Painting and decorating

Exterior painting

Painting walls, render, soffits and fascia, and the access needed to reach them.

Post a task Exterior painting by county

Whether this needs a licence in Ireland

Ireland

No licence required

Taken from the statute below; not yet reviewed by a lawyer

Irelandwww.cru.ieChecked 14/10/2026

Exterior painting: what the job involves

Painting the outside of a house — rendered or pebble-dashed walls, fascia, soffits, windows, doors and railings — with the access equipment needed to reach them safely. Irish weather makes preparation and timing as important as the paint.

Also asked for as: exterior house painting · painting outside of house · painting pebble dash · painting render · masonry painting

How the job is usually done

Survey the walls and woodwork, agree colours, and check for cracks, blown render and rotten timber
Set up access: ladders for low work, and a scaffold, tower or cherry picker for upper walls
Wash down to remove dirt, moss and algae, then treat green growth with a fungicidal wash
Rake out and fill cracks in render, scrape loose paint, and repair or flag rotten timber
Prime bare render and timber, and mask windows, sills and doors
Apply two coats of masonry paint to walls, then paint fascia, soffits, windows and doors
Strike the access, clean up and walk the house with the customer

Exterior painting: what is included

Usually included

Washing down and fungicidal treatment of walls
Filling hairline cracks in render
Two coats of masonry paint on walls
Masking and protection of windows, paths and plants

Usually not included — agree it separately

Repairing blown or hollow render
Replacing rotten fascia, soffit or window timber
Scaffold hire, unless the offer says so
Gutter repairs or cleaning
Painting the neighbour’s side of a shared wall without their agreement

Materials and who supplies them

Masonry paint (smooth or textured), usually supplied by the painter
Exterior wood paint or stain for fascia, doors and windows
Fungicidal wash, stabilising primer and exterior filler
Ladders, tower or scaffold — the painter’s or hired by them

How long it takes

Three days to a week for a typical semi-detached house in dry weather; rain, a lot of render repair or a full scaffold add days.

When to book

Book for late spring to early autumn: masonry paint needs dry weather above about five degrees and a few dry hours after each coat, so diaries fill quickly from April.

Exterior painting: the rules in Ireland

What the official sources say, checked against them on the date shown. A summary, not legal advice — follow the link to read the rule itself.

Work at height must be planned so that a fall is prevented: ladders are allowed only for short work where a risk assessment shows a scaffold, tower or platform is not reasonably practicable. A two-storey elevation painted for days at a time normally needs a scaffold, tower or a powered access platform.
Applies to: the painter, as an employer or self-employed person
Health and Safety Authority — Safety, Health and Welfare at Work (General Application) Regulations 2007, Part 4 · hsa.ie · Checked 9 October 2026
Redecoration and maintenance count as construction work. A homeowner who hires a contractor for work on their own home is a client under the Construction Regulations and meets that duty mainly by taking reasonable steps to check the contractor is competent; project supervisors are needed only where there is more than one contractor, a particular risk, or the work runs past 30 days.
Applies to: the homeowner who hires the work
Health and Safety Authority — Safety, Health and Welfare at Work (Construction) Regulations 2013 · hsa.ie · Checked 9 October 2026
Work that would materially affect the character of a protected structure needs planning permission, and that can include repainting in a different colour or finish, inside or out. In an Architectural Conservation Area the usual exemptions may not apply to the exterior. The council can issue a declaration (Section 57) saying which works it considers exempt.
Applies to: the owner of a protected structure or a house in an Architectural Conservation Area
Planning and Development Act — protected structures; the county or city council · citizensinformation.ie · Checked 9 October 2026
Most older houses contain some lead-based paint. Anyone disturbing it at work must assess the risk first and control the dust — sealing off the area rather than dry-sanding or burning it off in an occupied room.
Applies to: the painter, as an employer or self-employed person
Health and Safety Authority — Safety with Lead at Work · hsa.ie · Checked 9 October 2026
Repair, maintenance and redecoration of a home is charged at the reduced rate of VAT (13.5%) by a VAT-registered business, subject to Revenue’s two-thirds rule: if the materials come to more than two-thirds of the price, the goods rate applies to the whole job.
Applies to: the painter or decorator, if VAT-registered
Revenue — Value-Added Tax Consolidation Act 2010, Schedule 3 · revenue.ie · Checked 9 October 2026

What exterior painting costs, and why

What jobs on Talqero came to

Not enough comparable jobs yet to publish a range here. Talqero shows a price range only once at least five comparable jobs, agreed prices or offers exist — a range from fewer would describe a handful of jobs, not the market. Post your job and compare the offers you get.

What affects the price

Height of the house and the access needed: ladders, tower, scaffold or cherry picker
Wall area and the surface — smooth render, pebble-dash, brick or stone
Condition: cracks, loose paint, algae and repairs needed first
Woodwork, windows, doors and railings included or not
Number of colours
Paint system and number of coats
VAT: building work on a home is charged at the reduced rate of 13.5% by a VAT-registered business — unless the materials come to more than two-thirds of the price, when Revenue’s two-thirds rule applies the goods rate to the whole job. Ask whether a quote includes VAT.

Paperwork to ask for at the end

The paint brand, colour code and finish for each surface
Any manufacturer’s guarantee on the masonry paint, with the conditions the painter followed
A VAT receipt if the painter is VAT-registered

Safety

Keep children and pets away from ladders and scaffolding, and do not let anybody climb a scaffold out of hours
Ask how upper walls will be reached — a ladder for days on a two-storey house is not safe practice
Overhead electricity lines near the house must be kept well clear of ladders and towers
Lead paint on old timber and railings should be wet-scraped, not burnt off

Exterior painting: before you hire

Questions to ask a tradesperson

How will you reach the upper walls, and is the scaffold or cherry picker in the price?
What preparation do you do — washing, fungicide, crack filling?
Which masonry paint will you use, and does it come with a guarantee?
What happens if it rains during the job?
Are you insured for work at height?

What you can do yourself

A bungalow’s low walls or a garden wall can be painted by a careful householder from the ground; anything that needs a ladder above the first floor should be left to someone with proper access equipment.

What to put in your task

How many storeys is the house?
What kind of house is it?
What are the walls finished in?
What else should be painted?
Are there cracks, flaking paint or green algae on the walls?

Photos that help

Every side of the house from far enough back to show the full height
Close-ups of cracks, flaking paint or algae
Fascia, soffits and windows if they are included
The access around the house: side passages, conservatories, steep ground

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Questions about exterior painting

Does exterior painting need a licence in Ireland?

No licence is required for this work in Ireland (source: www.cru.ie). Ask instead for references and photographs of similar jobs.

Can exterior painting be done in Ireland’s weather?

Yes, but only on dry days with no rain forecast for a few hours after each coat, and usually not in frost or below about five degrees. A good painter watches the forecast and moves days rather than painting onto damp render. Expect a summer job to stretch if the weather turns.

Do I need planning permission to paint my house?

Usually not. If the house is a protected structure, or in an Architectural Conservation Area, a change of colour or finish can need permission, so check with the council before choosing colours.

Why is the green coming back on my walls?

North-facing and shaded walls hold moisture, and algae grows back if it is only painted over. The walls should be washed and treated with a fungicidal wash and left to dry before painting. Fixing leaking gutters stops the worst of it.

Often booked with exterior painting

Painters and decorators