House Painting Guide

Let's be honest, painting your home, inside or out, is a pretty tedious and taxing task. It's not too difficult, but it's certainly tiring, and you can always see the difference between a professionally completed paint job and a DIY effort.

Not only that but there is a common misconception that hiring a decorator to paint your home will cost a lot of money. In actual fact, the cost of house painting isn't as high as many people think. It is also significantly quicker than doing it yourself.

A lot more goes into painting walls than meets the eye, and usually, the quality of the preparation of the walls and ceilings dictates the overall quality of the paint job.

The main reason people hire a professional painter and decorator is to save time and take the burden away from themselves. They also end up with a much higher quality result than they would have gained themselves.

Throughout this guide, we're going to explore the ins and outs of house painting, the costs and timescales, along with the pros and cons of hiring a professional to carry out the work for you.

What Is House Painting?

House painting can be split into two categories, interior house painting and exterior house painting. The two are split due to the great differences in the process and the difference in materials and paint required to complete the jobs.

For interior house painting, you'll probably need to hire a professional painter and decorator to prepare your walls before carrying out any painting work. If the plaster on your walls or ceilings is badly damaged, it may need repairing or replacing before painting can begin.

If the interior walls are generally in good condition, you can use a filler to cover over any smaller cracks or chips in the wall to smooth the surface out, ready for the painting.

Painting the exterior of the house is a little different, mainly due to the issues with working at height and working with weatherproof exterior paint. You also have windows to contend with, as well as the weather! In the next section, we're going to explore the different types of house paint for both interior and exterior paints and materials.

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Types of House Paint

Masonry & Brick Paint

This type of paint can be used on most types of brick, stucco, or other similar outdoor surfaces. It helps protect exterior walls from rain and sun damage, keeping them in better condition.

Some masonry paints also help resist dirt, mould, and algae, so the finish stays looking cleaner for longer.

Wood Stain

If you have internal or external timber window frames, the wood stain will be used to colour and protect the frames. The protection is most important on exterior frames as this will help to prevent the windows from decaying after being exposed to the elements.

Emulsion

Emulsion is the most common paint used when painting in the home. It's available in many different colours and shades, as well as various finishes from matte, to silk, or eggshell.

Emulsion is pretty easy to work with, and as it's water-based paint, it can be cleaned easily from clothes and surfaces if necessary. The colour and shade range is extensive, and you can even have bespoke colours made inside any reputable DIY store, so the options are truly endless.

Gloss

Gloss is used on wooden surfaces like skirting boards and bannisters to give them a bright, glossy and polished look. Many people will redecorate their homes and ignore the skirting boards, but this is a huge mistake as fresh skirting boards make all the difference to the clean look of a freshly decorated room.

What Are the Benefits of Painting a House?

• Updating the Style of Your Home — The main benefit of investing in the redecoration of your home is a fresh look. Whenever we need a style update, painting is usually the first thing to change before we look at the layout and furnishings of our home.
• Decorating a New House Before Moving In — If you've just moved into a new home, there's no better way to start off and make it your own than by resurfacing, repainting, and redecorating before you start to move your stuff in.
• Protection from the Elements — Particularly for the external painting of your home, the water and cold resistant paint will help protect the painted exterior surfaces from weathering over time, meaning less money wasted on repairs to the home and a longer life span between paint jobs.
• Kerb Appeal if You Sell — If you plan to sell your home after a certain amount of time, homes that have had a fresh lick of paint attract a much higher kerb appeal than those that are starting to look a little dated and forgotten.
• Preventing Mould — Some paints, such as kitchen and bathroom paint, help prevent mould from building up as they are resistant to condensation and moisture.
• Making Spaces Look Bigger — Painting rooms with lighter coloured paint can make them look more spacious than they are. This is an easy lift for a room that feels cramped or dark.

As with any trade job, the price must always be considered, especially when there is not much return from it as there is with new insulation or a new boiler. The overall cost to resurface and paint a whole home isn't as expensive as many people think, but it's still a considerable investment.

Another consideration is the amount of time it will take to complete and how that will affect your day-to-day life. In most cases, this isn't an issue at all, but if you have special circumstances, you may find it difficult to go up to 3 or 4 days without being able to access certain rooms while they have been freshly painted or plastered.

How Much Does House Painting Cost?

Cost to Paint the Exterior of a House

A two-storey, 3-bedroom home in the UK will cost around £850 to paint the entire exterior. However, the cost to paint a house exterior can fluctuate based on a few factors.

