How to Price Exterior House Painting: Access, Preparation and Labour Day Rates

Quick Answer: A full UK 3-bed semi exterior repaint in 2026 costs £2,800–£5,500 and a 4-bed detached £4,500–£9,500, with the dominant cost lines being access (scaffold £180–£350 per week per elevation), surface preparation (40–60% of total labour), and the masonry-versus-woodwork specification split. Day rates are £220–£350 for a skilled exterior decorator and £160–£220 for a labourer, working to BS 6150:2019 and within a 7–25°C temperature window with dew point management. Premium silicone-based masonry coatings carry 10–15 year warranties when properly specified.

Summary

Exterior painting is priced from access first, surfaces second, and material spec third — the opposite of interior pricing. A 3-bed semi with a single masonry-painted elevation accessible from a 6 m ladder costs £900–£1,500. The same property quoted with full scaffold to four elevations, masonry plus woodwork, is £4,500–£8,500. Same paint, same square metres of surface — the access strategy makes a 3–5× cost difference. Honest quotes break out access as a separate line; bundled "all-in" quotes either over-cost simple jobs or under-cost complex ones.

The second pricing driver is preparation. Exterior surfaces fail more often than interior — UV degradation, freeze-thaw damage, biological growth (algae, lichen, moss on damp elevations), tannin staining from adjacent timber, hairline cracks following plaster movement. A full-prep job on a weathered elevation (jet-wash, fungicidal wash, repair, prime, spot-coat) takes 2–4 days before the first finish coat goes on. An "easy" repaint where the existing paint is sound, washed and lightly sanded is 1 day. Quotes that bundle preparation invariably under-cost the difficult elevations and over-cost the easy ones.

The technical decision that gets least attention is breathability on solid walls. Pre-1920 solid-wall properties were built to "breathe" — moisture moves through walls in both directions. Painting solid walls in non-breathable acrylic masonry paint traps moisture, leading to spalling, salt staining, and accelerated brick decay over 5–10 years. Silicate (mineral) and silicone-based masonry paints are vapour-permeable and are the technically correct specification on solid walls. The common acrylic masonry paint sold by big-shed retailers is fine on cavity-wall modern construction but actively damaging on pre-1920 brick. The right specification depends on the wall — see exterior masonry paint specification by wall type.

Key Facts

Quick Reference Table

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Specification 3-bed semi 4-bed detached Programme Notes
Acrylic masonry (basic) — front and back £2,800–£4,200 £4,500–£7,200 4–6 days Cavity wall only; budget
Acrylic masonry — full 4 elevations £3,500–£5,500 £5,500–£9,500 6–8 days Standard cavity wall job
Silicone masonry (premium) — full £4,500–£6,800 £6,800–£11,500 6–8 days 10-year warranty
Silicate / mineral paint (solid wall) £4,800–£7,500 £7,200–£12,500 7–10 days Vapour-permeable for solid wall
Render — repaint only £2,500–£4,200 £3,800–£7,200 4–6 days Cleaning + 2 coats
Pebbledash repaint £3,200–£5,500 £5,000–£9,500 5–8 days Higher coverage rate
Woodwork only (fascia, soffit, windows, doors) — 3-bed semi £600–£1,400 £1,000–£2,200 2–4 days Often bundled with masonry
Woodwork heritage (sash windows individually) £1,500–£3,500 £2,500–£5,500 4–8 days Specialist sash work
Front door only (sand, prime, 2 coats gloss) £180–£320 n/a 0.5–1 day Standalone job

Detailed Guidance

Access: The Single Biggest Cost Variable

Exterior decorating costs scale with access difficulty more than with surface area.

Ladder access (sub-3 m) — single-storey rear elevations, garage walls, ground-floor only. No external rental. Decorator works from extension ladder or stepladder with hop-up. Suitable for 30–50% of typical UK 3-bed semi exterior surface.

Tower scaffold (3–6 m) — gable ends, first-floor windows, low rooflines. Mobile aluminium tower hired (£75–£150 per day) or owned by contractor. Can be moved during the job. Suitable for 50–70% of typical 3-bed semi exterior.

Full scaffold (any elevation, any height) — bespoke metal scaffolding erected for the duration. Required for full-elevation work, work above 6 m, work where ladder reach is unsafe, work on listed buildings or in conservation areas where scaffold conformance to neighbours matters. £180–£350 per week per elevation; £1,200–£2,500 for erection and dismantle.

Cherry picker / MEWP — for awkward access where scaffold is impractical (driveway too narrow, rear garden inaccessible to scaffold lorry). £150–£280 per day for a small MEWP, plus operator. Sometimes cheaper than scaffold for short jobs (1–3 day repaints) but rarely for full-elevation work.

