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isidora_markovic90

POLL: Do you do your own painting or hire someone?

Isidora Markovic
7 years ago
last modified: 7 years ago

Painting is one of those jobs that always seems easy in theory, but can be a lot of work in practice, especially if you're painting more than one room!

Coach House in Richmond, West London · More Info

But are you an ambitious optimist who's always done it yourself no matter how arduous the task, or do you not even attempt to fool yourself into thinking you can take it on, and resort straight to a professional?

Let us know below!

DIY
Hire someone
Featured Answer
  • Michael Lansdowne
    7 years ago

    As with any task, unless I actively enjoy doing it (and painting doesn't fall into that category) it doesn't make sense for me to do it myself.

    Firstly, it wouldn't be done as well as it would by a professional; secondly, I can earn far more per hour doing work I enjoy than it will cost me to pay a professional; and thirdly it gives work to skilled tradesmen and helps keep them in business.

    Comments (26)

    • lisa77226
      7 years ago
      I've always painted myself until my last house. It was a total reno and we got through 165 litres of white paint alone on new plaster before colours were done. After that I hired someone to paint 2 flights of stairs and railings, one had railings all along the landing! Best £400 I ever spent!
    • Michelle S
      7 years ago
      Mainly DIY due to shortage of decorators to even quote. We've had to get a number of rooms lined and we definitely get a decorator for that
    • Annek
      7 years ago

      I spent €800 getting a smallish hall stairs and landing painted back in the Celtic Tiger era. Never again will I spend that kind of money to annoy myself every time I walked into these rooms because of the amount of areas he missed which stuck out like a sore thumb. Needless to say I had to redo it myself but lesson learnt, while I can I will do it myself. Plus there is nothing like the satisfaction of admiring a freshly painted room that you have done from scratch. Love it.


    • m4rm1te0701
      7 years ago

      Much prefer to tackle this type of job myself - I find it therapeutic - as long as it's not too enormous or involve areas that I would have difficulty reaching, such as tall stairwells or high ceilings.

    • liz gear
      7 years ago

      I paint and wallpaper. I prefer to do tasks I can manage and "get a man in" for more specialised jobs such as electrics/plastering/plumbing.

    • Dundrum 16
      7 years ago
      Horses for courses! Proper time served tradesmen do a great job and make it look easy. I decided to finish off a tester pot by painting the 150x150cm Guinea pig house. Sadly, I got bored after one coat. I am full of admiration for the man who painted the outside of my sizeable two storey rendered house singlehandedly in less than a week.
    • Dundrum 16
      7 years ago
      Um.. Actually the Guinea pig house is 40x40cm!
    • PRO
      P & P Maintenance Services
      7 years ago

      God no. I run a property maintenance company and don't do any work on my house. Ever. The difference in finish between an average DIYer and a pro is like chalk and cheese!!

    • Susan
      7 years ago
      I've learnt to do it myself. Make sure you prepare your walls and use quality tools and never rush to finish, and my results has been as professional as the decorators. No been able to tell the difference.

      My current project a 9 meter hallway with 10ft hight ceilings.

      Only once did I hire a professional for my ceiling after having soundproofing done.
    • PRO
      DCL Interior Design LLP
      7 years ago

      I think its all about standards. You simply can't beat a professional decorator, unless you're a very seriously experienced DIY-er. I've just decorated my own kitchen - newly plastered and already mist-coated by the contractors - how hard could it be, I thought, as I know theoretically what to do, how to do it, and what materials, and have had plenty of decorating experience over the years. However, I have lurched from one poor finish to another. Due to my profession, I'm exceedingly particular about finish, and there's no way my work can meet my standards. What a waste of time, energy and money, I've now got to get a pro in to do it properly!

    • Stephen Edwards
      7 years ago

      I am happy with both, I don't mind doing internal decorating work but no longer enjoy doing the high stuff outside.

    • Jenny Boyd
      7 years ago

      Over the last three years we built our house on a bit of a shoe string budget, so whilst hubby took a year off to do the bulk of the building work I painted the whole thing inside and out, on my own, using a scaffold tower as we have vaulted ceilings. I work full time so it took three months and I ended up doing 90% of the interior in pure brilliant white due to ease and cost. It was not fun, but I do look at it as a personal achievement!