Firstly, if your home is bigger or smaller, you can expect to see this reflected in the cost, and if there are access issues with your home, this will likely incur an extra cost.

Secondly, the location of your home can affect the price of your job, with big cities like Manchester and London attracting much higher costs for tradespeople than other areas due to the population density and cost of living.

The price of materials will also affect the price, and different brands and styles of paint will cost more or less than others, so bear that in mind when you are choosing which paint is the best fit for you and your home.

Cost to Paint a Room

Now, the cost of painting a room does differ depending on specifically what you need to do to the room. For just the painting of a room with two coats of emulsion, it will cost around £300 per room. However, if you want any old wallpaper removed first, you'll probably pay around £400 per room.

Some decorators will offer discounts depending on how many rooms you need to do, but this all depends on the contractor.

Cost to Replaster a Room

Replastering isn't always needed before painting, but if your walls or ceilings are badly damaged, it's worth allowing for the cost in your decorating budget.

The cost of plastering generally depends on the size of the room you need surfacing, with small rooms costing anywhere between £400 and £700 and large rooms costing as much as £1,500.

However, smaller patching work costs significantly less, and you can get some plaster repair patches from £50.

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How to Paint a House

We're going to explore the steps taken to paint a house in the following different ways:

Exterior

Some masonry paints can provide weather protection for up to 15 years, although the actual lifespan will depend on the condition of the walls and how exposed they are to the weather. Areas that face more wind and rain may need repainting sooner, so look out for flaking or fading paint when deciding whether it's time for a fresh coat.

Firstly, the exterior of your home must be cleaned to remove any flaking and damaged paint before any new paint can be applied to the brickwork. This can include pressure washing if it's suitable for your walls.

If there is deep-rooted damage between the bricks, you may need to have this re-pointed before any painting work can start too.

Once the walls are clean, dry and any repairs are complete, apply two coats of masonry paint. Walls that have already been painted and are in good condition will not usually need a separate primer. For new or bare masonry, follow the manufacturer's instructions for the first coat, and only use a stabilising primer on areas that remain powdery after preparation.

Interior

The method for painting interior walls isn't too dissimilar to the exterior method, with walls needing to be properly cleaned and surfaced before the painting can start.

Small cracks and holes can usually be filled and sanded smooth before painting. If the plaster is badly damaged, you may need a plasterer to repair the wall first. If you have any newly plastered walls, your painter will follow the usual steps for painting on new plaster, letting it dry fully before applying a mist coat of watered-down emulsion. Once the mist coat has dried, they can apply your chosen colour.

If there is wallpaper on the walls beforehand, this would need to be fully stripped with the walls cleaned with sugar soap before the repair work could start.

Skirting Boards

Painting skirting boards is pretty easy, and you have two options. If the existing paint is in good condition, clean the boards and lightly sand the gloss to help the new paint stick before repainting.

If the paint is chipped or flaking, scrape away the loose paint until you reach firmly attached edges. Make sure to prime any exposed wood before applying the new paint. In older homes, check whether the paint contains lead before sanding or scraping it.

How Long Does It Take to Paint a House?

The timescales to paint a house really do depend on the specificities of the particular home, the work you're looking to have done, and the cost of the materials you opt for. For the exterior of a 3-bedroom, 2-storey home, the work will take between 1 and 2 days.

For painting a room without any wallpaper stripping or plastering work, it will take around 4 to 5 hours, but if you add on plastering work and wallpaper stripping, the work itself could take up to a day and a half. You'll also need to allow for drying time before painting any new plaster. A thin skim usually needs 1 to 2 weeks to dry fully, while thicker plaster can take longer.

Each room will be different to the next, so for an accurate idea about how long the work will take, ask the contractor during the quote.

Building Regulations & Planning Permission for House Painting

Painting work does not normally need Building Regulations approval. In England, you will not need planning permission for interior painting, and most exterior repainting can also be carried out without permission. However, local restrictions called Article 4 directions can sometimes mean you need permission for exterior painting.

If your home is in a conservation area, check with the council's planning department before starting. For listed homes, you'll need listed building consent for changes that affect their historic or architectural character, whether you're painting inside or outside.

Checklist: What to Ask When Hiring a House Painter

• How much will the work cost?
• How long is the work likely to take?
• Can you foresee any potential problems at first glance?
• Have you been in the trade for a long time?
• Are there any homes in the area that you have completed work for?
• Do you have a portfolio that we could see?
• Are you accredited with any association?
• Do you have liability insurance?

FAQs