How much does it cost to paint the outside of a house?

Published UK cost guides put a full exterior repaint of a three-bed semi at roughly £2,600 to £5,700, with a front elevation alone from about £500 to £1,500. Scaffolding, pebbledash, failing render and timber windows push a job towards the top of the range or are priced on top. These are national averages, and a written quote after a visit is the only real figure.

How much does it cost to paint the outside of a house in the UK?

Published UK guides put a full exterior repaint of a three-bed semi at roughly £2,600 to £5,700, and a front elevation alone at £500 to £1,500. Those are national estimates from MyJobQuote’s exterior painting cost guide (updated October 2026), which lists scaffolding, wall preparation and doors and windows as separate additional costs. Where you end up depends on access, the wall surface, preparation and woodwork, so always check what a number includes.

Here is how two 2026 UK guides compare. They are national averages, not local prices, and not what any one decorator charges.

The gap between the two columns is the first lesson. TaskRabbit’s outdoor painting guide gives much lower figures than MyJobQuote for the same house types, and it warns that scaffolding “may be quoted separately and can add significantly to the overall cost”, along with render repairs and lead paint removal. Neither guide spells out exactly what its ranges cover, so the difference is likely to come down to access, preparation and how much of the house is included. MyJobQuote’s average for a two-storey, three-bed house is £3,650 over roughly three to five days. Treat any single figure as a starting point, not a budget.

Why do exterior painting quotes vary so much?

Exterior quotes vary because most of the cost is time, and time depends on things a price guide can’t see: how high the walls are, whether they are smooth or pebbledashed, how much old paint is failing, and how many windows, fascias and doors are included. Paint itself is a modest share: MyJobQuote allows 30 to 50 litres for a semi at about £5 to £10 a litre, so roughly £150 to £500 of a £2,600 to £5,700 job. Two semis on the same street can be priced thousands apart for good reasons.

How much does scaffolding add to the cost?

Scaffolding can be one of the largest lines on an exterior quote. MyJobQuote’s scaffolding cost guide (August 2026) puts painting scaffold at £500 to £850 for the front of a house, £850 to £1,500 around a semi and £1,400 to £2,500 around a detached house, as national averages. If the scaffold stands on the pavement or verge, the scaffolder also needs a council licence.

In Northampton and the rest of West Northamptonshire, the council’s scaffolding licence page says homeowners can’t apply directly; the scaffolding company applies and pays. The published monthly fees run from £95 for up to 5m of scaffold to £185 for 11m to 20m. The council says the fee is paid to the scaffolding company, so it comes through on the scaffolder’s price. On many Victorian terraces in town, where the front wall sits on the footpath, you should expect it.

Not every house needs a full scaffold. A bungalow or a house with low walls can often be done from ladders and a tower, which is one reason bungalows sit at the cheap end of the table. A decorator will decide this on site, with safety first: the HSE says ladders are a sensible option for low-risk, short-duration tasks, and adds that they “should not automatically be your first choice”. Painting a whole two-storey elevation is rarely low-risk or short.

Does pebbledash cost more to paint than smooth render?

Yes, usually by a clear margin. Pebbledash and roughcast have far more surface area than smooth render, so they take more paint and longer to work into every hollow. The Dulux Trade Weathershield Smooth Masonry Paint data sheet gives up to 16m² per litre on smooth render but 4 to 6m² per litre on pebbledash, calling these “only an approximate guide”. That is up to four times the paint for the same wall, and the data sheet says the normal finish is two full coats.

As a worked illustration, take a house with about 100m² of wall. Two coats on smooth render need roughly 13 litres at the best-case rate. The same two coats on pebbledash need somewhere between 33 and 50 litres. MyJobQuote’s guide, for comparison, allows 30 to 50 litres of masonry paint for a three-bed semi, and prices masonry paint at about £5 to £10 a litre.

The labour gap is bigger than the paint gap. In MyJobQuote’s breakdown, a semi with smooth walls takes three to four days, while a semi with textured walls takes six to seven. If your house is pebbledashed, expect quotes towards the upper end of the range, and be wary of one that isn’t.

Preparation that pushes the price up

Preparation is the part of an exterior job you can’t see on a price guide, and it is where a cheap quote can cut corners. Algae and mould need a fungicidal wash and time to work. Chalky paint needs a stabilising primer. Cracks need raking out and filling. Hollow or blown render needs repairing before any paint goes on, and rotten timber needs cutting out. Each one adds hours.

