Exterior painting

What it costs

Illustrative examples, not quotes: each assumes the job described, good condition, a similar colour and trade paint included. Your own price comes from the Instant Quote, based on your answers. How our prices are worked out.

Access decides the price

For a two-storey terrace, the front can sometimes be reached from ladders and a small tower. Three storeys, a basement well, or a bay over a steep front garden usually means scaffolding. Scaffold is erected by a licensed contractor and may need a pavement licence from Haringey Council. So we quote it separately, or you can arrange your own. The quote tool asks how many storeys you have and flags whether a visit is needed.

Walls: painted brick, render and pebbledash

Previously painted brick and render are cleaned, loose paint scraped, cracks filled, and two coats of exterior masonry paint applied. Pebbledash takes more paint and more time. Bare brick is best left bare. Painting it traps moisture and commits you to repainting it forever.

Sash windows, front doors and railings

Exterior woodwork is where decay starts. Failing putty and bare timber on sills let water in, so we scrape them back, spot-prime them and seal them before painting. Front doors get a hard-wearing gloss. Metal gates and railings are wire-brushed, rust-treated, primed with a metal primer and finished in gloss or satin. Railings are priced by the metre.

Timing and conservation areas

Exterior paint needs dry weather and temperatures above about 8°C, so late spring to early autumn is the working season. In conservation areas with Article 4 directions, changing the colour of a front elevation, door or windows may need consent. Check with the council before choosing a new colour.

What to send for a remote quote

• A full photo of each elevation, taken from across the road
• Close-ups of any flaking paint, cracked render or soft timber
• The number of storeys, sash windows and metres of railing

Questions