The quote is the preparation. The paint is the easy part.
Coats stated per surface, products named rather than described as trade quality, and a survey before any number — because nobody can price walls they have not seen.
This is where a cheap quote is cheap.
None of it shows in a photograph, which is exactly why competitors lead with photographs. Every one of these steps is on the quote as a line rather than assumed.
Everything is moved or covered
Furniture centred and sheeted, floors run wall to wall, sockets and handles removed rather than cut around.
Wash down
Sugar soap on anything previously painted. Paint does not stick to grease, and kitchens and skirtings are always greasier than they look.
Fill, then fill again
First fill shrinks as it dries. Anything deeper than a hairline gets a second pass, which is the step most often skipped.
Sand to a flat surface
By hand at edges, machine on open walls, dust-extracted. You should not be able to feel a repair with your palm.
Prime bare and repaired areas
Every filled patch and every bare surface. Skipping this is why patches flash through a finish coat in raking light.
Caulk the joints last
Where wall meets woodwork, after priming and before finish coats, so the line stays sharp for years rather than months.
Coats per surface.
“Two coats throughout” is meaningless on a job containing bare timber and new plaster. Different surfaces need different systems, and the quote says which you are getting.
| Surface | Coats | Over | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Previously painted wallsThree if changing to or from a strong colour. | 2 | Primed repairs | Three if changing to or from a strong colour. |
| New plasterThe mist coat is not optional and is not a finish coat. | 1 mist + 2 | Thinned mist coat | The mist coat is not optional and is not a finish coat. |
| CeilingsWater marks need blocking or they come through whatever you put on them. | 2 | Stain block where needed | Water marks need blocking or they come through whatever you put on them. |
| Woodwork, previously paintedKnots spot-primed regardless of age. | 1 undercoat + 2 | Sanded and degreased | Knots spot-primed regardless of age. |
| Bare woodworkFour coats. Anyone quoting two on bare timber is not going to prime. | Primer + undercoat + 2 | Knotting solution first | Four coats. Anyone quoting two on bare timber is not going to prime. |
| Exterior masonryWeather window matters more than product here. | 2 | Stabilising solution if chalky | Weather window matters more than product here. |
Named on the quote.
“Trade quality paint” covers everything from contract emulsion at eight dollars a litre to a washable matt at forty. The product and the finish level are written down.
Trade emulsion
Named on the quote, with the finish level. Contract emulsion and a washable matt are not the same product at the same price.
Water-based woodwork
Non-yellowing on whites and quick to recoat. What we use unless you specifically want oil.
Oil-based woodwork
Harder wearing and slower. Available on request; it will yellow on a pure white over time and we will say so.
Exterior systems
Masonry and joinery products from one manufacturer so the warranty holds as a system.
Six questions for every quote you get.
Including ours. A decorator confident in their specification will answer all six without hesitating; one working to a number will get vague around the third.
Publishing this costs us the jobs where we are genuinely more expensive for no reason. That is a trade we are happy with.
How many coats, on which surfaces?
Are filled areas primed before the finish coat?
Is the mist coat on new plaster included and thinned?
Which product, and which finish level?
Is caulking included, and applied before or after priming?
Who moves and covers the furniture?
Realistic, not optimistic.
One bedroom
1–2 days
Walls, ceiling and woodwork. Two if the woodwork is bare.
Whole house interior
8–14 days
Three bed, staged so you keep a usable room throughout.
Stairwell
2–3 days
Slow because of access, not because of area. Scaffold towers take time to move.
Exterior
5–10 days
Weather dependent, and we will not paint masonry below 8°C or onto damp.
One is about a job we turned down.
“Their quote was three hundred more and itemised why. Six years on the woodwork still has not chipped.”
L. Fairweather
Full interior
“Turned down the job until the damp was fixed, rather than painting over it and taking the money.”
O. Vasquez
Kitchen and hall
“The list of questions to ask other quotes is on their site. I used it. It was clarifying.”
S. Bergström
Two bedrooms
Mostly about price.
Why is your quote higher?+
Usually because it includes preparation somebody else left out. Ask any cheaper quote how many coats, what happens to filled areas, and whether bare timber is primed — the answers normally explain the whole gap.
How many coats do I get?+
It is stated per surface on the quote rather than assumed. Most previously painted walls take two over primed repairs; bare timber takes four including primer and undercoat. The table on this page is what we work to.
Can you paint over damp or mould?+
No, and we will not. Painting over it hides it for one season and then it comes back through the finish, at which point you have paid twice. We will tell you what needs fixing first, even though it costs us the job that month.
How long will it take?+
A written schedule with a start and finish date. Exterior work is weather-dependent and we will be honest rather than optimistic about that — masonry below 8°C or onto damp is a wasted coat.
Do you move furniture?+
Yes, it is included. Rooms are cleared to the centre and sheeted, sockets and handles come off rather than being cut around, and everything goes back at the end.
Nobody can price walls they have not seen.
Half an hour, free, and you get a written spec whether or not you use us.