How can I tell if a UK decorator is overcharging?
The £250 gap between two quotes for the same room is almost always prep. Per-room bands, day rates outside and inside London, wallpaper removal, exterior masonry, and the prep scope that separates a finish that lasts ten years from one that shows defects in months.
The same room can cost £350 or £600 and both can be a real job. The £350 quote rolls over minor imperfections with trade emulsion; it looks fine for a few months. The £600 quote is a full prep with two finish coats in named paint and cleanly cut edges; it lasts 8 to 10 years. Prep is what separates them.
This guide is a checklist to read a decorating quote line by line. For the price bands by room, start with the painting and decorating cost guide. For the general method, see how to compare builder quotes.
Typical price, so you have a benchmark#
In 2026, a UK bathroom (6 to 9 m²) is £150 to £300. A small bedroom is £250 to £400. A kitchen is £250 to £500. A small living room is £300 to £530. A medium bedroom is £350 to £660. A large living room is £500 to £990. A hall, stairs and landing is £875 to £1,330+. London and the South-East run 25 to 40% above those figures. Day rates outside London are £150 to £250, inside £250 to £350+.
Outside these bands, the woodwork scope or the paint brand is usually the explanation. Both should be on the quote.
The prep trap#
A quote that lumps "prep and paint" together at a flat fee has not priced the prep. The prep budget becomes whatever is left after paint and labour, which on a tight quote is very little.
A fair quote names the prep scope:
- Filling: holes, screw heads, nail pops.
- Crack work: raking out, caulking, sanding flat.
- Sanding: grade and finish standard.
- Washing: greasy areas (kitchens, around switches).
- Mist coat: diluted emulsion on new plaster before full paint.
- Spot priming: stain blocker on water marks and bleed-prone patches.
- Masking: sockets, switches, skirting, glass.
A decorator who covers all of those produces a finish that lasts. A decorator who skips half of them produces one that does not.
What a fair decorating quote should itemise#
A reasonable decorating quote breaks the price into at least these lines, with a number against each:
- Rooms: which rooms, their approximate floor area or wall area.
- Finish level: budget, standard, or premium, with prep scope.
- Paint spec: brand, finish (matt, eggshell, satin), and colour count.
- Coats: two finish coats is standard; one coat is a different job.
- Cutting in: around ceilings, sockets, woodwork.
- Mist coat on new plaster.
- Protection: dust sheets, masking, furniture moved or covered.
- Day rate or fixed price for the agreed scope, with the day count if relevant.
- Materials supply: paint, fillers, caulk, masking tape, included or itemised.
- Site clean at the end of each day and at completion.
A flat "paint and prep, £600" with no breakdown is the version to push back on. See how to read a builder's quote for the general format you should expect.
What is typically excluded#
Items that often quietly fall outside the headline price:
- Wallpaper removal (£250 to £350 per room).
- Plastering repairs beyond a few millimetres of filler.
- Painting woodwork (skirting, architrave, doors) if only walls are quoted.
- Moving heavy furniture or built-ins.
- Lifting and replacing carpet to paint skirting cleanly.
- Specialist paints: anti-mould, heritage colours, designer brands at upgrade price.
- Damp repair or stain bleed beyond a spot prime.
- Painting radiators, removed and refitted to get behind.
For the broader pattern across trades, see hidden costs in builder quotes.
Red flags specific to decorating#
- No prep scope written down. "Prep and paint" as one line means the prep budget is whatever is left.
- No paint brand or finish named. A quote priced for trade-grade emulsion that quietly switches to Farrow & Ball at your request needs re-quoting.
- One coat, not two. Two coats is standard for full coverage.
- Cash-only, no VAT. Decorators turning over £90,000+ a year must be VAT-registered. A larger job priced cash-only often signals an undeclared trader, no public liability insurance, or both.
- No protection mentioned. Paint splatter and roller spray are inevitable. A quote silent on protection means a cleaning bill of its own.
- Mist coat skipped on new plaster. Full emulsion straight onto new plaster does not bond and can peel within months.
- Day rate under £150 in 2026. Uninsured, brand new, or a quick job that will need redoing.
- No site visit before quoting for anything more than a single small room. Decorators cannot price prep without seeing the walls.
For the general red-flag pattern, see signs of a rogue builder.
Before you sign#
- Are the rooms and their finish level named on the quote?
- Is the prep scope written down (filling, sanding, mist coat, priming)?
- Is the paint brand, finish, and colour count specified?
- Are two coats included, not one?
- Is protection (dust sheets, masking, furniture) on the page?
- Is the price a fixed total against an itemised scope, or a day rate with a clear day count?
- Is VAT shown if the decorator is registered?
- Is the total in the typical band for the rooms and region?
If three or more of these are unclear, the quote is not ready to be compared against another. Get the missing items in writing before you decide.
The shortcut#
Running this comparison by hand means knowing per-room bands, day-rate norms, paint brand pricing, and prep standards. Check the Quote does that part for you: paste or upload your decorating quote and we check every line against current UK rates, flag the prep scope, and tell you what is missing. Your first check is free.
Got a quote you want checked?
Paste any UK contractor quote and Check the Quote compares every line item against current market rates, flags missing scope, and runs a Companies House check on the contractor. Free on your first project.
Frequently asked questions
- What should it cost to paint a room in the UK in 2026?
- A small bedroom (10 to 12 m²) is £250 to £400. A medium bedroom is £350 to £660. A small living room is £300 to £530. A large living room is £500 to £990. A hall, stairs and landing is £875 to £1,330+ (MyJobQuote, Checkatrade, 2026). London and the South-East run 25 to 40% above national. See the painting and decorating cost guide for the full per-room table.
- Why are two decorating quotes for the same room so different?
- Because the visible difference between a £350 quote and a £600 quote on the same room is almost always prep. The £600 quote fills, sands, primes, and cuts in cleanly and lasts 8 to 10 years. The £350 quote rolls over imperfections and shows defects within months. Same room, two different finish levels, two prices. The quote that does not name the prep scope has not priced the prep.
- What is a fair painter and decorator day rate?
- Outside London, £150 to £250 per day. London and the South-East, £250 to £350+. Premium painter-decorators run up to £420. A full day is 7 to 8 hours. Day rates exclude materials (paint, fillers, masking tape), which add £40 to £120 to a typical room. A decorator quoting under £150 per day in 2026 is either uninsured, brand new, or rushing the job.
- How much does wallpaper removal add?
- Roughly £250 to £350 per room, depending on how many layers are on the wall and how well the original was hung. Wallpaper stuck directly to unprimed plaster takes much longer than paper hung over lining paper. Removal is a separate line item; the decorator should flag what is underneath before quoting the repaint.
- How can I tell if a decorating quote is padded?
- Pad usually shows up as a low day rate without a fixed total, no paint brand or finish named, no prep scope written down ("prep and paint" as a single line), and no protection mentioned (dust sheets, masking, furniture). Three of those is the point to ask for an itemised re-quote with prep broken out.