Most advice on choosing a painter is written by people guessing at what homeowners care about. We didn’t want to guess. We have 159 Google reviews, rated 4.9★ on average, and 154 of them have a written comment. We went through every one of those 154 and counted what people actually wrote about.
They’re our own reviews, so read this with that in mind. Happy customers are more likely to leave a review, and nobody writes “the painter was average”. But when you put 154 reviews side by side, the same few things come up again and again, and they are the same things you should be checking when you get quotes from anyone, us included.
What we looked at
- 154 reviews with written text, posted between May 2024 and October 2026 (146 five-star, 7 four-star, 1 one-star).
- Each review was checked for the themes below. One review can count towards several themes, so the numbers add up to more than 154.
- We only counted a theme when the reviewer actually said it. “Great job” on its own doesn’t count as a comment on the finish.
What Dublin homeowners write about
| What the review mentions | Reviews | % of 154 |
|---|---|---|
| Would recommend | 106 | 69% |
| Quick or efficient, done in a day or two | 62 | 40% |
| Tidy, clean, cleaned up afterwards | 55 | 36% |
| “Professional” | 46 | 30% |
| Quality of the finish or standard of work | 45 | 29% |
| Price, value or a competitive quote | 34 | 22% |
| Turned up on time or when they said | 33 | 21% |
| Used us before, or say they’ll use us again | 32 | 21% |
| Friendly, polite, pleasant to have in the house | 30 | 19% |
| Easy to deal with or flexible | 22 | 14% |
| Hard working, long days on site | 20 | 13% |
| Communication, quick replies, kept updated | 19 | 12% |
| Attention to detail | 17 | 11% |
| Prep work (filling, sanding, scraping, priming) | 10 | 6% |
| Did exactly what was agreed | 10 | 6% |
| Protected the house (masking, dust sheets, furniture) | 9 | 6% |
| Colour advice | 5 | 3% |
| Raised a problem or complaint | 4 | 3% |
The jobs behind those reviews were mostly whole houses or apartments (23 reviews), exteriors (22), and hall, stairs and landing (12), with a few window, woodwork and kitchen cabinet jobs.
Two things stand out. First, tidiness comes up more often than the finish itself. People assume a painter can paint; what they remember is whether the house was left the way they found it. Second, price is mentioned in under a quarter of reviews, and almost always as “fair”, “reasonable” or “good value”, not “cheapest”.
What that means when you’re hiring
1. Ask how they’ll protect the house and clean up
More than a third of reviewers bothered to say the painters were clean or tidy. People don’t usually mention something unless they’ve had the opposite before. Daragh, who had an apartment done in July 2026, put it simply:
“They were extremely clean, leaving the apartment as clean as they found it. They did a lot of wall/surface prep also.”
What to ask: Will you mask off floors, sockets and fittings? Who moves the furniture? Who takes down curtain rails and pictures and puts them back? Do you take your waste paint and empties with you? A painter who does this every day will answer straight away. Paddy W. (April 2026) noted the crew “did all the heavy lifting with moving furniture etc.”, and that’s worth agreeing before day one rather than finding out on it.
2. Get a start date, and ask what hours they work
A fifth of reviewers mention the painters arriving on time or when they said they would. It sounds basic, but it’s what lets you plan the rest of your week.
Ask what time they start and finish each day, too. Two of our reviewers praised the crew for working 8am to 8.30pm to get the job finished. If you have small children going to bed at seven, you might feel differently. Better to agree it up front.
The one start-related complaint we’ve had is worth noting. Anthony H. (August 2024) gave four stars and wrote: “The only problem was the delay to start the job.” If your date matters, for a sale, a move or a family event, say so when you’re getting the quote and get the date confirmed in writing.
3. Ask how many days, and how many painters
Speed came up in 40% of reviews, more than anything except “would recommend”. Reviewers described a hall, stairs, landing, dining room and sitting room done in one day, a three-bedroom house with walls, ceilings and woodwork done in two, and a full interior in four.
Those times come from having enough people on the job. Reviewers mention “2 lovely lads”, “Three young Painters” and, in one case, two rooms done in a day “with extra man”. When you compare quotes, ask how many painters will be on site and for how many days. A quote that looks cheaper because it’s one person for a week isn’t a like-for-like comparison with two people for two days, and you’re living with the disruption for longer.
Quick shouldn’t mean rushed, though, which is where prep comes in.
4. Ask what prep is included
Only 10 reviews mention prep by name, but they’re the most specific reviews in the whole set. Alexandru I. (October 2025) wrote that the crew “applied as many coats as needed to achieve a perfect finish and also caulked and painted the skirting boards and window sills.” On an exterior in Swords, Philip T. (October 2025) described “3 hrs spent scraping old paint off and then 3 coats of white done over two days.”
Prep is also where our one one-star review comes from. The reviewer said doors at a family member’s house hadn’t been sanded before they were painted. That’s a fair thing to check on any job: gloss over unsanded woodwork won’t key properly and it shows.
What to ask: Will you fill cracks and holes? Sand the woodwork before painting it? Caulk gaps between skirting and wall? How many coats on walls, ceilings and woodwork? If walls need skimming (common after wallpaper comes off), who arranges that? Ayhan Y. (February 2026) wrote that Alex “arranged skimmers prior to painting because it was needed after wallpaper removal”, so it’s worth asking whether a painter will organise it or leave it to you.
