What should a painting and decorating quote include?

A painting and decorating quote should be a written, fixed price that lists every room and surface, the preparation, the paint and number of coats, what is excluded, how extras are priced, the timing, VAT and payment terms. If another decorator could do the same job from it, it is detailed enough to compare and to hold someone to.

A painting and decorating quote should tell you exactly what will be painted, how each surface will be prepared, which paint goes on and how many coats, what is left out, how long the price holds, whether VAT is included and how you pay. If you could not hand the quote to a different decorator and have them do the same job from it, it is not detailed enough.

What should a painting and decorating quote include?

A good decorating quote is a written, fixed total price backed by a breakdown of the work. Citizens Advice says a quote should include a fixed total price rather than a daily rate, a breakdown of the work and materials, separate costs for each material and part of the work, how long the price is valid, whether it includes VAT and when the price can go up. For decorating, that means listing every room and surface, the preparation, the paint and the number of coats.

You do not need every line spelled out in legal language. A one-page quote that covers all of the above in plain English is better than a long one that is vague about preparation.

Is a decorating quote the same as an estimate?

No. Citizens Advice describes a quote as “a promise to do work at an agreed price” and an estimate as the trader’s best guess. With a quote, the decorator generally can’t charge more unless you agreed to extra work or the price was an obvious mistake. Rising costs since the quote don’t count. With an estimate, the final bill only has to be reasonable.

The law behind this is the Consumer Rights Act 2015. Where a contract does not fix a price, section 51 says you must pay “a reasonable price” and no more, and what counts as reasonable is a question of fact. That is a weaker position than a fixed figure. Section 50 also treats what a trader says or writes about the service as part of the contract if you relied on it when deciding. So the detail on a quote (“two coats”, “trade paint”, “doors both sides”) is not just description. It is what you are buying.

Also check the heading. If the document says “estimate”, ask whether the figure is fixed. If it is, ask for it to be reissued as a quote.

How detailed should the preparation section be?

Preparation should be described surface by surface, because it is often where a cheap quote and a thorough one differ. A line such as “prepare all surfaces” tells you nothing. Look for the actual steps: filling cracks and holes, sanding, caulking gaps between skirting and wall, spot priming bare patches, knotting resinous wood, and a mist coat on new plaster.

A decorator will usually work in this order, and a good quote follows it:

1. Protect: furniture moved and covered, floors sheeted, fittings masked or removed.
2. Strip or wash: old wallpaper off if needed, grease washed off kitchen and hallway walls.
3. Repair: cracks raked out and filled, dents filled, loose paint scraped back.
4. Sand and dust off: fillers flatted, glossy woodwork keyed so the new coat bonds.
5. Prime and seal: bare wood, filler, stains and new plaster treated before the finish goes on.
6. Paint: ceilings, then walls, then woodwork.

New plaster in an extension or a re-skimmed room needs its own line, because bare plaster drinks paint. Our guide to painting new plaster with a mist coat explains why.

In older homes, such as the Victorian terraces around Northampton town centre, the quote should also say how old paint will be removed. HSE says you are most at risk from lead if you regularly remove paint in properties built before the 1980s, strip old paint with blow lamps or gas torches, or dry sand old paint. It advises only stripping back old paint if it is flaking, chipping or a risk to children, and roughening sound paint with wet abrasive paper. If a quote for an older house says “burn off and dry sand all woodwork”, ask how lead will be handled.

What should a quote say about extras and hidden problems?

Some problems can’t be seen until work starts: blown plaster behind old wallpaper, soft timber under a window sill, or damp staining that comes back through. A good quote names the likely risks, says how any found work will be priced, and states that nothing extra is done until you agree it, ideally in writing or by text.

There are three fair ways to handle unknowns:

• Exclude and flag: “Plaster repairs beyond normal filling are not included. Any found will be shown to you and priced before work continues.”
• Provisional sum: a set allowance for a likely repair, with the real cost adjusted up or down.
• Priced option: “If the hall paper comes off badly, re-lining the walls is £X extra.”

What you want to avoid is silence. Citizens Advice says a trader can charge more than the quote when they told you extra work was needed and you agreed to pay for it. A clear extras clause means that conversation happens before the cost lands, not on the final invoice.

Damp needs a specific mention. Painting over an active damp patch only hides it for a while. A decorator can seal a dried stain, but the cause may need a builder or roofer first. In the Nene valley, where mist and fog sit low on damp mornings, outside work also needs a note on what happens when the weather stops play.

