Decorate a room or area (each one measured): calculator for UK builders
Answer the measurements this calculation needs and JobBosh works out the materials with wastage and pack rounding, the labour hours by role, the plant, the waste and the site needs - then prices them from your own figures, a supplier's quotation or a dated price you record. Free, no account needed to start.
What it works out
- Labour: Set up the bedroom: dust sheets down, access equipment in; Mask and cut in around the ordinary fittings of a bedroom; Mask and cut in around more fittings than an ordinary bedroom: 1 window, 1 door, 1 radiator; Sound - washed down and lightly sanded; Apply 2 coat(s) to the walls and ceiling; Wash down the woodwork (not painted); ...
- Material: Masking tape, filler, abrasives, roller sleeves; Emulsion for walls and ceilings
- Waste: Packaging, masking, sheeting and empty tins
The questions it asks
| Question | Unit / choices | Required? | Help |
|---|---|---|---|
| What is this area? | one of: Bedroom, Living room, Dining room, Kitchen, Bathroom, Toilet / cloakroom, Utility room, Study / office, Other room, Hallway, Corridor, Lobby / porch, Landing, Hall, stairs and landing - two storeys, Hall, stairs and landing - three storeys | required | A room is priced by its ceiling area; a hall, lobby or corridor as a single area; a hall, stairs and landing together by storeys. |
| Length | m | required | This area's own measurement - every room is measured on its own, never averaged. |
| Width | m | required | |
| Wall area of the hall, stairs and landing (all floors) | m2 | required | Each wall's length times its height, added up. |
| Ceiling area of the hall and landing | m2 | required | |
| Ceiling height | m | optional - default 2.4 (labelled assumed) | 2.4 m is typical in a modern house; older houses are often 2.6-2.9 m. Over 3.00 m has its own price. |
| Is the area empty or furnished? | one of: Empty, Furnished, not lived in, Furnished and lived in | required | |
| Pieces of furniture to deal with | nr | required | Beds, wardrobes, sofas, tables, cabinets, shelving ... |
| What happens to the furniture? | one of: Covered where it stands, Moved away from the walls, covered and put back, Cleared by the customer before the work starts | required | |
| Floor | one of: Carpet, Wood or laminate, Tiles or vinyl, Bare boards or screed | required | |
| Floor protection | one of: Dust sheets, Self-adhesive carpet film, Floor protection boards | optional - default dust_sheets (labelled assumed) | Dust sheets are ordinary preparation; carpet film and protection boards are extra work and material. |
| Windows | nr | required | Frames, glass and sills are masked and cut in around. Their area is NOT taken off the walls - the work around them is counted instead. |
| Doors | nr | required | Frames and architraves are masked or cut in around. Not taken off the walls. |
| Radiators | nr | required | |
| Sockets, switches and light fittings | nr | required | |
| Coving or cornice to cut in to? | yes / no | optional - default no (labelled assumed) | |
| Unusual openings to take off the walls | m2 | optional - default 0 (labelled assumed) | Only archways, patio doors or glazed screens - leave 0 for ordinary doors and windows. |
| Condition of the surfaces | one of: Sound - washed down and lightly sanded, Minor cracks and holes to fill and sand, Damaged plaster to make good and sand back | required | |
| Wallpaper | one of: None, Wallpaper to strip, Painted wallpaper to strip | optional - default none (labelled assumed) | |
| New bare plaster that needs a mist coat? | yes / no | optional - default no (labelled assumed) | |
| Decorate the ceiling? | yes / no | optional - default yes (labelled assumed) | |
| Decorate the walls? | yes / no | optional - default yes (labelled assumed) | |
| Woodwork - skirting, doors, frames and windows | one of: Washed down only - not painted, Painted - undercoat and gloss | optional - default wash_down (labelled assumed) | |
| Wall finish | one of: Emulsion, Eggshell, Lining paper, painted, Wallpaper | optional - default emulsion (labelled assumed) | |
| Ceiling finish | one of: Emulsion, Eggshell, Lining paper, painted, Textured coating | optional - default emulsion (labelled assumed) | |
| Coats of finish | nr | optional - default 2 (labelled assumed) | The suggested prices are for two coats. |
| Minutes to cover one piece of furniture where it stands, and uncover it | min | optional - default 5 (labelled assumed) | |
| Minutes to move one piece away from the walls, cover it and put it back | min | optional - default 12 (labelled assumed) | |
| Minutes per m2 to lay and lift carpet film or protection boards | min | optional - default 2 (labelled assumed) | |
| Minutes to mask each window or door beyond an ordinary area | min | optional - default 10 (labelled assumed) | |
| Minutes to mask each radiator or fitting beyond an ordinary area | min | optional - default 3 (labelled assumed) | |
| Minutes per metre to cut in to coving | min | optional - default 1 (labelled assumed) |
The norms behind it, with their sources
Coverage, productivity and wastage defaults you can edit; each carries where it comes from and is shown as assumed until your own benchmark replaces it.
