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 Shropshire, and Shrewsbury is one of the places we cover, along with nearby Wellington, Telford and Oswestry. 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 the West Midlands it sits within £1,200–£2,900 including VAT.
- Guide price
- £1,200–£2,900 inc VAT
- Time on site
- 1–2 days per room; 3–7 days for a house exterior
- Postcodes
- SY1, SY2 and SY3
- Planning rules
- England
- Local area
- Shropshire
- Survey
- Free, with a written quote
Painting and decorating prices in Shrewsbury
No two jobs cost exactly the same, but the ranges below give a fair picture of painting and decorating in Shrewsbury. Pricing for the West Midlands runs about 2% below the national guide, and the overall guide is £1,200–£2,900 with VAT included. We'll confirm your figure after surveying the property for free.
| Type of job | What it usually involves | Guide in Shrewsbury |
|---|---|---|
| Single room | Walls, ceiling and woodwork in one average bedroom or living room. | £350–£900 |
| House exterior | Masonry and joinery on a typical semi, including access equipment. | £2,400–£5,900 |
| Whole interior of a 3-bed house | Every room, hallway, stairs and landing, including woodwork. | £2,900–£6,400 |
The main things that change the figure:
- Amount of preparation, filling and repairs needed
- Whether woodwork, doors and wallpaper are included
- Paint quality, colour changes and number of coats
- Exterior access, scaffolding and the condition of surfaces
What does the job include in Shrewsbury?
- 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
- Furniture replaced, waste removed and a final tidy-up
What are homes like around Shrewsbury?
Shrewsbury and Ludlow are known for black-and-white timber-framed buildings alongside Georgian brick, and red sandstone is common in the north of the county. Telford was built as a new town from the late 1960s with large planned estates, and market towns such as Oswestry, Bridgnorth and Whitchurch mix historic centres with interwar and newer housing.
Timber-framed and stone buildings often need lime plaster, breathable finishes and roof repairs. Telford homes commonly suit extensions, window replacement and roofline or cladding renewal.
For painting and decorating in Shrewsbury, this means checking things like wall construction, roof structure and existing services before we put a figure on paper.
Planning and building rules in Shrewsbury
Homes in Shrewsbury 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.
The four stages
Survey and measure
Book a visit and we'll come to you. The survey covers measurements, the state of what's there now and any obvious constraints, so the price that follows is based on your actual home, not an average.
Written quote
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.
Getting ready
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.
Why homeowners choose us
Common questions
Why is preparation so important?
Preparation decides how good the finish looks and how long it lasts. Filling cracks, sanding glossy surfaces, washing greasy areas and priming bare wood all help paint grip and dry evenly. Skipping it leads to visible repairs, peeling and patchy colour. Most of the time on a decorating job goes into preparation, and our quotes always allow for it.
Do I need planning permission in Shrewsbury?
It depends on the work, the size of the project, your property type and whether the building is listed or in a conservation area. Shrewsbury is in England, so England's rules apply. Many smaller jobs need no planning application, but some still need building control approval. We check what applies to your address before quoting.
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.
How long does it take to decorate a room?
Decorating an average room usually takes one to two days, allowing time for preparation, a mist coat or primer where needed and two finishing coats. Hallways, stairs and landings take longer because of the height and the amount of woodwork. Wallpapering adds time for stripping and lining. We give you a schedule so you know which rooms will be out of use and when.
Can you combine painting and decorating with other work?
Yes. Because we manage several trades under one contract, we can plan painting and decorating alongside other work on your Shrewsbury home, such as new windows with rendering, or a kitchen refit with an extension. Combining jobs can reduce repeat set-up such as scaffolding, skips and access, and every element is listed and priced in the same written quote.
Also covering areas around Shrewsbury
We welcome enquiries from all SY1, SY2 and SY3 postcodes in Shrewsbury, plus Wellington, Telford and Oswestry. Each one gets the same survey at no charge and a written price fixed for the work described.