Questions, answered

The Instant Quote gives an indicative range based on your answers, your photos and typical rates for that kind of work. It is designed to be realistic, but it is not a quote. The final price depends on things that are hard to judge online, such as the condition of plaster and woodwork, access and how much preparation is needed. A decorator reviews your request and then gives you a fixed written quote.

Yes, when a job needs one. Many jobs can be priced from your answers and photos, sometimes with a short video call. Larger jobs, exterior work, properties with visible damp or cracking, and anything where access is unclear are more likely to need a visit before a fixed quote is given.

Yes, and they help. You can upload them in the Instant Quote. Useful shots are each room from the doorway, close-ups of any damage, the condition of woodwork and windows, and for exterior work each elevation from the street or garden. Photos are stored privately and are not published.

Very small jobs carry a minimum charge, which typically comes to £450. Travel, setting up, protecting the area and cleaning up take time however small the job is, so it can be worth combining small tasks into one visit.

Prices shown on the website, including on our prices page, exclude VAT. VAT is added where the decorator carrying out the work is VAT-registered, and your fixed quote will show whether it applies.

We cover the London Borough of Ealing: Ealing, Acton, Hanwell, Southall, Greenford, Northolt and Perivale, and the neighbourhoods around them. See our service areas for more. If you are close to the borough boundary, get in touch and we will tell you whether we can help.

Yes, if you want us to. The decorator can supply trade-quality paint suited to each surface, and it is set out in the fixed quote. Trade paints are made for coverage and durability, which matters most on woodwork and in busy areas.

Yes. You can buy the paint yourself or ask for your chosen brand and colour to be priced into the quote. Tell us the manufacturer, colour name and finish when you ask for a price, because some premium paints cost more, need extra coats or are applied differently.

Please clear small items, ornaments and pictures, and empty any wardrobes or drawers that need moving. Larger furniture can usually be moved to the middle of the room and covered. Tell us in advance about very heavy or fragile items, such as a piano. Our guide to preparing your home has a full checklist.

Yes. Most interior work is done with people living in. Rooms are painted in an order agreed with you, so you keep somewhere to sleep, cook and wash. The decorator will need access to water and a toilet. If you work from home, say so and the order can be planned around your workspace.

It depends on size, condition and how much woodwork is included. As a rough guide, a typical bedroom with walls, ceiling and woodwork takes around two to three days, allowing for preparation and drying time between coats. A hall, stairs and landing in a two-storey house often takes three to five days. Period rooms needing a lot of filling or woodwork repair take longer. Ask for an expected duration when you receive your fixed quote.

Water-based emulsion is usually touch-dry in one to two hours and ready for another coat in two to four hours in a warm, ventilated room. Water-based woodwork paints take a little longer between coats; oil-based gloss needs overnight. Cold or damp rooms slow everything down, which is why a decorator plans the order of surfaces so nothing is recoated too soon.

Two coats of emulsion over a sound wall of a similar colour. New plaster needs a mist coat first, and covering a strong or dark colour usually needs a third coat. Woodwork normally gets a primer or undercoat where it is bare, then two finish coats.

Water-based emulsion is usually touch-dry within an hour or two, and a room can often be used that evening or the next day with the windows open. If it is a bedroom, most people are comfortable sleeping in it the same night once the smell has cleared with water-based paints; give oil-based finishes a day or two with the window open. Paint takes longer to harden fully, often a couple of weeks, so avoid scrubbing walls or pushing furniture against them in the first few days. In bathrooms, check the tin for how long to wait before showering.

Sometimes preparation uncovers problems that could not be seen before, such as loose plaster under old wallpaper, rotten timber or hidden damp. If that happens, the decorator will explain what has been found and what it would involve, and agree any change to the work and the price with you before doing it.

Floors, stairs and furniture are covered with dust sheets, and edges such as sockets, flooring and glass are masked where needed. The work area is tidied at the end of each day.

Matt suits most walls and ceilings because it hides small imperfections. A durable, washable matt is better for halls, stairs and children's rooms. Eggshell and satin suit woodwork and walls that need wiping, and gloss suits front doors, railings and traditional woodwork.

Water-based trim paints dry faster, have little smell and stay white for longer. Oil-based paints give a very hard finish but take longer to dry and tend to yellow indoors over time. Most interior woodwork is now painted with water-based products, but oil-based paints still have a place on some exterior timber and metal. More on the woodwork, door and sash window painting page.

Not without dealing with it first. Mould is treated with a fungicidal wash, and stains are sealed with a stain-block primer before the finish coats. Damp needs its cause fixing, such as a leak or poor ventilation, or it will come back. See mould and stain treatment painting.

No. New plaster needs to dry fully, which can take several weeks depending on thickness and conditions; it should look an even, pale colour all over. The first coat is then a mist coat, a thinned emulsion that soaks in and gives the following coats something to grip. Tell us if any plaster in the rooms is new. Room and wall painting covers the mist coat in more detail.

Textured coatings applied before 2000 may contain asbestos. They should not be sanded, scraped or drilled until they have been tested. If you have an old textured ceiling or wall, mention it when you ask for a price so it can be checked and planned for. Ceiling painting explains how textured and Artex ceilings are handled.