When you’re redecorating your home, it’s important not to overlook the importance of painting your doors. Both interior and exterior doors can benefit from being repainted, whether you’re trying to boost your property’s kerb appeal, or whether you want to update your interiors. In fact, a new coat of paint can make an enormous difference to any space.
So, how much can you expect to pay for having a door repainted? Here, we take a look at the various costs involved.
Door Location
The first consideration to keep in mind when determining how much it may cost to paint any door is its location. The easier the door is to access, the simpler it is for a decorator to paint the door. If you’re hiring a contractor to get the job done, it’s important to bear in mind that the longer a job takes, the higher the cost of labour, so if accessing the door is difficult and time-consuming, you can naturally expect the cost of painting the door to be higher.
Door Size
Bigger doors will, of course, cost more to paint when compared with smaller doors. Typically, a bigger door will need more materials. It will also take longer to paint a bigger door than a small one. In terms of extra costs, though, the additional amount to paint a bigger door will be relatively insignificant.
Time To Finish The Job
If you’re working with a contractor who is paid on an hourly rate, the length of time it will take to complete the paint job will have an impact on the project’s entire cost. Not all contractors charge in this way, though. Some charge a flat fee, requiring you to pay a set amount upfront, and in those cases, how long the job takes will make no difference to the price.
Where You Live
Depending on where your property is located, the price your contractor charges may be higher or lower. Some areas of the country have higher levels of supply and demand, and that figures into the overall cost. If your property is rural and far from the contractor’s base, you may also need to pay a little more since their travel costs will be higher.
How Many Doors?
It stands to reason that if you only need a single door repainted it will be a cheaper job than if you need a whole house of doors repainted. The higher the number of doors you need to have painted, the higher your costs are going to be.
Minimum Fees
Some contractors charge a minimum fee for their work. So, for example, if your door painting job takes just two hours, but the minimum fee covers four hours of work, this is an extra expense that you’ll have to pay.
Painting Interior Doors
On average, the cost of painting a single interior door comes to about £60. But the cost will vary depending on the kind of paint you’re planning to use, how many coats will be needed, and how much preparation time is going to be needed. For example, interior doors look fantastic if you opt for a gloss high-shine finish. Gloss paint is durable and resilient enough to withstand daily family life, but due to its high-shine look, it takes effort and skill to produce a flawless result. Therefore, you can expect it to cost a little more to paint interior doors with this kind of paint than if you’re opting for a single coat emulsion.
Painting External Doors
Painting external doors is a great way to boost your property’s kerb appeal. With a fresh coat of paint, your home can look brand-new again! However, it costs more to paint an exterior door than an interior one.
You can expect to pay somewhere between £150 and £250 depending on how large the door is, whether the door is solid or has glass panels in it, if knotting or sanding is needed, how many coats are needed, and whether application of a primer is necessary.
If the external door you need to paint is your garage door, you can expect the cost to be around £200 with the paint costs on top – this is a far better option than buying a brand-new garage door which could come in at over £1000 for labour and materials.
Stripping A Door
If you have doors that need a little more attention since a fresh lick of paint just won’t suffice to bring them back up to scratch, stripping the door may be necessary. You can expect the cost of stripping a door to start at about £20 minimum per door.
Stripping takes off the old paint layers from the door, taking it back to its bare wood so the surface is clean and fresh, ready to paint. Although it is often costly if there are several doors that require this treatment, it will help the paint to adhere properly to the surface and ensure that the finish is long-lasting and durable, saving you money in the long run.
Top Questions About Door Painting
Here are some of the most popular questions about painting internal and exterior doors and their answers:
How long will it take to complete a door painting project?
Painting a single door will take between 3 and 5 hours depending on its condition and size.
Must I prep the doors before painting?
As you may be paying labour costs, if the doors need to be prepped, the price of painting the doors is sure to increase. But if you prep your doors yourself before you arrange for them to be painted, you’ll save money
What kind of paint is best for painting doors?
It’s always a good idea to use a high gloss paint when painting doors, but it’s very difficult to achieve a professional and flawless finish. If you’re considering painting your own doors, semi-gloss or satin paint will be a better alternative since imperfections aren’t as visible.
Refer to our Blog: How Much Is It Per Hour For UK Painters And Decorators?