Annual movement in painting and decorating prices

Estimating rates in the BCIS Painting and Decorating Prices dataset increased by an average of 2.9% in the year to 1Q2025.

The dataset presents guide prices for redecoration work in existing properties as well as for decoration work in new buildings. It includes internal and external work and a full range of surface treatments.

Following updates to the dataset, it now contains a total of 3,867 rates with 159 resources. New items in the 2025 dataset include anti-climb paint and anti-climb paint warning signs.

Chief Data Officer Karl Horton said: ‘An average increase of 2.9% across the dataset represents more limited growth than was seen in the year to 1Q2024, when painting and decorating prices increased by an average of 7.7%.’

While the prices are presented as national averages based on a contract value of around £45,000, subscribers to the online BCIS CapX can make multiple adjustments, including applying inflation and UK location factors, adjusting the contract value, and building in allowances for preliminaries and required overheads and profit levels.

The pricing information in the dataset is presented in two sections – in the form of prices ‘per operation’ or ‘per coat’, enabling the user to build up an infinite number of unit rates by combining these prices to meet a particular job specification and, secondly, in the form of composite, or compound, prices in which total rates are given for a range of the most common painting and decorating specifications for rapid estimate calculation.

Material supply prices are current at 1Q2025 and labour costs incorporate the latest wage agreement from the Building and Allied Trades Joint Industry Council at 2Q2024.

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