Painter & Decorator in Tseung Kwan O

In writing: which rooms and surfaces (walls, ceilings, woodwork), prep level, number of coats, paint brand and line (and who supplies it), protection of floors and furniture, cleanup and waste disposal, timeline, total price with tax status, and payment terms. For exteriors, add access equipment (ladders vs scaffold) and weather-delay terms. Missing detail is where disputes start.

Exterior paint needs dry surfaces and temperatures roughly between 10-30C (50-85F) without rain for 24 hours after application, so the local dry season or settled summer months are ideal. Painters' calendars fill in peak season — booking exterior work a month or two ahead gets better pricing and scheduling. Interiors are painted year-round and some painters discount interior work in their off-season.

Clear small items, valuables, and wall hangings yourself; painters typically move large furniture to the room centre and sheet it as part of the job. Confirm this when booking — some charge extra for furniture moving, and empty rooms are always cheaper and faster to paint. For whole-house jobs, discuss room sequencing so you can keep living around the work.

A standard bedroom (walls and ceiling, minor prep) takes a professional 1-2 days including drying time between coats. A whole 3-bedroom interior typically runs 4-7 working days for a two-person crew, longer with heavy prep, woodwork, or wallpaper removal. Exterior repaints depend on weather windows — expect 3-7 days of actual work spread over a longer calendar period.

Because scope assumptions differ: prep level, coat count, paint quality, whether materials are included, insurance and tax status, and how busy the painter is. A quote 40% below the pack usually means one coat, minimal prep, or an uninsured operator. Normalise the quotes to the same scope in writing and the spread typically shrinks dramatically — what remains is the real price difference.

Per saleable square foot — typically HK$3-HK$8 per sq ft for standard two-coat wall painting, so a 400 sq ft flat lands around HK$4,000-HK$11,000 and larger flats scale up. Wall repair (skimming flaked or damp-damaged areas) is quoted on top and is often the variable that doubles a quote.

Usually moisture — condensation on concrete walls, seepage from the flat above, or failed window seals. Painting over it fails within months; the fix is treating the source, scraping back, sealing, then repainting, which can add 30-100% to a basic painting quote. Ask the painter to diagnose the moisture path before quoting.