into the £25,000–£35,000 band if you're not careful – exactly what the Decorators Forum UK breakdown shows.
PAYE painters average mid‑30s. A self‑employed decorator on £250/day or more can do better – but only if they stop charging £150 a day and then working evenings for free.
4. What's usually NOT included in decorating quotes
The classic assumptions:
Major prep work Stripping multiple layers of paper, dealing with blown plaster, repair to cracks and holes beyond basic filling. Often extra or specified as a separate phase.
Carpentry repairs Replacing rotten sills, repairing sash windows, fitting new skirting – typically separate trades or clearly priced extras.
Access and scaffolding Towers and scaffold for exteriors or high stairwells – usually separate.
Colour consultancy / design Time spent on colour schemes, samples and design‑level advice is often not included unless you specify it.
Paint supply beyond standard trade products Premium brands (Farrow & Ball, Little Greene, designer finishes) often carry higher material charges on top of a standard labour price.
5. How decorators charge – day rate vs fixed price
Domestic decorating is nearly always fixed price:
- You walk the job, work out the days and paint, then give a single price per room or per house.
- Behind the scenes you multiply your day rate by the days, add materials (with markup), and maybe a contingency.
Day or hourly rates show up when:
- You're doing small patch jobs, snagging, or "day here and there" work.
- The scope is vague ("freshen this up a bit") and you've agreed to work time + materials.
Most decorators who are doing well in 2026 are aiming around:
- £250–£325/day outside London
- £250–£400+/day in London and SE, especially for higher‑end work.
Anything much below £200/day long‑term usually turns into minimum‑wage money once you factor overheads and unpaid evenings.
6. Materials and markup – painting & decorating
Paint looks cheap per tin, but you still need margin.
- On standard trade paints, fillers, caulk, abrasives, dust sheets, rollers and brushes, a 10–20% markup on your cost is normal to cover ordering, collection and waste.
- On premium brands and specialist coatings, markups of 15–25% are common – you're tying up money, managing specs and taking the risk if something fails.
- Many decorators let clients buy prestige brands themselves if they want, and then charge labour only – but you lose that materials margin, so your day rate needs to be healthy.
Straight way to explain it:
"There's a small margin on materials to cover sourcing and dealing with any issues. You still benefit from my trade discounts – if you buy small tins yourself, it usually works out dearer overall."
What to do next
- Read: 14.2 – How to price your first job without underselling yourself
- Read: 14.4 – Why you should never be the cheapest quote
- Read: 14.5 – How to explain your price when they've had a cheaper quote
- Read: 14.1 – Day rate vs price work vs quoted
- Download: Payment schedule and deposit terms template
- Use: Late Payment Calculator – to see how underpriced days plus late payers are hitting your yearly income
Sources (UK, 2026‑relevant)
- Checkatrade & Decorators Forum UK – average painter/decorator day rate around £325/day, debates on fair rates.
- Hampstead Painting Company – 2026 London cost guide (day rates £200–£350 sole traders, £250–£400+ for companies; room and house redecoration ranges).
- Jobtome and similar – average painter salaries around £36,000/year, with a range up to £52,500/year.
- Self‑employed decorator earnings breakdowns – why £150/day leads to ~£8/hour after costs, and why £250+/day is more realistic.
- Contractor markup guides – typical materials margin ranges.
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