House painting quote.

My wife is outside painting our house right now.

VAT number is only /necessary/ on an invoice.

But do check he really is registered and not just charging the VAT and keeping it.

I suppose living in the cave, she's grateful for any excuse to avoid vitamin D deficiency ...

It seems that you cannot find a vat number for all companies by an online search but you can ask for his vat number and then verify that it is a valid number using an algorithm and furthermore there appear websites that compare the name and the vat number to check for a match.

Scaffolding could be expnsive. Get a price for that before going any further.

Scotland quoted...4 bed detached, clean walls (pebbledash) wash with fungaside and 2 finish coats just under £1k + paint, no scaffolding. Will be cash payment.

OTOH Dave has Victorian "stonework" (most if not all of which probably isn't real stone) and doing a proper job on that means stripping off what could be several layers of assorted paints, making good with external filler - possibly a lot of filler! - including twiddly (and soft) mouldings around door and windows. And then painting lots of edges, including edges where the stonework joins the brick (albeit I probably rate that as I'm useless at it and so know only too well how hard it is to get paint off soft London yellow stock).

I don't know what's a good price but the quote's not way out of line with what some people pay around here for a good job on smaller houses, albeit much depends on the price for scaffolding.

Last repainting job when I was still in London was in 2014. Early Victorian terrace, basement, three floors and garret. Scaffolding front and back: £1,700

Exterior painting by one local man estimated 2,500; actual after some repairs to woodwork etc £3,000 (other quotes from larger property maintenance firms were 4,200 and 15,000 +VAT!)

Yes - although most of the paint on the stone work is pretty good having been totally stripped of last time I did it myself. Apart from one moulding which needs a proper repair - and I told the painter I'd do that myself first, as I still have the mould to repair it I made some 40 years ago. And it's a different bit that needs sorting this time.

IMHO, the worse bits are the back windows which face south.

The sign of a decent painter - being able to do a straight line freehand. ;-)

That's roughly what I paid last time, inclusive of everything but scaffolding. Again, a one man band. And given inflation has been so low I was rather surprised it had gone up by that much.

There are always some who don't want the work. ;-)

Yes, and they asked me why I paid just over double this for a wallcoat jub. Its lasted a heck of a lot longer and I also had plastic gutters fitted as well, and plastic facia boards that they fix to. All that needs doing now is a few window sills and cast iron pipework here and there. Brian

If he's a one man band he may not be VAT registered. That's why he wants you to pay for the scaffold. It helps him stay below the VAT registration threshold.

Mike

Except the quote was +VAT, so he's probably on the flat rate scheme and trying to avoid incurring costs where possible, hence maximising his difference between the 20% charged and whatever% he sends to the VAT man

- looks like painting and decorating may use the default 12%

For anyone using the FRS and who only buys in a small quantity of

I've switched back to the standard scheme were you use your actual input costs, because I produce and consume mainly services, rather than goods, but Mr Decorator obviously purchases paint, and wishes to avoid paying for scaffolding services.

Is a scaffold tower usable?

Ah yes, I missed that.

Mike

Thing is he arrives to work across the road by bike. Never seen a van. If he's not VAT registered, it's simply a way of upping the price. I can see a one man band not wanting to be bothered with arranging for scaffolding, though.

or even one of these:

has to be cheaper than scaffolding, even if just for the front?

I'm actually interested in the price of scaffolding as the row of 4 houses next to me (and the mirror block on then other side of the estates I can see out of my kitchen window) - including along outside my flat so that they could get to the side (without even telling me, let alone asking permission - the bastards)

Took the scaffolding men three full days to erect, and then 4 days to dismantle(?)

and the painters were in for 4 days max

Can't see how that is cost effective against the alternatives

tim