Painting & Decorating · Client guide
Before we paint.
What to expect.
How we prepare, protect and finish your property — and what we need from you before we start. Please read alongside your quotation.
Why this exists
Most disagreements
happen before the first coat.
Decorating looks simple from the outside. The finish you get is decided by preparation, paint and access — all of which are agreed before we start.
Empty property
Decorating is dusty and disruptive. An empty property means a faster job and a better finish. Occupied properties take longer, and that time is chargeable.
Standard or premium
A standard finish is a good finish. It isn't flawless — and the difference is priced, agreed in writing, and can't be upgraded halfway through.
Agreed in writing
Colours, finishes, scope and access all confirmed before we book dates. Anything not on the quotation isn't included.
Before we arrive
Empty rooms.
Faster job. Better finish.
We strongly recommend the property is empty and unoccupied for the duration of the works.
Please do this before we start
- Remove valuables, breakables, electronics and personal items from every room being decorated.
- Take down curtains, blinds, pictures, mirrors, shelving and TV brackets unless we've quoted to do it.
- Empty wardrobes and units where the wall behind them is being painted.
- Clear a route from the front door to the work area.
- Confirm access — keys, codes, concierge, lift booking, building working hours, parking or permits.
- Tell us about pets, alarms, delicate flooring or underfloor heating.
If someone is living there
We'll work around you, but be realistic: dust, sanding noise, paint smells, doors off their hinges, rooms you can't use and furniture stacked in the middle of the floor.
Working around occupants, children and pets consistently adds time. Where occupation materially extends the programme, additional days are chargeable at our standard rate.
Furniture. Large items are moved to the centre of the room and sheeted where possible. We don't move pianos, safes, large glass units or anything we judge unsafe to lift, and we can't accept liability for pre-existing damage to items we're asked to move.
Our process
Protect. Prepare.
Paint. Finish.
Standard on every Tom Harvey decorating job.
Protect
Switches, sockets, handles, hinges, chrome and brass masked with low-tack tape. Windows and glazing masked where frames are in scope.
Cover
Floors covered with dust sheets, heavy-duty film or board where flooring is new or high value. Radiators, alarms and detectors covered.
Prepare
Holes and cracks filled, flaking paint sanded, gaps caulked, bare areas primed — to the level of finish you've booked.
Paint
Two finish coats, cut in by hand. Woodwork primed or undercoated then finished in satinwood or gloss.
Finish
Masking lifted, waste removed, floors swept and the area left tidy every day.
Standard of finish
Good, or flawless.
You choose — before we start.
How much preparation we do is a commercial decision, not a technical one. More preparation means a better finish, more hours and a higher price. Your quotation states which one you've booked.
Standard finish
Lettings turnarounds, tenanted property, resale and most homes.
- Obvious cracks, holes and screw holes filled
- Filled areas and flaking paint spot-sanded
- Visible gaps to skirtings and frames caulked
- Bare and repaired areas spot-primed
- Two finish coats
- Judged in normal daylight at normal viewing distance
Premium finish
Priced separately. Must be requested in writing before work starts.
- Walls and woodwork fully sanded back
- Skim-filling and multiple fill-and-sand passes
- Uneven and wavy surfaces corrected where achievable
- Full priming, undercoat and additional finish coats
- Woodwork rubbed down between every coat
- Near-flawless under raking and artificial light
Please read this part carefully.
A standard finish is not a flawless finish. Old paint layers, roller texture from previous decorators, uneven plaster, wavy walls, shadowing and minor imperfections will still be visible in certain light. That is normal, and it is not a defect. If you want a near-flawless result, it has to be quoted as a premium finish — it takes significantly more time and materials, and it costs more. We cannot retrospectively upgrade a standard job to a premium one at standard prices.
Existing surfaces
Paint is a coating.
Not a repair.
Unless plastering or making good is specifically included in your quotation, the following remain visible after decorating and sit outside the scope.
- Uneven, bowed or wavy walls and ceilings, and out-of-square corners
- Texture from previous paint jobs — heavy roller stipple, brush marks in old coats
- Artex, woodchip, lining-paper joints, blown or hollow plaster
- Nail pops, plasterboard joints and skim shadowing
- Hairline settlement cracks, which can reopen after filling — that's building movement, not workmanship
- Damp, mould or salt staining where the source hasn't been fixed. Paint over active damp will fail
- Defects behind furniture, carpets or fittings that weren't visible when we quoted
If we find any of these once we start, we stop, photograph it and price the extra work before continuing.
Paint & colour
Dulux Trade as standard.
Colour costs more than white.
Our pricing is built around Dulux Trade across walls, ceilings and woodwork. Premium brands are available on request and charged as a surcharge.
Premium brands
Farrow & Ball, Little Greene, Mylands and similar cost significantly more per litre, often cover less per coat, and can need extra coats and longer drying times. All of that is chargeable.
Colour vs white
Coloured finishes need sharper cutting in and frequently a third coat. Strong colours and any light-over-dark change need extra coats. Two coats is standard; extra coats are chargeable unless quoted.
Confirm in writing
Colours, finishes (matt, eggshell, satin, gloss) and sheen levels must be confirmed in writing before we order. Bespoke mixed colours are non-returnable. Client-supplied paint carries no coverage or finish warranty.
On the job
Programme, changes
and handover.
Timescales are estimates given in good faith, based on the agreed scope and clear, empty access.
Working hours & timing
- Monday to Friday, 8am–5pm. Evenings and weekends by arrangement, chargeable.
- Drying and recoat times are set by the product and the room. Cold, damp or unventilated rooms extend them.
- Access problems, occupation, other trades or additional work found on site move the finish date.
- If the property isn't ready on the agreed start date, an abortive visit charge may apply.
Changes to the scope
- Anything not on your quotation isn't included.
- Extra rooms, colour changes, finish upgrades or work found on site are issued as a written variation with a price before we do it.
- Verbal instructions on site are always confirmed in writing.
When we finish
- We walk the job with you or send completion photos, and agree a snagging list if there is one.
- Snags are judged in normal daylight at normal viewing distance. Marks visible only under torchlight or at an acute angle are not defects.
- Paint cures over 2–4 weeks. Don't wash, scrub or tape painted surfaces in that time.
- Touch-ups from normal use after handover aren't defects.
Commercial terms
Clear, itemised.
No hidden costs.
Applies to all decorating works unless your quotation says otherwise.
- Minimum call-out: £95 + VAT
- All prices exclude VAT at 20%
- Quotations valid for 30 days
- Additional works invoiced separately on completion of those works
- Larger projects: 40% / 30% / 30% — on booking, at the agreed midpoint, on completion
- Final payment due on completion, not on completion of snagging
- No retentions unless agreed in writing beforehand
- 12-month workmanship warranty on all decorating. Covers our work — not building movement, damp, condensation, third-party damage or wear
Questions?
Not what you had
in mind?
Tell us now. It's far easier to price and plan for it before we begin than to change it halfway through.
Tom Harvey Contractors Ltd · Company No. 16499315
Suite 53C Unimix House, Abbey Road, London NW10 7TR · info@tomharvey.co.uk · tomharvey.co.uk
