House Painting Services – Professional Interior and Exterior Painters UK
Professional house painting services cover everything from refreshing a single bedroom to repainting an entire property inside and out. A skilled painter and decorator should do considerably more than apply paint: proper preparation, filling, sanding, priming and selecting the correct coating for each surface are essential to achieving a durable finish.
In 2026, a UK painter and decorator typically charges around £250–£400 per day, averaging £325, while painting a medium-sized room averages approximately £450 including standard trade paint and labour.
Through FraserBond.com, homeowners, landlords, investors and property managers can explore professional house painting, decorating, refurbishment and property-maintenance services across London and the UK.
What Do House Painting Services Include?
Professional painters and decorators can undertake:
- Interior wall painting
- Ceiling painting
- Doors and woodwork
- Skirting boards and architraves
- Staircases and landings
- Kitchen and bathroom painting
- Exterior masonry painting
- Window and door painting
- Render painting
- Fence painting
- Wallpaper removal and hanging
- New-plaster painting
- Rental-property redecoration
- Pre-sale decorating
A typical professional job includes preparation such as cleaning, filling, sanding and priming before the finishing coats are applied.
How Much Does House Painting Cost?
Current 2026 UK benchmarks include:
| Painting service | Indicative cost |
|---|---|
| Painter and decorator | £250–£400 per day |
| Average painter day rate | £325 |
| Interior walls | £10–£20 per m² |
| Small room, around 8m² | £350 |
| Medium room, around 18m² | £450 |
| Large room, around 30m² | £1,000 |
| 2-bedroom flat | £1,500–£2,500 |
| 5-bedroom house interior | £5,500–£7,500 |
| Hall, stairs and landing | £1,450–£1,750 |
| Door, both sides | £80–£100 |
These current Checkatrade figures generally include standard trade paint, although premium products and extensive preparation can increase the price.
Interior House Painting Services
Interior painting can completely change the appearance of a property without requiring major construction work.
A complete interior service may cover:
Preparation → Filling → Sanding → Priming → Ceilings → Walls → Woodwork → Doors → Final Touch-Ups
Preparation is particularly important. Applying expensive paint over damaged, dirty or poorly prepared surfaces will rarely produce a professional long-term result.
Whole House Painting
Whole-house decorating can include bedrooms, living rooms, hallways, kitchens, bathrooms, ceilings, doors and woodwork.
Current UK pricing puts a two-bedroom flat at approximately £1,500–£2,500, while painting the interior of a five-bedroom house averages around £6,000.
Property condition has a major effect on the final price. A vacant modern house requiring a straightforward colour refresh can be much faster to paint than an occupied period property requiring extensive repairs and preparation.
Cost to Paint a Room
Current 2026 averages are approximately:
Small room: £350
Medium room: £450
Large room: £1,000.
Room-painting costs depend on ceiling height, wall condition, number of doors and windows, paint specification and whether ceilings and woodwork are included.
When comparing quotations, make sure every painter is pricing the same scope.
Exterior House Painting Services
Exterior painting protects exposed surfaces as well as improving appearance.
Professional exterior painters can work on:
- Render
- Masonry
- Timber windows
- Exterior doors
- Fascias
- Soffits
- Timber cladding
- Railings and suitable metalwork
Exterior surfaces require coatings appropriate to the substrate and weather exposure.
Current 2026 guidance puts a broad full-exterior project at approximately £3,000–£6,000, although another project-specific benchmark gives around £1,300 for a three-bedroom semi-detached house. The difference illustrates how strongly scope, surface condition, access and preparation affect quotations.
Exterior Painting Cost Per Square Metre
Checkatrade's June 2026 cost guide puts exterior painting at approximately £15–£25 per m², averaging around £20 per m².
A separate exterior-painting guide gives a broader £20–£40 per m² range for complete exterior projects.
Therefore, square-metre rates should be used for initial budgeting rather than as a substitute for a site-specific quotation.
Does Exterior Painting Require Scaffolding?
Sometimes.
Scaffolding may be necessary where painters cannot safely reach upper elevations, chimneys, high windows, gables or other areas using an appropriate alternative access method.
Current pricing guidance puts scaffolding for an exterior-painting project from roughly £300–£330 upwards.
Larger or more complicated properties can cost considerably more.
Painting Walls and Ceilings
Current UK pricing puts both wall and ceiling painting at approximately £10–£20 per m², averaging around £15 per m².
The condition of the substrate matters just as much as its size.
Extra preparation may be required for:
- Cracks
- Holes
- Flaking paint
- Water staining
- Poor previous decorating
- Fresh plaster
- Uneven surfaces
The underlying cause of significant damp or water staining should be corrected before redecorating.
Painting Doors and Woodwork
Professional decorating can cover:
- Internal doors
- Skirting
- Architraves
- Window frames
- Staircases
- Bannisters
- Built-in joinery
Current pricing puts painting a door on both sides at around £80–£100, averaging £90, while general woodwork painting averages approximately £15 per m².
Woodwork often requires more preparation than walls because existing gloss or damaged finishes may need cleaning, sanding and priming.
Painting Fresh Plaster
Fresh plaster requires an appropriate painting system.
It should be sufficiently dry before decoration, and the first coating needs to be compatible with new plaster and the manufacturer's instructions.
Painting before plaster is ready can lead to poor adhesion or an unsatisfactory finish.
A professional painter should assess the surface rather than treating fresh plaster in exactly the same way as an existing painted wall.
Painting Kitchens and Bathrooms
Kitchens and bathrooms require coatings suitable for their environment.
These rooms can experience:
- Condensation
- Steam
- Grease
- Frequent cleaning
- Higher humidity
Existing mould should not simply be painted over. The underlying moisture or ventilation problem should be investigated and the affected surface appropriately treated before redecorating.
Painting a Rental Property
Professional painting services are particularly useful between tenancies.
Common landlord decorating work includes:
- Wall repairs
- Neutral repainting
- Ceiling painting
- Woodwork
- Door painting
- Stain treatment
- Touch-ups
- Complete property refresh
Durability is usually more important than selecting fashionable or highly specialised finishes.
Washable, maintainable finishes can make future tenant changeovers easier.
End-of-Tenancy Painting
Not every rental property requires complete redecoration after every tenancy.
Sometimes targeted repairs and touch-ups are sufficient.
A painter can assess:
Existing Condition → Damage → Repairs → Colour Matching → Touch-Ups or Complete Repaint
Where extensive scuffing, staining or incompatible previous repairs make localised touching-up obvious, repainting an entire wall or room can provide a better finish.
Painting Before Selling a House
Painting is one of the simpler ways to improve presentation before marketing a property.
Pre-sale decorating can focus on:
- Entrance hall
- Living
