Preparation is most of the job and none of the quote
Filling, sanding, caulking and stain blocking is where the days go, but a bare total makes it look like you are charging £3,500 to roll white paint on a wall.
For painters and decorators
Decorating estimates written on the walk back to the van
You can price a three-bed void in fifteen minutes of walking round it. Writing it up so the landlord can see what preparation is included takes longer than the walkround did. Dictate the rooms as you go and TradeScribe does the rest.
Why estimating is the worst part of the week
Whose paint is it?
Half your customers assume trade paint is included and half assume they are buying it. If the estimate does not say, one of you is going to be wrong by about four hundred pounds.
"While you are here" adds a room for free
The nursery gets added on Wednesday, the hall on Thursday. Without a written scope there is no polite way to say that is extra, so it quietly becomes part of the price.
A real example
Full redecoration, three-bed rental during void period
On the left is what you would actually write down. On the right is what your customer receives.
Your notes
landlord void, 3 bed. all walls and ceilings 2 coats trade matt white. woodwork 2 coats satinwood over the existing gloss, sand and dust off first. back bedroom is nicotine stained top to bottom, needs a stain block or it will bleed through no matter how many coats. filler to the nail pops and the cracks over both door heads. hall stairs and landing needs a tower, its a 4m drop over the stairs. front room has woodchip - see how it comes off when i test a corner, allow a day for stripping and making good. 5 days, two of us. carpets going down after we finish so no need to protect the floors beyond dust sheets. no wallpaper hanging
The estimate
| Item | Qty | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Protect floors, mask up and prepare all rooms | 1 job | £160.00 |
| Fill, caulk, sand and make good walls and ceilings | 1 job | £280.00 |
| Stain-blocking coat to nicotine-affected bedroom | 1 job | £130.00 |
| Two coats trade matt emulsion to walls and ceilings | 210 m² | £1,155.00 |
| Prepare and apply two coats satinwood to woodwork | 62 linear m | £558.00 |
| Strip woodchip paper to front room and make good | 1 day | £240.00 |
| Two coats emulsion to hall, stairs and landing | 1 job | £420.00 |
| Access tower hire for stairwell | 1 week | £145.00 |
| Trade paint, filler, caulk and sundries | 1 job | £340.00 |
| Final clean, snagging visit and touch-ups | 1 job | £90.00 |
| Total before VAT | £3,518.00 | |
An illustration using typical UK rates, not a price list. TradeScribe prices from the rates in your own notes and your saved day rate.
What we know about painting and decorating estimates
These are the lines that come up again and again on a painter and decorator's estimate. Mention any of them in your notes, however briefly, and they come out properly worded.
- Two coats emulsion to walls and ceilings, per room
- Woodwork prepared and painted in satinwood, per linear metre
- Stain-blocking coat to nicotine or water damage
- Strip wallpaper and make good, per room
- Hang lining paper, per roll
- External masonry paint, two coats, per square metre
- Fill, caulk and sand preparation, per day
- Access tower or scaffold hire, per week
- Trade paint and materials allowance
- Snagging and touch-up visit
Painting and decorating estimating questions
Should my estimate say whose paint it is?
Always, and name the product and finish if you can. 'Two coats Dulux Trade Vinyl Matt, supplied by us' removes any argument, and it also stops a customer buying eight litres of the cheapest own-brand and expecting the same coverage. If they are supplying, say so and exclude responsibility for coverage.
How do I price stripping wallpaper when I do not know what is underneath?
Test a corner on the quote visit and price on what you find, then add a stated allowance. 'One day allowed for stripping and making good; further making good charged at £240 per day' is fair to both of you. Woodchip over crumbling plaster is a plastering job pretending to be a decorating job, and you want that written down before you peel the first strip.
Should I charge for going out to quote?
For domestic redecoration, no. Quoting is a sales visit and a fifteen-minute walkround costs you less than the job is worth. Where it changes is a colour consultation, a specification for a listed building, or a full schedule of works for a landlord with twelve properties, which are services in themselves and should be charged as such.
How do I stop a customer adding rooms once I am on site?
List the rooms by name on the estimate, and add a line saying that additional rooms or surfaces are priced separately before work starts. It sounds formal, but it is much easier than the alternative, which is standing in a hallway explaining why the nursery is not free.
How much notice should I give before starting a decorating job?
Put a start window rather than a date on the estimate, and say what you need from the customer: rooms cleared, furniture moved to the centre, curtains and blinds down. Half a day lost to shifting somebody's wardrobes is half a day you did not price, and asking for it in writing gets it done far more reliably than mentioning it on the phone.
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