As a trusted painting and decorating company, one of the most common questions we receive is: How long does it take and how much does it cost to paint a house? Whether you’re moving into a new home, refreshing a rental property, or simply giving your current space a makeover, it’s typical to paint most of the house in one go to achieve a fully renewed look. This is especially important if you're welcoming new tenants or preparing for an event like a holiday.
The variety of homes across the UK means there's no one-size-fits-all answer to this question. To give you a better idea, we’ll cover some general guidelines on what’s involved, how long it takes, and most importantly, how much it might cost.
Options when painting an entire home
Let's look at a few different factors which you may, or may not consider when thinking of having your home decorated. Firstly the paint. We always advise customers to use the best quality paint. We ourselves always work with a trade paint and always include the price of trade paint in our prices so, for this article, we will do the same. Also on the point of paint you have options on the durability. A standard vinyl matt is good for most people however, some people prefer more durable paints for areas like a kitchen or the stairs, as they are more prone to wear and tear. You can expect to paint up to double the cost for durable paint though, so keep this in mind.
After paint there is another choice to make. Would you prefer to have only the ceilings and walls painted or, would you like to have all the woodwork painted as well? We always advise having the woodwork painted as it can make the biggest difference once the decorating has been completed. One thing to keep in mind is that painting all the skirting boards, doors and balustrade can take quite a long time and this could add up to 75% more time and cost onto the overall cost of the project.
How long to paint a 2 bedroom flat?
A popular request for landlords is how long to paint a 2 bedroom flat. If painting the ceilings and walls only, you could expect to have the flat painted in around 5 days. If you had all the woodwork painted as well, this would be 6-7 days. Expect to pay anywhere for £1000-£1300 for ceilings and walls and around £1500-£2000 including the woodwork. Those prices are inclusive of paint.
How long to paint a 3 bed semi-detached home?
One of the most common homes in the UK is a 3 bedroom semi. What we will say is that no two homes are the same and each has it's own challenges however, we will be general in our summary.
For ceilings and walls only you can expect wait 2 weeks for the decorating to be completed and including all woodwork, doors and balustrade, over 3 weeks. The total cost including everything could be anywhere from £3500-£4500 whereas for the ceilings and walls only would be around £2750.
There is one way to reduce the price and dramatically reduce the timescale and we will go through this later in the article.
How long to paint a 4 bedroom detached house?
To start with this is a big task and not that common due to the timescale. We will however look at an overall price and timescale.
As for the cost. You can be expecting to pay around £6000 with everything included with a timescale of around one month. Again there is. away to dramatically reduce this which we will cover next?
How to reduce time and cost when having your home decorated.
There are there big factors which impact the time and cost for decorating an entire home. Firstly is the home almost empty? This will make the job much quicker and easier for the decorator which has an impact on price. Secondly is it the same colour on the walls and on the ceiling. Customer don't realise how much this can impact the price and time. You don't need to go brilliant white. You can go a warm white and paint the ceilings the same colour. However the lack of cutting in means the job is completed much quicker. Also, if you go for the same colour ceiling and walls it means it opens up the possibility of paint spraying.
Paint spraying is dramatically quicker and can get your home painted in a fraction of the time. For instance in a 4 bedroom home, we have painted all the ceilings and walls in 4 days. That's much quicker than the weeks we mentioned above. If you were to include the woodwork in the paint spraying process, it would be around 7 working days. Something to think about for sure!
Conclusion
There are many factors to consider when planning a home decorating project. To ensure everything goes smoothly, it’s best to plan ahead—ideally 6 months in advance, as top decorators often have long waiting times. Be sure to discuss all your options during the quotation stage, as the type of paint and techniques used will affect both the time and cost of the project.
At the end of the day, with careful planning and the right team, painting your home can be a smooth and efficient process that brings your space back to life.
If you're in the midlands and would like a quote to decorate your home click here and we'll be happy to help!
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