For a typical 3-bed semi:

This is 30–50% of the project total. Quotes that don't break out access are bundling it into "labour" — fine, but the homeowner should ask: how is access being managed?

Masonry Paint: System by Wall Type

The wall construction determines which masonry paint system is appropriate.

Cavity wall (post-1920) construction — accepts any masonry paint family. Acrylic is the dominant budget choice; silicone is the premium choice; mineral is over-specification.

Solid wall (pre-1920) construction — must use breathable system. Silicate, silicone, or mineral paints. Acrylic masonry on solid wall traps moisture and accelerates wall decay.

Render — usually paintable in any system after appropriate primer. Silicone hydrophobic systems are increasingly the recommended specification on render — see render system specification and warranties.

Pebbledash — high coverage area per m² of elevation due to surface texture. Coverage rate drops by 30–50% versus smooth surfaces. Use a long-pile roller or spray equipment.

Lime-rendered or lime-pointed walls — must use lime-compatible breathable systems (silicate or limewash). Acrylic on lime-rendered wall causes the lime to fail.

The masonry paint families:

Acrylic masonry paint — standard "Sandtex Trade", Dulux Weathershield Smooth, Crown Trade Sandtex. £45–£85 per 10 L. 5–8 year repaint cycle. Suitable for cavity wall.

Silicone masonry paint — Sto Lotusan, Dulux Weathershield Silicone, K Rend HP12 (also a render finish). £75–£140 per 10 L. 10–15 year repaint cycle. Hydrophobic — water beads off. Self-cleaning. Vapour-permeable. Premium choice.

Silicate (mineral) paint — Keim, Earthborn Silicate, Beeck. £85–£180 per 10 L. 15–25 year design life. Genuinely breathable. The correct specification on solid wall, lime-rendered, and listed buildings. Reacts chemically with substrate (forms permanent silicate bond).

Limewash — traditional finish for heritage. £30–£60 per 10 L (cheap by the litre but very low coverage so high cost per m²). Annual or biennial reapplication. Used on listed buildings and where authentic finish required.

Surface Preparation: 40–60% of Total Labour

Exterior surfaces require more preparation than interior. The standard preparation sequence:

Jet wash — pressure-wash to remove loose paint, surface dirt, algae, lichen, moss. £150–£300 of dedicated labour for a 3-bed semi (4–6 hours). Use a 1500–2000 PSI domestic-grade washer, not industrial — high-PSI can drive water into porous masonry.

Fungicidal wash — antimicrobial solution applied after pressure wash, dwell 10–30 minutes, rinsed off. Kills mould and algal spores in the substrate. Without this, biological growth re-emerges through the new paint within 12–24 months. £30–£60 in chemicals plus 1–2 hours' labour per elevation.

Mortar repair — repointing where mortar joints are open, repair to spalled brick faces, infill of cracks. £35–£140 per m² of localised repair. Often a separate trade (bricklayer day rate £180–£280) but exterior decorators with general experience cover it.

Hairline crack stabilisation — flexible filler or elastomeric primer over networks of small cracks. £35–£75 per linear metre of significant crack treated.

Spot priming — Zinsser BIN, Dulux Weathershield Multi-Surface Primer, or alkali-resistant primer where bare substrate is exposed. £25–£75 per elevation of localised primer.

Heavy flake removal — wire-brush, scraper, or grit-blast where existing paint is heavily flaking. £45–£120 per m² of grit-blast (plus equipment hire if not owned). Wire-brush 2–4 hours per elevation.

Mask windows, doors, drainpipes — careful masking of glass, frames, drainpipes, exterior fittings. 1–2 hours per elevation of masking, plus materials (£15–£30 per elevation in masking tape and film).

A full prep on a weathered exterior runs 2–4 days at £200–£300 per day — £400–£1,200 of preparation alone before any finish coat is applied.

Working Temperature and Dew Point

Exterior paint application is constrained by temperature and humidity in ways interior work is not.

Working temperature window — 7–25°C for most masonry paints; 5–25°C for some specifically winter-formulated products. Below 7°C, acrylic emulsion-based paints don't form a continuous film; above 25°C, they dry too fast and craze.

Dew point clearance — the surface temperature must be at least 3°C above dew point during application and for several hours after. Painting in early morning or late afternoon when surface is approaching dew point causes blooming, blushing or pinholing — particularly on dark colours and silicone systems.

Sherwin-Williams / Dulux Trade rule — application rules from manufacturer datasheets specify minimum surface temperature (typically 7–8°C) and minimum dew point gap (3°C). Datasheet adherence is required for warranty validity.

