Questions to ask before hiring a painter or decorator

Hiring a decorator means giving someone access to your home, often for several days at a time, so it's worth asking a handful of practical questions before booking, regardless of how good the price or the initial impression seems. None of these questions are awkward to ask a genuine professional — a decorator with nothing to hide should answer all of them clearly and without hesitation.

Insurance is the first thing worth checking. In the UK, professional painters and decorators are commonly expected to carry Public Liability insurance, which covers accidental damage caused during the job — a spilled tin of paint on a carpet, damage to furniture while moving it to access a wall, or an accident involving a ladder or scaffold tower. It's entirely reasonable to ask directly whether a decorator holds this cover and roughly what level, rather than simply assuming it's in place because someone looks and sounds professional. A decorator who's vague or evasive about insurance, rather than able to confirm it clearly, is worth treating with some caution.

Experience and references matter just as much as insurance, and are worth asking about directly rather than relying purely on a website or social media presence. How long has the person been decorating professionally? Can they point to genuine references from past customers, or reviews with enough specific detail to be credible — mentions of reliability, tidiness, communication, and the actual quality of the finished work — rather than a high star rating with little substance behind it? For a larger or more specialist job, such as extensive plastering or a complex wallpaper installation, asking to see photos of similar previous work is a reasonable way to judge whether their experience genuinely matches what's being asked of them.

Trade body membership is worth asking about too, even though it isn't a legal requirement to work as a decorator in the UK. The Painting and Decorating Association (PDA) is the UK's principal trade and employers' association for the sector, and members are vetted on workmanship and experience, required to hold insurance, and expected to follow a code of practice before being permitted to display the PDA's quality marque. PDA membership isn't the only sign of a genuinely competent decorator — plenty of excellent tradespeople aren't members of any trade body — but where it does apply, it's a useful additional signal of vetting and professional standards worth weighing alongside references and past work.

Materials, coats and timeline are practical, job-specific questions worth covering before work starts. Does the decorator supply the paint and materials, or is the homeowner expected to buy them — and if the decorator supplies them, is that reflected clearly in the quoted price? How many coats will be applied, and does the job include a primer or mist coat where relevant, particularly over fresh plaster? Roughly how long will the job take, and how long does a room need to be left before it can be used normally again? And is there any warranty or guarantee on the completed work, covering issues like premature flaking or peeling that might appear after the decorator has left?

A handful of general red flags are worth watching for regardless of trade, and decorating is no exception. An unsolicited approach — someone turning up unprompted claiming to have "noticed" work needed at your property — is a common tactic associated with rogue traders rather than genuine, busy professionals, who are rarely short of work and don't typically need to tout for business door to door. Pressure to decide immediately, an unwillingness to provide a written quote, no verifiable business address or landline number, and insistence on cash payment with no receipt or paperwork are all commonly cited warning signs. UK homeowners are estimated to lose over £1.4 billion a year collectively to rogue traders and cowboy builders across all trades, and decorating work — often paid partly upfront for materials — is far from immune to this. Getting a written quote, checking references properly, confirming insurance, and paying by a traceable method rather than cash alone are all straightforward, low-effort steps that meaningfully reduce the risk of a decorating job going badly wrong.

Frequently asked questions