Interior repainting typically costs AED 22 to 45 per square metre including preparation and two coats. A full four-bedroom villa repaint runs AED 35,000 to 75,000. Decorative plaster runs AED 180 to 450 per square metre. Exterior villa painting with render repair and an elastomeric system runs AED 45,000 to 130,000.
The gap between quotes is preparation
Nearly always. One contractor is quoting two coats over existing paint; another is quoting fill, sand, prime and two finish coats. The finished rooms look identical for about a year.
Ask for coats and preparation to be stated separately. A quotation that says only 'paint walls and ceilings' is not comparable to one that specifies the system.
Why exterior paint fails here
Ordinary masonry paint chalks and fades within a Dubai year. Exteriors need elastomeric or high-build coatings with genuine UV stability, applied over properly repaired render.
South and west elevations take considerably more UV and always degrade first, which is why a whole-house repaint often looks patchy after two years if a cheaper system was used.
Timing matters
Fresh plaster and screed need to dry before they are sealed. Painting over green plaster to hit a handover date traps moisture and guarantees a failure later.
| Scope | What it includes | Indicative range |
|---|---|---|
| Interior repaint | Preparation, two coats, walls and ceilings | AED 22 – 45 / sq m |
| Full villa repaint, 4 bed | All internal walls, ceilings and woodwork | AED 35k – 75k |
| Decorative plaster | Venetian or polished plaster, specialist applied | AED 180 – 450 / sq m |
| Exterior villa | Render repair, elastomeric system, access equipment | AED 45k – 130k |
For the whole property rather than the decoration alone, try the renovation cost calculator.
What Decides the Price
The things worth knowing before you set a budget.
Preparation, not paint
Filling, sanding, caulking and sealing is most of the labour and all of the difference. Two quotations using the same paint can differ by half on preparation alone, and preparation is what you are looking at a year later.
Coats, stated separately
A mist coat plus two finish coats is not the same as two coats over bare plaster, and the rooms look identical for about a year. If a quotation does not state coats and preparation separately, it is not comparable to one that does.
Substrate condition
Cracked render, previous coatings that are already chalking, and patch repairs that were never feathered. Painting over any of them buys you a year.
Access on exteriors
A two-storey villa elevation needs scaffold or a powered platform, and that is a real line in the price rather than a rounding. It is also why exterior repaints cluster so far above interior ones.
Drying time on new work
Fresh plaster and screed have to dry before they are sealed. Painting over green plaster to hit a date traps moisture and guarantees a failure, usually visible within the first summer.
Specification for the climate
Ordinary masonry paint chalks and fades within a Dubai year. Exteriors need elastomeric or high-build systems with genuine UV stability, and south and west elevations always go first.
How We Price Decoration
Benstead is run by a quantity surveyor. We do not price work by looking at it and naming a figure. We measure it.
Decoration is the easiest trade in which to hide a thin specification, because the finished wall looks the same whichever system went on it. We measure the areas, state the preparation, state the number of coats and name the system, so that what you are buying is legible rather than implied.
After the survey you receive a bill of quantities — every element listed, quantified and rated, so you can see what each part costs and what it is you are agreeing to. That document is what the fixed price is built on, and it is what we get measured against later. You can compare it against another contractor’s line by line instead of guessing why one number is bigger.
Worth ten minutes before you sign anything: why renovation quotes vary so much, red flags in a renovation quote and what a bill of quantities actually is. For an indicative range in about a minute, use the Dubai renovation cost calculator.
Related Questions
How often does a Dubai villa need repainting?
Interiors typically five to eight years, sooner in high-traffic areas and children's rooms. Exteriors three to six years depending on orientation and the original system.
South and west elevations take far more UV and always degrade first. A good elastomeric system over well-prepared render substantially outlasts standard masonry paint.
Can you paint over existing paint?
Where the existing coating is sound, well adhered and compatible — yes, after cleaning, filling and priming.
Where it is peeling, chalking or was originally applied over unprepared plaster, it has to come off. Coating over a failing system simply means the new paint fails along with the old one, usually inside eighteen months.
How much does it cost to paint a house in Dubai?
For a full internal repaint of a four-bedroom villa, broadly AED 35,000 to 75,000 covering walls, ceilings and woodwork. Measured by area, interior repainting runs about AED 22 to 45 per square metre including preparation and two coats. An exterior villa repaint is a different job — render repair, a UV-stable elastomeric system and access equipment put it at roughly AED 45,000 to 130,000.
What does it cost to paint a 4 bedroom house?
Internally, around AED 35,000 to 75,000 in Dubai for walls, ceilings and woodwork throughout. The spread is wide because preparation drives it: a property in good condition needing filling and two coats sits at the bottom, one with cracked plaster, previous coatings that are failing, or a dark colour being covered sits at the top. Exterior work is priced separately.
Why is one painting quote half the price of another?
Preparation and coats, almost always. Filling, sanding, caulking and sealing is where the labour goes, and it is invisible once the paint is on. A quotation that says only ‘paint walls and ceilings’ is not comparable to one specifying a mist coat plus two finish coats over prepared and sealed substrate. Ask both to state preparation and coats separately and the gap usually explains itself.
How often does a Dubai villa need repainting?
Internally, every five to seven years in normal use. Externally, three to five years is realistic with a proper elastomeric system, and considerably less if an ordinary masonry paint was used — those chalk and fade within about a year here. South and west elevations degrade first, which is why a whole-house repaint can look patchy after two years if the system was wrong.
Is decorative plaster worth the cost?
Venetian and polished plaster run roughly AED 180 to 450 per square metre applied, against AED 22 to 45 for a painted finish, so it is a specification decision rather than a cost-saving one. It is specialist-applied and unforgiving of a poor substrate, so it belongs on feature areas where the wall is already true rather than across a whole property.
Does the price include making good?
It should, and you should check. Filling, sanding and caulking before painting is normal practice. Repairing cracked render, replastering, or cutting out and rebuilding a failed substrate is not decoration and should appear as its own item. If a painting quotation is silent on the condition of the walls, that silence is where the variation comes from.
Do I need to move out while the house is painted?
For a whole-property repaint, most people move out or live room by room. Low-VOC paints have made the smell far less of a problem than it was, but preparation produces fine dust that reaches everywhere, and furniture has to be moved to the middle of each room and sheeted. Room-by-room is possible and adds roughly a third to the programme, because the team sets up and breaks down repeatedly.
Can you paint over the existing colour?
Usually, with the right preparation. Covering a dark colour with a light one needs an extra coat and sometimes a tinted primer, which is why it should be stated in the quotation rather than assumed. Painting over a coating that is already chalking or failing is a different matter — it will take the new paint off with it, and the old system has to come off first.