Painting and decorating is preparing and finishing the surfaces of a home, including filling, sanding, priming and painting walls, ceilings and woodwork, hanging wallpaper and painting exterior walls and joinery, to protect them and refresh how rooms look.
We offer painting and decorating across London, and Stratford is one of the places we cover, along with nearby Bow, Canning Town and Blackwall. Before anything is agreed we visit, check the existing structure and talk through your options. You then receive a written quote setting out the full scope; for most homes in London it sits within £1,550–£3,900 including VAT.
- Guide price
- £1,550–£3,900 inc VAT
- Time on site
- 1–2 days per room; 3–7 days for a house exterior
- Postcodes
- E7, E12 and E15
- Planning rules
- England
- Local area
- Greater London
- Survey
- Free, with a written quote
How much does painting and decorating cost in Stratford?
Budgeting for painting and decorating in Stratford? The numbers below include VAT and are adjusted for London, where costs are about 30% above the national guide. The headline range is £1,550–£3,900. Nothing is final until we have measured up at a free survey and agreed the specification with you.
| Type of job | What it usually involves | Guide in Stratford |
|---|---|---|
| Single room | Walls, ceiling and woodwork in one average bedroom or living room. | £450–£1,150 |
| House exterior | Masonry and joinery on a typical semi, including access equipment. | £3,200–£7,800 |
| Whole interior of a 3-bed house | Every room, hallway, stairs and landing, including woodwork. | £3,900–£8,400 |
Your price depends mostly on:
- Number and size of rooms, including ceiling height
- Amount of preparation, filling and repairs needed
- Whether woodwork, doors and wallpaper are included
- Exterior access, scaffolding and the condition of surfaces
What do you get?
- Floors, furniture and fittings protected with dust sheets and masking
- Filling cracks and holes, sanding and spot priming
- Mist coat on new plaster before finishing coats
- Two finishing coats to walls and ceilings as standard
- Woodwork sanded, primed where bare, and painted
- Wallpaper stripped or hung where included
Homes in London
London's housing is dominated by Victorian and Edwardian terraces, often in yellow London stock brick, with Georgian terraces in central districts and mansion blocks across many inner areas. Outer boroughs have large belts of interwar semis, and there are extensive post-war council estates. Many houses have been split into flats, and conservation areas are widespread.
London Clay shrinks and swells with the seasons, and street trees close to houses can contribute to movement, which affects foundation design.
Knowing the typical building types in London helps, but a survey of your own home in Stratford is what decides the right approach to painting and decorating.
Planning and building rules in Stratford
Homes in Stratford come under the regulations for England, summarised below. We don't rely on general rules alone: we confirm the position for your address with the council before a quote goes out.
Internal work such as a new kitchen, bathroom, flooring, plastering or decorating does not need planning permission in England, unless the house is listed, when listed building consent may be needed even for internal changes.
Some internal work is covered by Building Regulations: new electrical circuits and work in bathrooms (Part P), new drainage, structural changes, extractor ventilation and any new window. Notifiable work is certified by a registered installer or by building control.
Rules change and every property is different, so we check the planning history and constraints for your address before we quote.
What happens after you get in touch?
A visit to your home
We begin by looking at the job in person. During the free survey we discuss options, materials and budget for painting and decorating, and photograph or measure anything the quote needs to reflect.
Your fixed price
Next you receive a written quote with a fixed price for the agreed specification. It lists what is included, what is not, and how payments are staged, so you can compare it properly.
Booking the work
Once you accept, we agree start dates, order materials and deal with any planning, building control or neighbour notices the job needs. You'll know who is coming and when before work begins.
The work itself
Our trades complete painting and decorating while your point of contact keeps you updated. When everything is finished, we clear the site, take away waste and go through the result with you before handover.
How we work
Frequently asked questions
Do you cover Bow, Canning Town and Blackwall?
Yes. As well as Stratford, we cover Bow, Canning Town and Blackwall and the rest of London. Our coverage is UK-wide, so the process is the same wherever you are: a free site survey, a quote in writing that fixes the price for the agreed scope, and one point of contact while the work is planned and carried out.
Can you paint over wallpaper?
Painting over wallpaper is possible if it is firmly stuck, but it often leads to bubbles and visible seams, and makes future stripping harder. In most cases, stripping the paper, filling and lining the walls, or skimming them, gives a better and longer-lasting finish. We check how well the paper is bonded during the survey and explain the options and costs.
Is the price fixed?
Yes, for the specification we agree. Your written quote sets out exactly what is included at a fixed price. It only changes if you ask for something different, or if a problem the survey could not reasonably reveal later needs extra work. In either case we explain the change and confirm it in writing before going ahead.
Do I need to move my furniture?
You only need to remove small items, ornaments, pictures and anything fragile. We move larger furniture to the middle of the room and cover it, or into another room where agreed. Please empty bookshelves and cabinets that need moving. Let us know about anything very heavy, valuable or awkward, such as pianos or large wardrobes, so we can plan around it.
How much does it cost to decorate a room?
Decorating an average room costs roughly £350–£900, covering walls, ceiling and woodwork, while three rooms typically come to £1,550–£3,900. Large living rooms, high ceilings, stairwells and wallpapering cost more, and so do rooms needing a lot of filling and sanding. Strong colour changes may need an extra coat. We confirm a fixed price for the agreed rooms after the survey.
Nearby towns
We cover every part of Stratford, including E7, E12 and E15, and nearby Bow, Canning Town and Blackwall. Wherever you are within that patch, the survey is free and the quote comes to you in writing.