Office painting

Painting around a working office

The first question most businesses ask office painters in London is how the work can happen without stopping theirs. The usual answers are evenings and weekends, phasing the job floor by floor or zone by zone, or working in rooms that are not in use while staff sit elsewhere for a few days. A clear programme lets you tell staff in advance which areas are affected and when.

Desks, IT and equipment

Desks, chairs and cabinets are moved away from the walls and covered, and each area is put back as it was found. Computers and screens should be shut down and covered, and sensitive equipment such as servers and network cabinets is best moved or protected by your own IT staff; decorators should not unplug network hardware.

Sockets, data points and fittings are masked, and the space is cleared at the end of each session so staff can work in it the next morning.

Durable, low-odour paints

Offices take a lot of wear from chairs, bags and hands. Scrubbable matt or eggshell emulsions let marks be cleaned off walls without leaving shiny patches, and hard-wearing trim paints protect doors and frames. Low-odour, low-VOC water-based paints mean an area is normally usable the next working day, which matters in open-plan offices and buildings with shared ventilation.

Suspended ceiling grids and tiles are usually cleaned or replaced rather than painted, so they are left out of most office painting quotes unless you ask.

Reception and meeting rooms first

If you are phasing the work, start with the areas visitors see: reception, the entrance corridor and meeting rooms. A fresh reception wall in your brand colour, clean skirting and properly painted doors do more for first impressions than repainting back-office walls. The rest can follow in later phases, when it suits the business.

Meeting rooms with glass partitions need careful masking along the frames, and whiteboards, acoustic panels and wall-mounted screens are protected or taken down first. Colours can follow your brand guidelines, or stay neutral if part of the space may be sublet.

In a multi-let building, shared entrances and stairs usually belong to the landlord; the communal area painting page covers that work.

End of lease and dilapidations

Many commercial leases require the tenant to redecorate at the end of the term, sometimes in specified colours, at set intervals or to a stated standard, and a landlord's schedule of dilapidations may list it. Check the lease wording and the schedule before work starts, because they define what is needed: the areas, colours and number of coats. Photos before and after help if the landlord's surveyor queries the work.

For offices in business parks around Park Royal and Acton, or above shops near Ealing Broadway, the building manager's rules on access, lifts and working hours are also agreed in advance.

How office painting is priced

The size and layout of the office, ceiling height, the amount of partition and door work, the working hours and the number of phases all shape the cost of office painting. Evening and weekend work adds to the price but avoids lost working time.

Start with the Instant Quote to describe the space and add photos. For most offices a short site visit follows before the fixed quote, so furniture, IT and access can be seen. Shops, clinics and restaurants are covered on the commercial painting page.