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.
From a first conversation about painting and decorating to the day the site is cleared, homeowners in Newcastle upon Tyne deal with us directly. We come out to measure up at no cost, explain the choices in plain terms and send a written quote. For context, comparable work in the North East usually falls within £1,100–£2,700 including VAT, and it is available across NE1, NE2, NE4 and NE6.
- Guide price
- £1,100–£2,700 inc VAT
- Time on site
- 1–2 days per room; 3–7 days for a house exterior
- Postcodes
- NE1, NE2, NE4, NE6 and NE8
- Planning rules
- England
- Local area
- Newcastle Upon Tyne
- Survey
- Free, with a written quote
Painting and decorating prices in Newcastle upon Tyne
To help you plan, we show what painting and decorating typically costs in Newcastle upon Tyne instead of holding figures back for a sales call. The range is £1,100–£2,700 with VAT, using rates in the North East that are about 10% below the national guide. A free survey then fixes your actual price.
| Type of job | What it usually involves | Guide in Newcastle upon Tyne |
|---|---|---|
| Single room | Walls, ceiling and woodwork in one average bedroom or living room. | £300–£800 |
| House exterior | Masonry and joinery on a typical semi, including access equipment. | £2,200–£5,400 |
| Whole interior of a 3-bed house | Every room, hallway, stairs and landing, including woodwork. | £2,700–£5,800 |
What moves the price up or down:
- 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 does the job include in Newcastle upon Tyne?
- 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
- Mist coat on new plaster before finishing coats
- Woodwork sanded, primed where bare, and painted
- Furniture replaced, waste removed and a final tidy-up
Homes in Tyne and Wear
Tyneside flats, pairs of upper and lower flats behind a terraced front, are a distinctive feature of Newcastle and Gateshead. Sunderland is known for its single-storey terraced 'Sunderland cottages', and both cities have Victorian brick and stone terraces, interwar estates and post-war housing. Washington was built as a new town from the 1960s.
Terraces and Tyneside flats commonly need repointing, roof work and window replacement. Houses suit loft rooms and rear extensions, and new-town homes often take garage conversions and cladding upgrades.
In Newcastle upon Tyne, as elsewhere in Tyne and Wear, we take the building's age and construction into account before recommending anything, because both can change what is involved in painting and decorating.
Planning and building rules in Newcastle upon Tyne
For anyone in Newcastle upon Tyne, the relevant framework is England's. The summary below is general, so we always contact the council about your address before putting a price in writing.
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?
Free site survey
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.
Your fixed price
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.
Dates and permissions
With the quote agreed, we book the work in and handle preparation: permissions where needed, building control notifications, material orders and access arrangements for your Newcastle upon Tyne property.
The work itself
The job proceeds in the order set out in the programme, with dust and debris kept under control. Finally we tidy away, inspect the work together and pass the finished project over to you with its paperwork.
Why homeowners choose us
Common questions
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.
Do you cover Gateshead, Gosforth and Felling?
Yes. As well as Newcastle upon Tyne, we cover Gateshead, Gosforth and Felling and the rest of Tyne and Wear. 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.
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 Newcastle upon Tyne?
It depends on the work, the size of the project, your property type and whether the building is listed or in a conservation area. Newcastle upon Tyne 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.
Near Newcastle upon Tyne
If your address falls within NE1, NE2, NE4 and NE6, we cover it. The same goes for neighbouring Gateshead, Gosforth and Felling, which we include alongside Newcastle upon Tyne when arranging surveys and quotes.