Painters and decorators

What to put in your job description

• Which rooms or which outside walls, and roughly how big they are.
• What is on the surface now: paint, wallpaper, bare plaster, wood or render.
• Any cracks, damp patches or flaking paint that need fixing first.
• Who buys the paint, and the colours and finish if you know them.
• For outside work: how high the walls are, and whether every side can be reached.

Don't put your name, phone number or address in the description: every trade who covers your area reads it. Your name, phone, email and address go only to the trades who take the job (3 at most).

Questions to ask before you hire

• What does the price include: filling, sanding, primer, and how many coats?
• Do you move and cover furniture and floors, and clean up each day?
• How many days will it take, and when can you start?
• Do you have public liability insurance?
• My home was built before 1960: how will you deal with old paint that may contain lead?

Registers and schemes to check

There is no legal register for painters and decorators. Some belong to a trade body, such as the Painting and Decorating Association, or to TrustMark, the government-endorsed quality scheme. You can look a business up on the TrustMark website. We don't check this for you yet.

What the job usually involves

• Moving and covering furniture and floors, then masking edges, sockets and switches.
• Preparing the surface, which is most of the work: filling cracks, sanding, washing down, stripping wallpaper and sealing stains.
• A primer or mist coat on new or bare plaster, then usually two top coats.
• Woodwork (skirting, doors, frames) often in a different paint, done after the walls or before, by the decorator's own order.
• Outside: repairs to render or timber, access by ladder, tower or scaffold, and dry weather to paint in.

How quotes and visits work

Most decorators want to see the rooms before they give a fixed price, because preparation varies so much. Some price by the room, some by the day. Ask whether the price includes paint, and which brand and finish. For outside work, ask what happens if rain stops the job.

Ask for a written quote (a fixed price) rather than an estimate (a guess that can change), and for what it includes. If you agree a job in your home, you usually have 14 days to cancel under the Consumer Contracts Regulations; if you want work to start sooner, you may have to pay for what has been done.

Safety

• Homes built before about 1960 may have lead in old paint layers. Don't dry sand or burn it off: ask the decorator how they will deal with it.
• Keep children and pets out of rooms being stripped or sanded, and air rooms well while paint dries.

Insurance and TrustMark

Ask for public liability insurance before work starts. It covers damage or injury caused by the trade to you, your home or someone else. Ask for the insurer's name and the cover's end date; you can ask to see the certificate.

TrustMark is the government-endorsed quality scheme for work in and around the home. Its registered businesses agree to its code of practice, and you can look them up on trustmark.org.uk.

Guides for homeowners

• How to choose a painter and decorator
• How to compare quotes from local trades

We take jobs from anywhere in the UK: England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Trades choose the postcode districts they cover.

Painters and decorators by town and city

England

Scotland

Wales

Northern Ireland