Painting a room in Ireland usually costs €250 to €450 for a standard bedroom and €350 to €650 for a living room, as an aggregate Irish market estimate for walls and ceiling, two coats, labour and paint included. Adding skirting boards, doors and window frames brings a typical room to €400 to €900. Painting the whole interior of a three-bed semi-detached house usually costs €2,500 to €5,000, and the outside of the same house €1,500 to €3,500 before any scaffolding. Most painters charge €180 to €250 a day, with Dublin at the top of the range. Homeowners who want quotes can post the job under painting and decorating and compare prices from local painters.
Painting prices at a glance
The figures below are an aggregate Irish market estimate for an occupied home with normal furniture, labour and trade paint included, for two coats of emulsion on sound, previously painted surfaces.
| Job | Typical price |
|---|---|
| Painter's day rate | €180–€250 |
| Small bedroom or box room, walls and ceiling | €250–€400 |
| Double bedroom, walls and ceiling | €300–€450 |
| Living room, walls and ceiling | €350–€650 |
| Kitchen, walls and ceiling, around units | €300–€550 |
| Bathroom, walls and ceiling | €250–€450 |
| Woodwork for one room (skirting, door, frames) | €150–€400 |
| Hall, stairs and landing | €500–€1,100 |
| Full interior, two-bed apartment | €1,800–€3,500 |
| Full interior, three-bed semi-detached house | €2,500–€5,000 |
| Exterior walls, three-bed semi-detached house | €1,500–€3,500 |
| Wallpaper removal, per room | €150–€400 |
Prices are lower for an empty property and higher where furniture has to be moved and covered, where walls need a lot of filling, or where colours change dramatically, for example from dark red to white, which can need a third coat.
A worked example: repainting the downstairs of a three-bed semi in Galway before Christmas, meaning the living room, kitchen and hall, plus skirting and doors. A painter at €220 a day needs about five to six days, so labour comes to roughly €1,100 to €1,320. Paint and materials add about €250 to €400, giving a total of around €1,350 to €1,720. Adding the stairs and landing adds another two to three days.
How painters price a job
There are three common ways painters in Ireland quote:
- By the day. Common for smaller jobs and for painters working alone. The quote states the number of days and whether paint is included.
- By the room. A fixed price per room is easy to compare, but check exactly what each room includes: ceiling, walls, woodwork and radiators are often priced separately.
- By the job. Larger jobs, such as a full house or an exterior, are usually priced as one total after a site visit.
Paint and materials typically make up 15% to 25% of the bill. Trade paint bought by the painter is often cheaper than retail, but premium brands, specialist primers for stains and damp, and eggshell or satin for woodwork all push the cost up.
What affects the price
- Preparation. Filling cracks, sanding, sealing water stains and treating mould takes time and is the biggest variable between quotes.
- Ceiling height and stairwells. High ceilings and stairwells need towers or platforms.
- Woodwork. Doors, frames, skirting and banisters are slow, detailed work, especially in gloss.
- Colour changes. Covering strong or dark colours needs extra coats.
- Wallpaper. Stripping paper, especially several layers or painted-over paper, adds a day or more.
- Furniture and access. An occupied home takes longer to protect than an empty one.
- Exterior extras. Scaffolding, power washing, repairs to render and painting fascias and windows.
- Location. Dublin and the commuter belt are typically dearer than the rest of the country.
Exterior painting
Painting the outside of a house is a bigger job than it looks. Walls need cleaning, often with a power washer, and any cracks in render must be repaired so water does not get in behind the new paint. Masonry paint is applied in two coats. Windows, sills, fascias and soffits are priced on top.
For a bungalow or a two-storey house where ladders and a small tower are enough, €1,500 to €3,500 is typical. Where full scaffolding is needed, add roughly €800 to €2,000. Exterior work in Ireland is best done between late spring and early autumn, when walls are dry and the weather is settled. Many painters book their summer exterior work well ahead, so asking for quotes in the winter is sensible.
