Property Refurbishment in Surrey: Where to Start

The Problem

You've bought a property that needs work. Or you've lived in your home for years and it's finally time to tackle everything. The list is endless: rewiring, new boiler, plastering, painting, new kitchen, new bathroom, flooring, doors, windows, roof repairs, garden.

Where do you start?

I've been in hundreds of homes across Croydon, Purley, Kenley, Caterham and Warlingham during refurbishment projects. I've seen the ones that go smoothly and the ones that become disasters. The difference is almost always the order in which things are done.

Do the decorating before the boiler is replaced and the plumber will wreck your new paint. Plaster before the electrics are sorted and the electrician will chase channels through fresh walls. Fit the kitchen before the floor is laid and you'll have unsightly gaps under the units.

This guide gives you the order that works. It's not the only order, but it's the one that minimises rework, disruption, and cost.

How to Approach a Refurbishment: The Big Picture

Before we get to the step-by-step, understand this: a refurbishment is a sequence of trades, each building on the last. Get the sequence wrong and you pay twice. Here's the basic flow:

Structure → Services → Plaster → Decorate → Fit → Finish

That's it. Everything else fits within that structure. Let's break it down.

Structure: Roof, walls, floors, windows, doors. The fabric of the building. Nothing else happens until this is sound.

Services: Electrics, plumbing, gas, heating, drainage. The invisible systems that make the house work. Installed before plaster goes on.

Plaster: Walls and ceilings made smooth and ready for decoration. The blank canvas.

Decorate: Paint, wallpaper, tiling. The cosmetic layer that makes the house look finished.

Fit: Kitchen units, bathroom suites, built-in storage, doors, skirting boards. Installed after decorating so they don't damage fresh paint.

Finish: Handles, light fittings, curtain rails, mirrors, final paint touch-ups. The details that complete the job.

Why the Order Matters: A Real Example

A customer in Redhill called us to paint his newly refurbished house. He'd had the kitchen fitted, the bathroom installed, the floors laid, and the electrics done. Then he asked us to paint.

The problem: the electrician had chased channels through walls that were already plastered. The plasterer had then patched them, but the patches were visible through the paint. The kitchen fitter had scuffed the walls installing the units. The floor installer had scratched the skirting boards.

We had to patch, sand, prime, and repaint multiple areas. What should have been a straightforward paint job took 40% longer and cost him over £1,000 more than it needed to. All because the decorating was done last, but the other trades weren't finished when it started.

If he'd waited until everything was in place before painting, we'd have done it once, done it properly, and it would have been perfect.

Step 1: Assess and Plan (Before Anyone Picks Up a Tool)

Get a survey.

If you've just bought the property, get a full building survey. If you've owned it for years, you probably know what's wrong, but a professional survey will find the things you don't — structural issues, damp, roof problems, outdated electrics.

List everything.

Write down every job you want done. Then categorise them: structural, services, plaster, decorate, fit, finish. This tells you the order and helps you get accurate quotes.

Set a realistic budget.

Add 20% for contingencies. Every refurbishment goes over budget. Damp you didn't know about, asbestos in the Artex, rotten floorboards under the carpet. The 20% buffer saves you from panic decisions.

Decide your living situation.

Can you live in the house during the work? If not, where will you stay? Living on site is cheaper but stressful. Moving out is expensive but faster. Most people do a mix — move out during the worst weeks (kitchen/bathroom replacement) and live on site for the rest.

Get quotes from each trade.

Don't get one builder to quote for everything unless it's a full design-and-build contract. Get separate quotes from the electrician, plumber, plasterer, painter, and kitchen fitter. It takes longer but you get better prices and you control the process.

Step 2: Structural Work (The Foundation)

Roof and gutters:

Fix leaks, replace broken tiles, clear gutters, repair flashing. Water getting in will ruin everything you do inside.

Damp and ventilation:

Treat rising damp, penetrating damp, and condensation. Install proper ventilation — extractors in bathrooms and kitchens, air bricks in solid walls. No point decorating over damp — it'll come back through.

Windows and doors:

Replace or repair. If you're replacing, do it before plastering so the plasterer can finish neatly around the new frames. If you're keeping original sash windows, get them draught-proofed and repaired before the decorators arrive.

Floors:

Repair joists, replace rotten boards, level uneven surfaces. If you're laying new flooring, decide whether it's going under or over the skirting boards. This affects the decorating order.

Structural alterations:

Removing walls, adding extensions, converting lofts or basements. These need planning permission, building control approval, and structural engineers. Do them first — everything else follows.

Step 3: Services (The Invisible Infrastructure)

Electrics:

Rewire if the house is old. Add sockets where you need them. Install new consumer unit (fuse box). Plan lighting positions — downlights, pendants, wall lights, under-cabinet lighting. Run cables before plastering so they're hidden in the walls.

Plumbing:

Replace old pipes. Move radiators if you're changing room layouts. Plan boiler position. Run pipework for new bathrooms and kitchens before the plasterer arrives.

Heating:

New boiler, new radiators, underfloor heating. Install before plastering. Test the system before the plasterer covers the pipes in walls.

Gas:

New gas runs for cookers, fires, boilers. Gas Safe registered engineer only. Certificate required for building control sign-off.

Drainage:

Replace old drains, add new connections, install macerators if needed. Do this before floors are laid.

Important: All services need testing and certification before they're covered up. Get the certificates. You'll need them for building control and your insurance.