5. Compare what’s in the quote, not just the total
Price came up in 34 reviews. Jey O. (April 2026), who had kitchen and utility cabinets painted, wrote “By far the best quote we got”, which tells you they’d collected a few. That’s the right approach. For typical figures, see our guide to what it costs to paint a house in Dublin.
A good quote should list:
- Which rooms or elevations are included, by name.
- Which surfaces: walls, ceilings, skirting, doors, frames, sills, radiators, bannisters.
- Prep and number of coats.
- Who supplies the paint. One reviewer bought his own paint and ran short; the crew went out and bought more. That’s fine, but know in advance whose job it is.
- Whether your colour choice changes the price. A four-star reviewer mentioned there may be an extra charge for a non-standard colour.
- Payment terms. Reviews mention both a deposit taken before booking and no payment until the customer was happy. Neither is unusual. Just know which applies before you book.
- Start date and how many days.
If two quotes are far apart, one usually includes things the other doesn’t.
6. Find out who you’ll be dealing with
Communication came up in 19 reviews. Lorraine M. (March 2026) said Alex was “always on the other end of the phone for a question to be answered”, and several reviewers mention being kept up to date while the job was running.
Ask who does the quote, who does the painting, and who you ring if something isn’t right. With a company that has a few crews on the road, the person who quotes isn’t always the person holding the brush. That’s normal, as long as you have one number that gets answered.
For exterior work, also ask what happens if it rains. One reviewer mentions the crew working around the weather, and another was followed up with after a job was called off because of rain. An exterior painter should have a plan for an Irish forecast. More on that on our exterior painting page.
7. Ask for colour advice if you want it
Only five reviewers mention colour advice, but they all valued it. John (April 2026) wrote that Alex “even suggested an alternative colour which looked better!” If you’re unsure about a shade, ask the painter to look at it in your room before committing. Paint looks different under Dublin daylight than on a chart in the shop.
What the less-than-perfect reviews teach you
Four of the 154 reviews raise a problem. Those are the most useful ones to read on any painter’s profile, because they show what can go wrong and how it was handled.
- Mark M. (July 2024, four stars): “Was a slight mistake wall to ceiling join line but they fixed it immediately when doing snag with them.”
- Jade B. (November 2024, four stars): “Some chipping when pulling off masking tape but I was able to fix it myself.”
- The start delay and the unsanded doors mentioned above.
The lesson from the first two: walk round with the painter before they leave. Look at the cut-in lines where walls meet ceilings, around switches, and along skirting. Check anywhere tape was used. Small snags are part of painting; a good crew fixes them there and then, and that’s what a snag walk-round is for.
Questions to ask any painter before you hire
- When can you start, and how many days will it take?
- How many painters will be on site, and what hours?
- What prep is included, and how many coats on each surface?
- Who moves furniture and covers floors?
- Who supplies the paint, and does my colour choice change the price?
- What are the payment terms?
- Who do I call during the job?
- Will we walk round and snag it together before you finish?
Red flags
- A price with no breakdown. You can’t compare it with anything.
- Vague on prep. “We’ll give it a lick” isn’t an answer to “will you sand the doors?”.
- No start date. Or a date that keeps moving before the job has even started.
- Only five-star reviews that say “great job”. Look for reviews that name rooms, days taken and what the painter did. Detail is hard to fake.
- No repeat customers. Twelve of our reviewers had already used us before they wrote their review. Sarah C. (June 2025) wrote “I’ve been using the Original Dublin Painters for the last 13 years.” Ask any painter how much of their work comes from people coming back or passing their name on.
What reviews can’t tell you
Reviews tell you how a painter treats people. They won’t tell you whether the painter is insured, or what happens if something goes wrong months later. Ask any painter, us included, for proof of public liability insurance and what their guarantee covers, and get the quote in writing.
It’s also worth asking to see a few recent jobs on a house like yours, whether that’s a new build, an apartment or a pebbledashed semi.
Thinking of getting a quote?
If you’d like us to price a job, we’ll come out, look at the rooms or the outside of the house, and give you a quote that covers the points above. See our house painting and interior painting services, or request a free quote and we’ll get back to you.
FAQs
How many quotes should I get from painters in Dublin?
Two or three is usually enough to see whether a price is fair. More important than the number is making sure each quote covers the same rooms, surfaces, prep and coats, so you’re comparing like with like.
How long does it take to paint a house interior?
From our own reviews: a hall, stairs and landing has been done in a single day, a three-bedroom house with walls, ceilings and woodwork has been done in two, and a full interior in four. It depends on the size of the house, how much prep is needed and how many painters are on the job.
What should I check before the painter leaves?
Walk round together. Look at the lines where walls meet ceilings and skirting, around sockets and switches, and anywhere masking tape was used. Make sure furniture, curtain rails and pictures are back where they were, and that waste has been taken away.
Should I buy the paint myself?
You can, but agree it with the painter first so you get the right type and enough of it. Many painters prefer to supply it, because they know how much a job needs and which products suit each surface.