| Norm | Value | Source | Tier |
|---|---|---|---|
| Emulsion coverage per litre per coat | 12 m2/L | typical manufacturer data-sheet figure on smooth plaster; check the tin | assumed |
| Mist-coat coverage (thinned emulsion on bare plaster) | 8 m2/L | typical trade practice; thinned 20-30 % water | assumed |
| Undercoat / gloss coverage per litre per coat | 14 m2/L | typical manufacturer data-sheet figure | assumed |
| Trade emulsion tin size | 10 L | common trade tin | assumed |
| Undercoat / gloss tin size | 2.5 L | common trade tin | assumed |
| Set up the area: dust sheets down, access equipment in | 0.25 hr | JobBosh starting point - edit to your own | assumed |
| Set up a stairwell: stair platform or ladder system, dust sheets | 1 hr | JobBosh starting point - edit to your own | assumed |
| Wash down and lightly sand sound surfaces | 0.03 hr/m2 | trade practice | assumed |
| Fill and sand minor cracks and holes | 0.08 hr/m2 | trade practice | assumed |
| Make good damaged plaster and sand back (decorator's part) | 0.2 hr/m2 | trade practice | assumed |
| Strip wallpaper | 0.15 hr/m2 | trade practice | assumed |
| Strip painted wallpaper | 0.3 hr/m2 | trade practice | assumed |
| Roller application per coat, ordinary cutting-in at the edges included | 0.08 hr/m2 | trade practice: about 12 m2 an hour | assumed |
| Wash down woodwork per metre of skirting (doors and windows counted as 2 m each) | 0.02 hr/m | trade practice | assumed |
| Undercoat and gloss one door, its frame and architraves | 1 hr | trade practice | assumed |
| Undercoat and gloss one window frame | 0.75 hr | trade practice | assumed |
| Undercoat and gloss skirting per metre | 0.08 hr/m | trade practice | assumed |
| Take up the protection and leave the area clean | 0.25 hr | JobBosh starting point - edit to your own | assumed |
| Packaging, masking, sheeting and empty tins per area | 0.05 m3 | trade practice | assumed |
A worked example
Answers used: What is this area? Bedroom; Length 4 m; Width 4 m; Ceiling height 2.4 m; Is the area empty or furnished? Empty; Floor Carpet; Floor protection Dust sheets; Windows 2 nr; Doors 2 nr; Radiators 2 nr; Sockets, switches and light fittings 2 nr; Coving or cornice to cut in to? no; Unusual openings to take off the walls 0 m2; Condition of the surfaces Sound - washed down and lightly sanded; Wallpaper None; New bare plaster that needs a mist coat? no; Decorate the ceiling? yes; Decorate the walls? yes; Woodwork Washed down only - not painted; Wall finish Emulsion; Ceiling finish Emulsion; Coats of finish 2 nr; Minutes to cover one piece of furniture where it stands, and uncover it 5 min; Minutes to move one piece away from the walls, cover it and put it back 12 min; Minutes per m2 to lay and lift carpet film or protection boards 2 min; Minutes to mask each window or door beyond an ordinary area 10 min; Minutes to mask each radiator or fitting beyond an ordinary area 3 min; Minutes per metre to cut in to coving 1 min. These are the recipe's own quantities for those answers - the prices are yours, the supplier's or a quotation's, never a figure typed on a web page.
| Kind | Line | Quantity | How it is worked out |
|---|---|---|---|
| labour | Set up the bedroom: dust sheets down, access equipment in | 0.25 hr | 0.25 h per bedroom |
| labour | Mask and cut in around the ordinary fittings of a bedroom | 0.48 hr | up to 1 window(s), 1 door(s), 1 radiator(s), 6 fittings |
| labour | Mask and cut in around more fittings than an ordinary bedroom: 1 window, 1 door, 1 radiator | 0.38 hr | 2 x 10 min + 1 x 3 min |
| material | Masking tape, filler, abrasives, roller sleeves | 1 item | one set per area |
| labour | Sound - washed down and lightly sanded | 1.63 hr | 54.40 m2 x 0.03 h/m2 |
| material | Emulsion for walls and ceilings | 9.52 L 1 x tin - 10 L tins | 54.40 m2 x 2 coats / 12 m2 per litre, +5 % |
| labour | Apply 2 coat(s) to the walls and ceiling | 8.7 hr | 54.40 m2 x 2 coats x 0.08 h/m2 |
| labour | Wash down the woodwork (not painted) | 0.48 hr | 24.00 m x 0.02 h/m |
| labour | Take up the protection, put the bedroom back and leave it clean | 0.25 hr | 0.25 h |
| waste | Packaging, masking, sheeting and empty tins | 0.05 m3 | 0.05 m3 |
Labour on this example: about 12.17 hours across the roles; at your rates it becomes money.
Site questions this work raises: Protection and cleanliness, Utilities and welfare, Parking and traffic, Waste.
Measured: walls 38.40 m2 (ordinary doors and windows not taken off), ceiling 16.00 m2; 2 coat(s).
Then what
Price the lines from your crew rates and your material prices (each with its source and date), answer the site questions (parking, skip, welfare, power, water, protection), let JobBosh draft the supplier enquiries you approve, and issue a branded quotation your customer accepts on a secure link. Guest work is kept for 14 days; a free account keeps it for good.