Here is the order a decorator will usually work in, and what to look out for at each stage:

• Survey. Tap the render for hollow patches, look for cracks, damp staining under sills and leaking gutters. Painting over a leak just hides it for a season.
• Clean and treat. Green, black or orange growth gets a fungicidal wash. North-facing walls, and houses that sit in the Nene valley damp and fog, tend to be more prone to it.
• Scrape and stabilise. Loose paint comes off. If a hand comes away white after rubbing the wall, the surface is chalky and needs a stabiliser before painting.
• Repair. Fill cracks, patch render, and fix or replace rotten timber on sills, fascias and bargeboards.
• Mask and paint. Woodwork and masonry are painted in the right order so drips and brush marks don’t end up on finished surfaces.

Lead paint is a cost and a safety issue on older houses. Cambridge City Council’s homeowner guidance says lead was used in some paints until the mid-1960s, on windows, doors and other woodwork, so original coats on Victorian and pre-war joinery may contain it. The HSE lists “stripping of old lead paint from doors, windows etc” and “blast removal and burning of old lead paint” among the activities where people are most at risk. The same council guidance says not to dry sand, to finish with wet abrasive paper, and to keep a hot-air gun below 450°C. That slower, cleaner method costs more time. If you aren’t sure, ask the decorator how they will handle it.

Our render and masonry painting service explains how we deal with algae, chalky walls and cracks before any paint goes on.

Can you save money by only painting the front of the house?

Often, yes. The front is the elevation everyone sees, it usually needs less scaffold, and MyJobQuote puts a front-only repaint at £500 to £1,500 as a national average. Painting the front now and the sides and back next year spreads the cost. The catch is that you pay for access twice, and a new colour on the front will show against faded paint at the side.

Other ways to keep the price down without cutting corners:

• Book the work in the right months. Dulux’s product guidance warns against painting below 7°C or in rain, fog or humidity above 80%, so spring to early autumn gives the fewest lost days. Our guide to the best time of year for exterior painting covers the weather in more detail.
• Do it before it fails. Repainting sound walls is far cheaper than repainting walls that have started flaking, because the prep bill is smaller.
• Share the scaffold. If the roofer, gutter fitter or window cleaner needs access, plan the work for the same weeks so you only hire scaffold once.
• Clear the ground. Cutting back climbers and moving pots before the decorator arrives saves time you would otherwise pay for.

Do you need permission to paint the outside of your house?

Usually not. Painting the outside of a building is permitted development under Class C of the General Permitted Development Order, so most homeowners can repaint in any colour without asking anyone. The main exceptions are areas where the council has removed that right with an Article 4 direction, usually in conservation areas, and listed buildings, where section 7 of the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 requires consent for any alteration that would affect the building’s special character. Check before you pick a colour.

This matters in Northampton. The West Northamptonshire Council Article 4 directions page lists directions for the Abington Park, Barrack Road, Billing Road, Derngate and Kingsley areas. The Abington Park direction, for example, removes the right to paint the parts of a house that front a highway, so a change of colour there needs planning permission. The council’s conservation areas page says West Northamptonshire has 117 conservation areas, including many ironstone villages. If you live in one, or your house is listed, ask the council’s conservation officer first. A decorator can’t give you that permission.

One more point from the Dulux data sheet: “common or fletton bricks should not be painted”. Bare brick that has never been painted is a decision to think hard about, because once painted it has to be kept painted.

How to compare exterior painting quotes fairly

Compare what each quote includes, not the bottom line. A cheaper price often means less preparation, one coat instead of two, or the woodwork and scaffold left out. Ask every decorator for a written quote that lists the same things, so you can line them up side by side. Any quote that won’t say what preparation is included is the one to question.

• Which elevations, and which surfaces: walls, fascias, soffits, windows, doors, pipes, garage.
• Access: scaffold, tower or ladders, and whether any council licence is included.
• Preparation: algae wash, stabiliser, crack and render repairs, timber repairs.
• The paint system: product names and number of coats on each surface.
• What happens if hidden problems such as blown render or rotten timber turn up.
• Rough timescale and how weather delays are handled.

Our painter and decorator cost guide explains how decorators build a price, inside and out.

When does DIY make sense, and when should you get a decorator?

DIY can make sense on a bungalow, a garden wall or a single low elevation in good condition, where you can work safely from the ground or a short ladder. Anything at first-floor height or above, pebbledash, failing render, older joinery that may carry lead paint, or a house in a conservation area is where a professional earns the fee. So is any job that needs scaffold.

The published figures above are national averages. A written quote after a visit is the only real figure, because it is the only one based on your walls, your access and your woodwork. Dean has over 30 years in the trade and gives free written quotes across Northampton and the surrounding towns and villages. Have a look at our exterior painting service to see what is covered, then call Dean on 07539 779 036 to arrange a visit.

Header photo: Rajesh S Balouria on Pexels. Photos of our own work appear further down the page.

Last updated 9 October 2026 by Dean, DH Painter & Decorator.