A fixed price gives certainty over the total cost but depends on the scope being fully defined before work starts. A day-rate arrangement suits jobs where the scope genuinely cannot be pinned down in advance, such as ongoing maintenance or work that will only be scoped room by room as it is uncovered.
It can be if progress is not tracked, but a well-run day-rate arrangement with clear reporting can actually give better value where the scope is genuinely uncertain.
Yes, this is common — early day-rate work to establish the true extent of a problem can be followed by a fixed price for the remaining, now well-defined, scope.
Fixed price rewards accurate scoping and efficient work; day rate suits work where accurately scoping in advance is simply not possible without opening things up first.
Any job where the areas, substrates and finishes can be fully described in advance is suited to a fixed price. This includes most single-project decorating — a whole house repaint, a set of offices, a shopfront — where the specification can be walked and measured before pricing.
Ongoing planned maintenance, reactive repairs, and jobs where the extent of hidden damage will not be known until work is underway are better suited to a day-rate basis, because a fixed price in these situations forces a contractor to either overprice for risk or underprice and cut corners later.
A fixed price shifts the risk of a scope being harder than expected onto the contractor, which is why contractors price in contingency for that risk. A day rate shifts the risk of the job taking longer than expected onto the client, which is why clear reporting on progress matters more under this structure.
It is common and sensible to fix a price for the areas that can be clearly scoped, while agreeing a day rate or a provisional sum for a defined element that carries genuine uncertainty, such as an area with suspected hidden damp. This keeps most of the job predictable without pretending the whole scope is known.
Describe your project and we will suggest whether a fixed price, day rate or a mix of both fits it best.
Fixed price suits a known scope; day rate suits genuine uncertainty, and honesty about which applies protects both sides.
Speak to a Hampshire commercial decorating contractor that turns up, communicates clearly and delivers a finish that lasts.
