Cost of painting
per m².

We went back through all the interior painting lines in our quotes prepared between 2024 and 2026: 230 per-square-metre lines and 31 door lines, once duplicates were removed. Each range runs from the first to the ninth decile: eight lines out of ten fall within it. Prices are materials and labour included, with NF-certified acrylic paint on walls and ceilings, and glycero (oil-based) paint on doors.

The amounts are rounded and refer to no particular project. The facade is not included: our survey has too few lines to publish an honest range, and its price depends mostly on the scaffolding and the condition of the render (see our page on facade refurbishment in Annecy).

This is the most frequent surprise when reading a quote. In our survey, a wall "to freshen up" comes out at around €27 excl. VAT per m² as a median value, against €28 for a new plasterboard wall. The reason lies in what you really pay for: the preparation. Fill, sand, dust off, prime, then apply the finish: the steps stay the same, whether the wall is ten years old or ten days old.

The gap widens when the substrate is damaged. A full skim-coat or smoothing render brings the median to €33 excl. VAT per m² on our walls. Removing wallpaper before painting pushes it towards €48, 70% more than a sound wall, for a room that will look identical once finished.

Before comparing two quotes, read the list of operations written on each line. A low price without skim-coating on a cracked wall is not a saving: it is a defect that will reappear as soon as raking light hits the wall.

Standard NF DTU 59.1, which governs painting work in buildings, distinguishes three finish levels. The site booklet published by the CAPEB summarises them as follows:

Finish C: the appearance of the substrate is not altered, whatever its condition. Finish B: a few defects and application tool marks are allowed. Finish A: the overall appearance is uniform, only slight appearance defects are tolerated.

The same document states that when the finish is not given in the quote, finish B is what is owed. On our per-square-metre lines, three quarters carry the mention "finish B", nearly one in five finish A, and none finish C. Between A and B, the price gap comes from the number of coats of plaster and primer: it is painter's time, far more than product.

The ceiling costs more than the wall: €35 excl. VAT per m² as a median in our survey, against €28. Working with arms overhead does not explain everything. On our quotes, three ceiling lines out of four include skim-coating, against a little more than one wall line in three: a plasterboard ceiling shows every joint as soon as daylight comes in from the window.

Doors are costed individually, at €100 to €160 excl. VAT per door in our quotes. Radiators, exposed pipework and balustrades are covered by flat-rate prices, because their time depends on their shape far more than on their area.

One last trap: the area on a painting quote is counted in square metres of walls and ceilings, not in liveable square metres. A bedroom of 12 m² on the floor already represents some thirty square metres of walls.

Nine out of ten of our quotes that include painting also include a plastering package. Painting therefore rarely comes alone: it follows the installation of partitions, insulating linings or suspended ceilings by our plasterers, then our salaried painters take over on the same project. The substrate and the finish come under the same company, which avoids the usual debate about the quality of the joints at painting time. On a project of insulating walls from the inside or after opening a load-bearing wall, painting is thus part of the same quote.

In the old buildings of the centres of Annecy, Chambéry or Aix-les-Bains, another question arises before sanding: lead. The sale or rental of a home built before 1 January 1949 requires a lead exposure risk report (CREP), with a reference threshold of 1 mg/cm². If you have one, pass it on before the quote: it shows which coatings contain lead, and therefore where the preparation must be adapted.

In chalets and mountain houses, some of the ceilings are timber panelling. Repainting it is costed separately: wood sheds fibres before being painted, and the result is not comparable to that of a plasterboard ceiling.

VAT. In a home completed more than two years ago, painting work falls in principle under the 10% rate, like other maintenance and improvement work; in a new home, it is 20%. The details are in our guide to VAT on renovation works.

The “no-supply price”. Our quotes never include one: every line includes the paint, chosen to suit the substrate. If you buy the paint yourself, it stays at 20% VAT, and only the labour can benefit from the reduced rate.

What the quote contains. For each room or each item of work, it must state the area in m², the substrate (plasterboard, render, wallpaper, panelling), the preparation work, the finish level and the product. On that last point, the indoor air emissions label is a good guide: an order of 19 April 2011 grades paints and varnishes from A+ (very low emissions) to C (high emissions).

If the painting is part of a larger project, our guide to the cost of a renovation per m² in Savoie gives the typical figures for a complete job.