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 Lancing home and give you a price in writing. Homes in the South East typically come in at £1,350–£3,400, VAT included, for this kind of work. We also cover Shoreham-by-Sea, Worthing and Portslade, and the same steps apply wherever you are in West Sussex.
- Guide price
- £1,350–£3,400 inc VAT
- Time on site
- 1–2 days per room; 3–7 days for a house exterior
- Postcodes
- BN15
- Planning rules
- England
- Local area
- West Sussex
- Survey
- Free, with a written quote
Painting and decorating prices in Lancing
In Lancing, guide figures for painting and decorating sit at £1,350–£3,400, VAT included. We set them using rates for the South East, currently about 12% above the national guide. The table shows what pushes a project towards either end of the range; your own price is set after a free survey.
| Type of job | What it usually involves | Guide in Lancing |
|---|---|---|
| Single room | Walls, ceiling and woodwork in one average bedroom or living room. | £400–£1,000 |
| House exterior | Masonry and joinery on a typical semi, including access equipment. | £2,800–£6,700 |
| Whole interior of a 3-bed house | Every room, hallway, stairs and landing, including woodwork. | £3,400–£7,300 |
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 does the job include in Lancing?
- 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
Building in Lancing
Chichester has Georgian brick streets, Downland villages use flint and brick, and Horsham stone slabs cover some older roofs. Worthing and Bognor Regis have interwar and post-war bungalows and semis, Crawley was planned as a post-war new town, and Wealden villages to the north feature tile-hanging and timber framing.
Bungalows commonly suit loft conversions and extensions; new-town homes often take window, roofline and cladding renewal. Flint and stone properties need lime repointing, and coastal homes may need external decorating more often.
For painting and decorating in Lancing, this means checking things like wall construction, roof structure and existing services before we put a figure on paper.
Planning and building rules in Lancing
Because Lancing falls under England's rules, the guidance below is the version relevant to you. Before sending a price, we check your property's position with the council.
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
A visit to your home
First, someone visits your home in Lancing to see the space, take measurements and note anything that could affect the work, such as access or the condition of what is there. There is no charge for this visit.
Price and scope agreed
After the survey we send a quote for painting and decorating that fixes the price for the scope we've agreed. If you want to change materials or scope, we revise it in writing before anything is booked.
Dates and permissions
Next comes planning the work itself. We set a start date that suits you, line up the right trades, and make sure any approvals for painting and decorating are in place before the first day on site.
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.
How we work
Questions about painting and decorating in Lancing
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.
Do I need planning permission in Lancing?
It depends on the work, the size of the project, your property type and whether the building is listed or in a conservation area. Lancing 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.
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.
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.
How often should exterior woodwork be repainted?
Exterior woodwork, such as timber windows, doors and fascias, usually needs repainting every five to eight years, depending on exposure, paint quality and how well it was prepared. South-facing and coastal elevations wear faster. Look out for flaking, cracking or bare patches, which let water into the timber. Repainting before rot sets in costs far less than replacing joinery.
Nearby towns
We survey and quote throughout Lancing's BN15 postcodes and in surrounding places such as Shoreham-by-Sea, Worthing and Portslade. The process and pricing approach are identical in each of them.