How much does it cost to paint window frames in the UK? (2026)
Published 15 September 2026 · Last updated 15 September 2026 · ~6 min read · By a working Glasgow painter
Short answer: in 2026, having one side of a timber sash window professionally painted costs about £80–£150, depending on how many glazing bars it has — that is the most detailed price list published in the UK, from a Scottish sash and case specialist. Spraying uPVC windows is a different trade: £150–£200 per window, or £300–£350 for a bay (MyJobQuote, June 2026). Ordinary timber casements are rarely priced per window at all — painters quote them by the day, as part of an exterior job.
Most of what ranks for this question is either American (dollars, square feet) or about spraying plastic windows. This guide keeps the three UK price populations — sash specialists, uPVC sprayers and general painters — separate, because averaging them would give you a number nobody actually charges.
How much does it cost to paint a sash window?
£80–£150 per side for two coats, and the number of glazing bars sets where you land. The Sash and Case Painting Company, a Scottish specialist, publishes its prices per side — inside or outside — by glazing pattern:
| Sash pattern | Price per side (2 coats, ready to paint) |
|---|---|
| 1-over-1 (one pane in each sash) | £80–£100 |
| 2-over-2 | £100–£110 |
| 4-over-4 | £120–£130 |
| 6-over-6 | £140–£150 |
| Extra prep if not paint-ready | +£20–£40 per side |
Going from the plainest sash to a 6-over-6 adds £50–£60 per side. That is the price of cutting in: every glazing bar is two more edges to paint neatly against the glass.
What does that come to for a whole house?
Eight 2-over-2 sash windows, painted inside and out, are 16 sides: 16 × £100–£110 = £1,600–£1,760. If the outsides are not paint-ready — flaking paint, cracked putty — add £20–£40 on each of those 8 outside sides, another £160–£320, so £1,760–£2,080.
Turn it into time and it makes sense: £100 for one side is a little over half a day of a painter's money at HaMuch's UK average of about £173 a day (£100 ÷ £173 = 0.58). Sashes have to be freed, glazing bars cut in, and two coats need drying time in between. If you live in a tenement, our tenement flat painting cost guide covers the rest of the flat around those windows.
How much does it cost to spray uPVC windows?
£150–£200 per window and £300–£350 for a bay, according to MyJobQuote (updated 12 June 2026). Spraying is done by specialist firms with spray equipment and coatings made for plastic — it is not a job a painter and decorator normally quotes for. Keep these prices apart from the timber figures above: they are a different trade, measured per window rather than per side.
How much does it cost to paint wooden casement windows?
No large UK cost site publishes a per-window price for ordinary timber casements — you will almost always be quoted by the day. The one UK price guide we found that covers frames, QuoteAdviser, gives £26–£39 an hour (including materials and VAT) and £390–£1,520 for about 7 m² of exterior frames on a typical house. It shows no date and no author, so treat it as a rough guide rather than evidence.
The spread is wide because condition, not size, sets the price. Sound paint needs a sand and two coats; rotten sills need repairs before any paint goes on. The practical check is the same as for a front door: ask how many days the windows will take and multiply by the day rate. As our front door cost guide explains, a short job still books a slot in a painter's diary — which is why small jobs cost more per hour than big ones.
What makes painting windows more expensive?
Prep, rot, putty, lead and height — in roughly that order.
- Prep: the sash specialist above adds £20–£40 per side when a window is not ready to paint. Flaking paint has to come back to a sound edge before the first coat.
- Rot: soft sills and bottom rails need cutting out and filling with a resin repair before painting. Ask for it as a separate line on the quote, so you can see what you are paying to fix rather than to paint.
- Putty: cracked glazing putty has to be replaced, and fresh linseed-oil putty needs to skin over before it is painted. Ask your painter how long they will leave it.
- Lead paint: HSE guidance (CIS79) treats buildings from before the 1980s as the risk group, and lead pigments were widely used until the 1960s. Old window frames often carry many layers. Dry-sanding or burning them off creates lead dust and fumes, so safe methods take longer and cost more.
- Height: upper-floor windows need access equipment. A scaffold tower costs about £60–£115 a week to hire (Lakeside Hire, June 2026); full scaffolding is priced separately. Our house exterior painting cost guide covers scaffolding in detail.
How long does paint on window frames last?
Manufacturers claim up to 8 years for exterior gloss such as Dulux Trade Weathershield and Johnstone's Trade Stormshield, and up to 10 years for Sadolin Superdec. Those are best-case figures for well-prepared timber. Paint is the cheap part of the job — Dulux Trade quotes up to 18 m² per litre for Weathershield exterior gloss, so a litre goes a long way on narrow frames. Labour is where the money goes, which is why skipping prep to save a day is a false economy.
Do you need planning permission to paint your windows a different colour?
Usually not — but listed buildings and some conservation areas are the exception. Repainting in the same colour never needs permission. Changing the colour can need consent if the building is listed, or if it sits in a conservation area where the council has removed permitted development rights with an Article 4 direction. Check with your council before painting period windows a new colour. In Scotland, Historic Environment Scotland's INFORM guide Maintaining Sash and Case Windows is a good starting point on looking after traditional windows.
Is there a free way to price a window job without handing over your details?
Yes. Most UK window price pages sit on quote-matching sites, where the price is the bait and your contact details go to tradespeople. The paintingquotation.com calculator gives you a figure instantly — no form, no email, no postcode — so you can work out what the whole job should cost before anyone calls you.
Price the rest of the house while you're at it.
The free calculator takes about two minutes and needs no sign-up. Painting the door too? See our front door cost guide.
Related questions
- How much to paint a sash window? — £80–£150 per side for two coats, depending on glazing bars; +£20–£40 per side if it is not paint-ready.
- How much to spray uPVC windows? — £150–£200 per window, £300–£350 for a bay (MyJobQuote, June 2026).
- All the windows on a house? — Eight 2-over-2 sashes, inside and out: £1,600–£1,760 before extra prep.
- How often to repaint wooden windows? — Makers claim up to 8–10 years; check sills and bottom rails every year or two.
- Planning permission for a new colour? — Not usually; check first if the building is listed or in an Article 4 conservation area.
Sources: The Sash and Case Painting Company published price list (no date shown); MyJobQuote uPVC spray painting cost guide (updated 12 June 2026); QuoteAdviser window frame painting price guide (no date shown); HaMuch UK painter day rate; Lakeside Hire tower prices (June 2026); HSE CIS79; manufacturer product claims for Dulux Trade, Johnstone's Trade and Sadolin. All read September 2026. Whole-house figures are our own arithmetic on those inputs. Always get a written quote before committing.