How Long Does It Take to Paint a House?

After cost, the question we're asked most is how long the work will take. It's an important one, since decorating means a bit of disruption and you'll want to plan around it. The honest answer is that it depends on the same things that drive the price, the size and condition of the job, how much preparation is needed, and how many coats. But there are realistic ranges, and understanding what moves them helps you plan. Here's how we think about timescales.

Why there's no fixed timetable

Two jobs with the same number of rooms can take very different amounts of time. A clean repaint of sound walls is quick; the same rooms with old wallpaper to strip, cracked plaster to repair and flaking woodwork to rebuild take far longer. Paint also needs time to dry between coats, which you can't rush without spoiling the finish. So rather than a fixed timetable, think in realistic ranges that flex with the condition of your home.

A single room

Most single rooms take around one to two days, including the preparation. A straightforward bedroom with sound walls might be a day; a room that needs a lot of filling, several coats, a big colour change or detailed woodwork can take two or more. Bathrooms and kitchens often take a little longer for their size because of the cutting-in around tiles, units and fittings.

A whole house, inside

A full interior repaint is best thought of in days to weeks rather than a single number. It depends on how many rooms, their condition, how much woodwork is involved and whether ceilings and hallways are included. We sequence the work room by room so you can keep living in the house, and we'll plan the order with you. A whole interior repaint is something we'll give you a clear, realistic schedule for once we've seen it.

Exterior work

Outdoor jobs usually take longer than the equivalent indoor work, because of access and, above all, the weather. We work around dry, settled spells, so a job that's only a few days of actual painting can span a longer window if the forecast is unsettled. Access equipment like scaffolding adds time too. We cover this in detail in our guide to the best time to paint the outside of your house.

What slows a job down, and what speeds it up

Preparation and repairs

Prep is the biggest variable in time as well as cost. Stripping wallpaper, repairing plaster, treating damp or rebuilding tired woodwork all add hours or days. It's time well spent, since it's what makes the finish last, but it's the main reason one job takes longer than another that looks similar.

Drying and curing times

Paint needs to dry between coats, and some jobs need a mist coat plus two full coats. You can't safely rush this, recoating too soon causes problems, so drying time is built into any honest schedule. Cooler, damper conditions slow drying, which is part of why winter exterior work is impractical.

Coats and colour changes

Going light over light is usually two coats. Covering a dark or strong colour, or painting bare plaster, can mean an extra coat across every surface, and that's extra time on top of extra paint.

Access

Anywhere we can't simply stand and reach, stairwells, high ceilings, upper floors outside, needs towers, ladders or scaffolding, which slows the work and adds setup time.

A clear, ready space

A room that's cleared and accessible is quicker to work in than one we have to navigate around. Our checklist on what to do before the decorators arrive covers the simple things that help a job run to time.

A realistic timescale, not an optimistic one

We'd always rather quote a timescale we can actually meet than win the job with an optimistic one and then overrun. When we quote, we'll tell you roughly how long it'll take and the order we'll work in, so you can plan around it. If something unexpected turns up once we open a surface up, we'll talk it through rather than silently letting the job drag.

Planning your project

If you've got a deadline, an event, a move, a tenant due, tell us up front and we'll be honest about what's realistic. Get in touch for a quote with a clear timescale, and for a sense of cost while you plan, see our guide on what painting and decorating costs or try the pricing calculator.