How do you compare three decorating quotes fairly?

Citizens Advice recommends getting written quotes from at least 3 different traders and being wary of a price that is a lot lower than the others, because it can be a sign of inexperience or dishonesty. It can also simply mean the quote leaves part of the job out. To compare fairly, put every quote into the same grid and check each line, not just the total.

A simple method:

1. List every room and surface down the left of a sheet.
2. For each quote, tick what is included and write the paint and coats.
3. Mark anything missing as a question, not an assumption.
4. Check VAT: one total may include 20% VAT and another may not.
5. Ask each decorator to fill the gaps in writing.
6. Only then compare totals.

A low quote may leave out the woodwork, allow only one coat on the ceilings or skip the stairwell access. Filling those gaps is the only way to see whether the prices really differ. For what pushes a price up or down, see our painter and decorator cost guide.

What should a quote say about VAT, deposits and payment?

The quote should say plainly whether VAT is included. Not every decorator is VAT registered: a business only has to register once its total taxable turnover for the last 12 months goes over £90,000, or is expected to within the next 30 days. If VAT is charged, it will usually be the standard rate of 20%, and the quote or invoice should show a VAT number you can check on GOV.UK’s VAT number checker.

On deposits, Citizens Advice advises not paying everything up front, and not agreeing to more than 25% if a deposit is needed. Get a receipt for any deposit, pay by debit or credit card rather than cash where you can, and pay in stages so problems can be fixed before the final payment. On a small single-room job, some decorators take no deposit and are paid on completion. On larger jobs with special-order paper or a lot of materials, a deposit towards materials is common, and the 25% ceiling is still a sensible limit.

Can you cancel a decorating quote you agreed at home?

Usually, yes. If you agree the work in your own home rather than at the trader’s premises, Citizens Advice says 14 days is the minimum cooling-off period, and it begins the day after you give the go-ahead for the work. If the trader doesn’t give you the cancellation details, the period is extended by 14 days from the date you receive them, up to a maximum of 1 year.

If you want the work to start inside those 14 days, the decorator should ask you to request it. Under regulation 36 of the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013, for a contract agreed off the trader’s premises, you must make an express request, on a durable medium such as an email or a signed form. If you then cancel, Citizens Advice says you pay part of the agreed price, depending on how much work was done. A tidy quote often includes a short cancellation notice for this reason. It protects both sides.

Warning signs in a decorating quote

A price with no detail behind it is a clear warning sign. Citizens Advice says to be wary of a contractor who won’t put a quote in writing, and not to rely on a verbal quote. Watch out for these too:

• A single figure over the phone or by text without anyone seeing the job.
• “Day rate” with no estimate of how many days.
• No mention of preparation, paint or coats.
• No exclusions at all on an old or tired property. Something will come up.
• Pressure to pay most of it up front, or a discount for cash with no paperwork.
• An offer to start tomorrow on a large job, paired with a deadline to accept today.
• No access plan for a high stairwell or the outside of the house. HSE says work at height must be properly planned, supervised and carried out by competent people, using the right type of equipment, and that costs money to provide.

None of these prove a decorator is bad. They are prompts to ask more questions before you sign. Our checklist on how to choose a painter and decorator covers insurance, reviews and the questions to ask at the visit.

Your rights once the quote is accepted

Once you accept a quote, Citizens Advice says it is binding whether it is written down or not. The Consumer Rights Act 2015 adds terms on top of what is written. The decorator must do the work with reasonable care and skill. If no finish date is agreed, section 52 says the job must be done within a reasonable time. A written quote with a start date and a likely duration makes “reasonable” much easier to judge if things drift.

Keep the quote, any messages agreeing extras, and receipts for deposits together. If a dispute arises, that paperwork is your evidence.

Should you DIY or get a decorator to quote?

If it is one room, walls only, a similar colour and sound surfaces, DIY is often sensible. Once the job covers woodwork, new plaster, a tall stairwell, an older house with layers of old paint, or the outside of the house, a written quote is worth having, even just to see what a proper specification looks like.

Dean has over 30 years in the trade and visits before quoting, so the price is based on the actual walls and woodwork rather than a guess. You get a free written quote that sets out the rooms, preparation, paint and coats, so you can compare it line by line with anyone else’s. To arrange a visit, call 07539 779 036 or send your details through the contact page.

Header photo: https://kaboompics.com/ on Pexels. Photos of our own work appear further down the page.

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