Practical implication — exterior painting in the UK runs reliably from late March to mid-October. Earlier and later work is possible but carries weather contingency on programme. Most decorators stop exterior work in November and resume in March; some run 12 months with risk-managed scheduling.

Woodwork: Sand, Prime, Undercoat, Gloss

Exterior woodwork (fascia, soffit, barge boards, windows, doors) is priced separately from masonry and follows a different specification.

Sand — 80 grit then 120 grit on previously-painted woodwork; bare-back to wood for failed finishes. 30 minutes per square metre.

Knot block — shellac-based knot blocker on bare wood (essential — bleed-through tannins ruin paintwork within 6 months). £8–£14 per litre.

Primer — alkyd or acrylic primer/undercoat. For exterior, oil-based primers persist (Sikkens Cetol, Sadolin Classic) but water-based have largely caught up (Zinsser BullsEye, Dulux Trade Water-Based Undercoat).

Undercoat — 1–2 coats. Sand between coats with 240 grit.

Topcoats — exterior gloss, satinwood, or microporous wood stain (for natural finish). 2 coats. Sand lightly between coats.

For pricing:

See preparing exterior woodwork and microporous wood stain alternative to gloss for application detail.

Heritage and Microporous Wood Stains

Pre-1900 timber on listed buildings or conservation areas often calls for microporous stain rather than gloss paint. Microporous wood stains (Sikkens Cetol Filter 7, Sadolin Classic, Manns Performance Microporous) penetrate the wood rather than forming a film over it. Wood beneath continues to "breathe", reducing the trapped-moisture failure mode.

For pricing:

Programme: A Typical 3-Bed Semi Exterior Repaint

Day 1: Scaffold up (typically by sub-contracted scaffolders, day before) Day 1: Sheet up, mask, jet-wash all elevations Day 2: Fungicidal wash, allow 24 hours Day 3: Mortar repair, crack stabilisation, spot-prime Day 4: First coat masonry — front and one gable Day 5: First coat masonry — rear and other gable Day 6: Second coat masonry — front and one gable Day 7: Second coat masonry — rear and other gable Day 8: Woodwork — fascia, soffit, windows Day 9: Woodwork — doors, snag-list Day 10: Final clean, scaffold dismantle (dismantle day or day after)

Total 8–10 working days plus scaffold up and down. Add weather contingency: 30–50% in late autumn / early spring.

Cost to Paint the Outside of a House — Consumer Quick View

For a homeowner asking "how much does it cost to paint the outside of a 3-bed house":

Add £1,200–£2,500 for full scaffold if not already included. Add 15–25% for awkward access (narrow side return, sea-front exposure requiring tide-aware programming, sloped site requiring tiered scaffold). Subtract 20–30% if the property is single-storey only (bungalow or single-storey extension) — ladder access throughout.

For solid-wall properties, do not save money by accepting acrylic — the wall damage over 8–12 years costs far more than the silicate or silicone premium today.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long does exterior paint last?

Acrylic masonry paint on a cavity wall: 5–8 years before recoat. Silicone masonry paint: 10–15 years. Silicate paint: 15–25 years on solid wall. Exterior gloss on woodwork: 5–8 years on south-facing, 8–12 years on north-facing. Microporous stain on heritage timber: 4–8 years. The biggest determinant is exposure — south- and west-facing elevations weather faster than north and east.

Can exterior painting be done in winter?

Yes, with care. The temperature window is 7–25°C with dew point clearance of 3°C minimum. From November through February, weather windows shorten to mornings or specific dry-cold days. Most decorators schedule exterior work from late March to mid-October. Winter exterior painting is possible but adds 30–50% to programme risk.

Do I need to paint over existing flaky paint?

No — flaky paint must be removed before recoat. Flaking paint indicates the existing system has lost adhesion to substrate; new paint over the top will simply lift with the old. Either wire-brush or scrape until sound substrate is reached, or grit-blast for severe cases. £45–£120 per m² for grit-blast preparation in problem areas.

What's the difference between masonry paint and exterior emulsion?

Masonry paint is formulated for porous mineral substrates (brick, render, stone, pebbledash) — it has higher pigment loading, alkaline resistance, and weathering durability. Exterior emulsion is essentially interior emulsion with mild weathering additives — it is not suitable for masonry surfaces. Always specify masonry paint for masonry; the slight cost difference is recovered in 2–3 years.

Should I get my house painted by a single decorator or a team?

For a 3-bed semi, a solo decorator is 8–10 days; a two-person team is 4–6 days. Cost per day for the team is roughly 1.7× the solo rate, but the project total is similar — slightly cheaper because of shared mobilisation. Larger properties (4-bed+) and full-scaffold jobs benefit from teams; small jobs and accessible properties suit solo decorators.

Regulations & Standards