    • Jenny Boyd
      7 years ago

      Also DCL I disagree - we are so picky over our finish and I think I did a better job than a decorator- (haha look at the modesty!) purely just as I took so long and was fussy, I'm sure if they took that long they would be better than me but thy have a profit to make so need to crack on and I don't think take as much care doing round light switches, cutting in etc

    • User
      7 years ago
      Always done my own. Once you've done the prep, covered carpets etc with old sheets and masked up round the edges, the painting bit is a doddle.
    • apismalifica
      7 years ago

      I would def employ a painter IF he or she was significantly better than me, as a good finish really makes a difference. However I have only had one decorator who was better :( and he was often too busy to quote (totally understandable). Happily he showed me a few clever techniques to get a really professional finish, just before he retired. I also have some scaffolding that I use indoors as we have very tall ceilings, couldn't manage it with just a ladder.

    • hutchsl
      7 years ago

      Mostly we do the painting ourselves, unless it's the walls and ceiling over the stairs, and then we get a local painter and decorator to do it. They have the professional equipment and correct ladders. Better than a trip to A&E!!

    • PRO
      AlenaCDesign
      7 years ago

      I love DIY projects and I did several DIY Wall arts for my home and in my clients' too. But I wouldn't do painted art myself, having an artist as a friend I know it is very time consuming! During projects there are so many things need to be coordinated, wouldn't have time to paint art. Unfortunately, when you rush, you never get ideal quality.

    • Coco Nuts
      7 years ago
      last modified: 7 years ago

      As I'm an artist who also loves D.I.Y. I always do it myself. I'd be far too fussy to let some so called professional loose in my beloved home! Been painting my house inside and out, walls and doors for best part of forty years now so I know a thing or two, plus I like to mix my own colours. Number one rule- PREPARATION.

    • A S
      7 years ago
      DCL, Whilst I agree on the fact that it's not always achievable to attain a professional finish when self decorating, I disagree that a professional will always get you a high quality finish. In our latest renovation we experienced using a local decorater and a professional company. we found that the finish of a highly rated company was no where near as neat and good as the local decorater.
    • Carol Taylor
      7 years ago

      Other than putting in new heating and a multi-fuel stove,we do everything ourselves including installing and tiling bathrooms, plastering, flooring, and decorating. Although it takes longer we get a perfect finish. My daughter is using tradesmen for a renovation project and a lot of it is a mess.

    • Emmeline Westin
      7 years ago
      last modified: 6 years ago

      We struggled to even get a decent finish with our tester pots, so due to our lack of painting skills, we have to get a professional in!

    • freda Fitness
      6 years ago

      We do all our painting ourselves. Major task on a complete house renovation! But we did it to cut down on costs, which enabled us to spend the money on other areas and things we really wanted. We work well as a team and the results are good, so much so that our builders offered us a job! So although I'm not adverse to hiring the professionals, I do think you can do as good a job yourself.

    • Isidora Markovic
      Original Author
      6 years ago

      Very impressed by everyone with the patience and determination to paint their whole homes!

    • Kerri O'Kane
      6 years ago
      Whilst I can paint, and can paint to a pretty good standard (decorated my own room at 15) it sometimes a case of being time poor. We recently had some carpentry work done in the living room and it was easier all round to get the tradesmen to do all the carpentry and the painting that needed doing all in one go and done rather than them doing some of the work and then me still being left to do the painting.
    • PRO
      DCL Interior Design LLP
      6 years ago

      There are definitely good decorators and bad ones - I certainly agree with Jenny Boyd and A.S.! Some professionals are most certainly better than others and just because they do this for a living doesn't necessarily mean you're guaranteed a quality result every time. I've had superb results from good decorators, and shocking outcomes from others. I had some so-called professional decorators do the rest of my house and the finish was even worse than my kitchen efforts - paint splashes on hardware and glazing, poor coverage, dust dried into the workwork etcetc. Just shocking! So I should have qualified my statement with get a professional to do it if you can verify that they really know what they're doing and that their standards will match your expectations!

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