How to Choose a Painter and Decorator in Suffolk

Decorating is a trade with no compulsory qualification. That means the quality runs from superb to dreadful, and the website alone will not tell you which you are getting.

A few sensible questions will.

Start with recent, local work

Ask to see jobs finished in the last year or two, ideally nearby. Photos help, but a street you can walk past is better. Check the edges where walls meet ceilings and woodwork. Crisp lines are hard to fake.

Local matters more than it sounds. A decorator who works around Bury St Edmunds knows the housing: Victorian terraces, timber-framed cottages, 1960s estates and new builds all behave differently. Our Bury St Edmunds work covers all of them.

Ask about insurance

Public liability insurance covers damage to your home or belongings. A professional will say yes without hesitation and show you the certificate if you ask. If the answer is vague, move on.

Look for a proper quote

A good decorator will visit, look at the surfaces and write down what they will do. Our piece on comparing decorator quotes explains what a good one contains.

Be cautious of a figure given over the phone for a room nobody has seen.

Talk about preparation

Ask how they prepare surfaces. A careful decorator talks about filling, sanding, caulking, priming and masking, and does so unprompted. If the conversation is only about paint colour, preparation may be getting skipped.

Check they match the job

A decorator who is brilliant at new-build interiors may not be the right person for lime-washed walls in a listed cottage. If your home is older, ask about experience with breathable finishes. Our guides to breathable paint and listed building consent show what that experience should include.

Red flags

• Pressure to decide on the spot, or a “today only” discount
• A large deposit demanded before any work or materials
• No written quote, or a quote that only lists a total
• Cash-only with no paperwork
• Reluctance to show previous work or give a reference
• Very low prices that sit far below every other quote

None of these proves bad work on its own. Together, they are worth taking seriously.

Green flags

Replies promptly. Turns up when they said they would. Asks questions about how you use the room. Explains the sequence of work and how long it should take. Mentions protecting floors and furniture without being asked.

Trust your read of the person

You will have someone in your home for days. If they are tidy, courteous and straight with you at the quote stage, they are likely to be the same on site.

If you are weighing up decorators, we are glad to be one of them. Ask for a quote and judge us on the detail.