Step 4: Plaster (The Blank Canvas)

Once the structure is sound and the services are installed, the plasterer makes the walls and ceilings smooth.

Strip old wallpaper and loose plaster.

Don't plaster over old wallpaper. It'll bubble and fail. Strip back to bare plaster or brick, depending on the wall condition.

Repair damaged plaster.

Fill holes, patch blown areas, repair cracks. Use the right filler for the depth — deep fills need bonding plaster, shallow fills use finishing plaster.

Skim or replaster.

Old plaster in good condition can be skimmed (a thin coat of finishing plaster over the top). Badly damaged plaster needs hacking off and replastering. This is more expensive but essential for a good finish.

Allow to dry.

Fresh plaster needs 2–4 weeks to dry before painting. Don't rush it. Paint on damp plaster and it'll peel. Use a moisture meter to check — it should read below 5% before you start decorating.

Important: Don't let the heating come on full blast immediately after plastering. It dries the surface too quickly and causes cracks. Gradual drying is better.

Step 5: Decorate (Our Bit — The Cosmetic Layer)

Once the plaster is dry, we come in. This is where the house starts to look like a home.

Primer and mist coat.

Fresh plaster needs a mist coat — watered-down emulsion that seals the surface. This is essential. Skip it and the paint will soak in unevenly, leaving patchy colours and a chalky finish.

Painting and wallpapering.

Walls, ceilings, woodwork. We do the main decoration at this stage — the bulk of the painting and any wallpapering. We leave final touch-ups until after fittings are installed.

Tiling.

Kitchen splashbacks, bathroom walls, utility rooms. Tile after plastering but before kitchen and bathroom fittings go in. It's easier to tile a blank wall than work around units and sanitaryware.

Budgeting for the decorating phase.

As a rough guide, painting a small bedroom in Surrey starts at £500–£700+, a living room at £900–£1,200+, and a hallway, stairs and landing at £1,200–£1,500+. Wallpapering is typically £900–£1,200+ for a standard bedroom. These figures assume a day rate of £250–£350 for a professional painter and decorator in the Surrey/London-fringe market. They're a guide only — every job is different, so the best way to get an accurate figure is to get in touch for a bespoke quote.

Important: Don't install kitchens, bathrooms, or flooring before the main decorating is done. The decorators need clear access to walls and ceilings. Fitting first means masking, protecting, and working around obstacles — which takes longer, costs more, and risks damage.

Step 6: Fit (Kitchens, Bathrooms, Storage)

Kitchen:

Units, worktops, sinks, appliances. Installed after the walls are painted. Fitters will scuff the walls — that's inevitable. We come back afterwards to touch up.

Bathroom:

Sanitaryware, shower enclosures, baths, taps. Again, after tiling and painting. The plumber connects everything and tests for leaks before we do the final paint touch-ups.

Built-in storage:

Wardrobes, shelving units, cupboards. Installed after decorating so they don't damage the paint. If they're floor-to-ceiling, install them before the final floor finish so the floor fits neatly underneath.

Doors and skirting boards:

Hanging doors, fitting architraves, skirting boards. Done after decorating but before the final floor finish. We paint the woodwork after installation for a crisp finish.

Step 7: Finish (The Details That Matter)

Final paint touch-ups:

Where fitters have scuffed walls, where silicone has smeared paint, where plaster cracks have appeared as the house settles. This is the final coat that makes everything perfect.

Light fittings, switches, sockets:

Faceplates fitted, lights installed, switches tested. The electrician returns for the final connections.

Curtain rails, blinds, mirrors:

The handyman hangs these after decorating so they don't damage the paint.

Final clean:

A professional clean after everything is done. Dust from plastering, sawdust from carpentry, silicone residue, paint splatters. The house needs a thorough clean before you move back in properly.

Snagging list:

Walk through every room with a notepad. List every imperfection — scuffs, cracks, gaps, uneven paint, loose fittings. Give the list to each trade and get them back to fix it. A good tradesman will come back without argument. A bad one will disappear.

Common Mistakes That Cost You Money

1. Starting decorating before the building is sound.

Painting over damp, cracked plaster, or loose render is a waste of money. The paint will fail within months. Fix the structure first.

2. Not getting building control approval.

Structural work, new bathrooms, boiler installations, electrical work — many need approval. Skip it and you'll have problems when you sell the house.

3. Changing the plan mid-project.

Every change costs money and time. The electrician has run the cables, the plasterer has covered them, and now you want the socket moved 30cm to the left? That's a day's work to undo and redo.

4. Not allowing drying time.

Plaster needs 2–4 weeks. Concrete floors need longer. Paint needs time between coats. Rushing it means a worse finish and more problems later.

5. Hiring cheap tradesmen to save money.

A cheap plasterer leaves walls that need skimming again. A cheap electrician leaves dangerous wiring. A cheap painter leaves drips, roller marks, and peeling paint. Pay properly the first time.

6. Not protecting finished work.

Install the kitchen, then drop a hammer on the new floor. Paint the hallway, then drag a wardrobe across the skirting boards. Protect everything as you go. Good tradesmen do this automatically. Cheap ones don't.

Related Reading

Frequently Asked Questions

Last updated: July 2026. Based on 15+ years of painting, decorating, and refurbishing homes in Surrey. If you're planning a refurbishment and need help with the decorating phase, get in touch for a free quote.