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.
Whatever prompted you to look into painting and decorating, whether wear and tear, a growing family or plans to move, we can survey your Galashiels home and give you a price in writing. Homes in Scotland typically come in at £1,150–£2,900, VAT included, for this kind of work. We also cover Hawick, Kelso and Peebles, and the same steps apply wherever you are in Scottish Borders.
- Guide price
- £1,150–£2,900 inc VAT
- Time on site
- 1–2 days per room; 3–7 days for a house exterior
- Postcodes
- TD1
- Planning rules
- Scotland
- Local area
- The Scottish Borders
- Survey
- Free, with a written quote
Painting and decorating prices in Galashiels
Every figure below is a guide for painting and decorating in Galashiels, inclusive of VAT. Regional pricing for Scotland works out about 4% below the national guide, and the overall span is £1,150–£2,900. The survey costs you nothing, and after it we commit to a firm price for your specification in writing.
| Type of job | What it usually involves | Guide in Galashiels |
|---|---|---|
| Single room | Walls, ceiling and woodwork in one average bedroom or living room. | £350–£850 |
| House exterior | Masonry and joinery on a typical semi, including access equipment. | £2,400–£5,800 |
| Whole interior of a 3-bed house | Every room, hallway, stairs and landing, including woodwork. | £2,900–£6,200 |
Expect these to shape the final quote:
- Number and size of rooms, including ceiling height
- Amount of preparation, filling and repairs needed
- Whether woodwork, doors and wallpaper are included
- Paint quality, colour changes and number of coats
What’s included?
- Survey of each surface and agreed colours and finishes
- Floors, furniture and fittings protected with dust sheets and masking
- Filling cracks and holes, sanding and spot priming
- Two finishing coats to walls and ceilings as standard
- Wallpaper stripped or hung where included
- Furniture replaced, waste removed and a final tidy-up
Local housing and painting and decorating
Mill towns such as Hawick, Galashiels and Selkirk have stone terraces and tenements from the textile industry, Melrose and Kelso have older sandstone centres, and farmhouses and cottages across the Borders are built of whinstone or sandstone under slate roofs. Post-war and newer estates surround the larger towns.
Mill-town terraces and tenements often need lime repointing, re-roofing in slate and replacement windows. Newer homes commonly take extensions and garage conversions, and rural properties add fencing, porches and driveways.
Whatever era your Galashiels home dates from, we plan painting and decorating around how it is actually built rather than a one-size-fits-all specification.
Planning and building rules in Galashiels
Each UK nation sets its own consent rules, and Galashiels is in Scotland. What follows is a plain summary; we check the specifics for your property with the council before pricing anything.
Internal improvements do not need planning permission in Scotland unless the building is listed.
Like-for-like kitchen and bathroom replacements do not normally need a building warrant, but structural changes and some drainage or heating alterations do, and electrical work must meet the building standards.
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
It starts with a survey at the property, free of charge. We check condition, access and services, ask how you want the finished result to look, and answer any questions you have about painting and decorating.
Written quote
You get the price in writing, itemised so you can see where the money goes. As long as the specification stays the same, that is the price you pay for painting and decorating.
Booking the work
Before anyone starts, we confirm the programme in writing, check whether consents are required and arrange deliveries. If a skip or scaffolding on the road needs a permit, we apply for it.
Finish and handover
During the work we protect the areas around it and tidy up at the end of each day. Once complete, we check the finish, remove our materials and hand over paperwork such as building control sign-off where it applies.
Why homeowners choose us
Questions about painting and decorating in Galashiels
Do you cover Hawick, Kelso and Peebles?
Yes. As well as Galashiels, we cover Hawick, Kelso and Peebles and the rest of Scottish Borders. 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.
How long will painting and decorating take?
On a typical home, allow 1–2 days per room; 3–7 days for a house exterior. Larger projects, older buildings and extra work found once things are opened up can extend that, while simpler jobs may be shorter. Your quote includes an estimate of time on site, and your point of contact keeps you updated on the programme as the work progresses.
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 £1,150–£2,900. 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.
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.
When is the right time to paint the outside of a house?
Exterior painting needs dry weather and mild temperatures, so late spring to early autumn is usually the right time. Paint should not be applied to damp surfaces, in rain or frost, or in strong direct sun. Surfaces need time to dry out after rain before work starts. We plan exterior work around the forecast and pause if conditions turn.
Nearby towns
If your address falls within TD1, we cover it. The same goes for neighbouring Hawick, Kelso and Peebles, which we include alongside Galashiels when arranging surveys and quotes.