Painters in Valencia and Alicante: flats, rooms and popcorn-texture removal at a price per m²
We are painters and decorators in Valencia, Alicante, Elche, Benidorm and the Costa Blanca for interior work without building: painting a whole flat or a single room, removing gotelé (the Spanish popcorn wall texture) and smoothing, repairing cracks and dried damp stains, lacquering doors. Painting walls white costs €6-8 per m² and a 90 m² flat comes to €800-1,500 depending on its condition. From a few photos and the square metres we give you a fixed quote within 24 hours.
- Same day or within 24 h
- Fixed price before we start
- No call-out fee if you accept the quote
- Public liability insured
- Written guarantee on every job
- We speak English, Spanish and Russian
What we do
- Whole flat or single rooms
- Ceilings and walls, white or colour
- Popcorn texture removal and wall smoothing
- Cracks, dried damp patches and holes
- Doors, frames and radiators
- Door lacquering
- Ceilings with damp stains
- Terraces and railings
- Wallpaper removal and hanging
- Anti-mould paint in bathrooms and kitchens
The painting jobs we do most and how we approach them
Painting the flat white before letting or selling. The most frequent job in Valencia and Alicante: a flat changing tenants that needs clean walls and ceilings within two or three days. We protect floors and furniture with sheeting and tape, fill picture holes and scuffs, sand, apply a coat of stabilising primer if the wall needs it and two coats of washable matt emulsion (Titan, Bruguer or Montó, made in Valencia). Walls and ceilings in white cost €8-10 per m².
Painting one room or changing colour. A 12 m² bedroom costs €180-300 and is done in a day. Going from a dark colour to a light one, or the reverse, takes three coats or an obliterating primer, which is why a colour change goes up to €10-12 per m². We bring the Bruguer or Titan colour chart and paint a one-metre sample on the wall before starting, because colours shift a lot in the coastal light.
Removing gotelé and smoothing. Distemper-based gotelé from the 70s to 90s is dampened and scraped off; the harder plastic kind has to be machine-sanded with extraction or skimmed over with smoothing compound. Then two coats of filler, sanding, primer and paint. Removing gotelé and smoothing costs €12-18 per m², and it is the job that transforms an old flat in Carolinas in Alicante or Benimaclet in Valencia more than any other. To see what is behind that price, look at the popcorn texture removal prices page; and if you are thinking of doing it yourself, the guide to removing popcorn texture explains how to tell distemper from plastic.
Cracks, holes and damp stains. Before painting we repair: settlement cracks with mesh and filler, plug holes with filler, blown plaster with repair compound, and dried damp stains with a stain-blocking sealer and anti-mould paint in bathrooms and kitchens. Filling holes in the wall is included in any full painting job; if that is all you want, there is a guide to filling holes, or our handyman by the hour does it.
How we work
The same process for one room or a whole flat.
- 1. Photos and square metres on WhatsApp. Send us photos of each room (with the whole walls in view), the m² of the flat or the room, and tell us whether there is gotelé, damp or a colour change. If you prefer, we come and measure with no obligation in Valencia and Alicante city.
- 2. Fixed quote per m². We send you a written quote with the m², coats, materials and working days. What it says is what you pay; if scraping a wall reveals something that was not visible (active damp, loose plaster) we stop, show you and agree it before carrying on.
- 3. Work on the agreed date, payment on completion. We normally start within 3-7 days; for a single room, sometimes the next day. We protect everything, paint, tidy up and take the waste away. You pay at the end in cash, by card, Bizum or bank transfer, with an invoice including IVA (VAT) and a 6-month written guarantee on labour.
What affects the painters' price
Prices per m² are calculated on the floor area of the home, which is how most painters in the area measure: so a 90 m² flat in white, walls and ceilings, comes to around €800, rising to €1,500 if there is a colour change, gotelé to remove or a lot of preparation. A painter by the hour charges €20-25, but for whole flats the price per m² is clearer for you and for us.
What pushes the price up most is the condition of the walls: gotelé, damp, cracks and old paint that is flaking. Second is the colour: white on white is two coats; a red or a dark blue, three. Third is height: the old blocks in central Valencia have 3.2-3.5 m ceilings and mouldings, which means a tower and more hours. Fourth is furniture: an empty flat is painted 20% faster than an occupied one, because there is nothing to move or cover.
Good-quality paint (washable, good coverage) is included in our prices. To find out what it costs to paint a flat with examples for 60, 90 and 120 m² and variations by town, see the painting a flat prices page.
When paint is not enough
Some stains cannot be painted over. If the damp is active (a leaking pipe, a terrace letting water through, condensation on an uninsulated north wall), the stain is back within weeks even with a sealer. In that case we tell you before quoting: first the plumber or the builder to stop the cause, then the paint. Painting over active damp is charging twice for the same thing.
The same applies to loose plaster: if the wall sounds hollow when tapped, it has to be cut back and replastered before painting, and we do that with our small-works builder within the same quote. In beachfront flats in Alicante, Santa Pola and Torrevieja we often find crystallised salt on ground-floor walls: it has to be washed down, treated with a specific primer and painted with siloxane paint, not standard emulsion.
What we do not do: facades that need certified scaffolding and a licence, industrial painting and full renovations. For those we put you in touch with a painting and renovation company we trust. We do paint terraces, railings and ironwork with rust-inhibiting paint, essential on the seafront where salt eats metal within two summers.
Where we work
We have house painters based in Valencia and Alicante and cover the coast from both. In Valencia the most common jobs are rental flats in Ruzafa, Benimaclet and Algirós repainted between tenants, and gotelé in blocks in Patraix and Campanar. In Alicante we paint 1970s flats in Carolinas and the Centro and apartments in San Juan before summer.
In Elche we cover the blocks of Carrús and El Pla and the villas of the partidas. In Benidorm we work with holiday-let managers who repaint in the low season, from November to February. In Torrevieja and Dénia there are a lot of second homes painted while the owner is abroad: the key is left with the agent and we send before-and-after photos.
We also paint in Mislata, Torrent, Paterna, San Vicente del Raspeig, Mutxamel, El Campello, Santa Pola, Orihuela Costa, Villajoyosa, Altea and Calpe. In towns more than 30 km from the base the quote includes each day's travel, itemised separately.
Guide prices
| Job | Price | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Walls in white | 6 € - 8 € €/m² | |
| Walls and ceilings in white | 8 € - 10 € €/m² | |
| Colour change | 10 € - 12 € €/m² | |
| Popcorn removal and smoothing | 12 € - 18 € €/m² | |
| Whole 90 m² flat | 800 € - 1500 € | |
| 12 m² room | 180 € - 300 € |
Painters in…
Guides and tips
Frequently asked questions
How much does a painter charge per hour?
A painter charges €20-25 an hour in Valencia and Alicante, and we only use that rate for small jobs: one wall, a ceiling with a stain, a few doors. For rooms and whole flats we quote per m² or per room, so you know the total before we start and are not dependent on how long we take.
How long does it take to paint a 90 m² flat?
Two painters take 2-3 days if it is white on white and the flat is empty. With a colour change, 3-4 days. If gotelé has to be removed and the walls smoothed, 5-8 days because the filler needs to dry between coats. We give you the dates in the quote and let you know if anything changes.
Is the paint included in the price?
Yes. Our prices per m² include washable matt emulsion from Titan, Bruguer or Montó, the filler, the primer and the masking tape and sheeting. If you want a specific paint (an imported brand, a special finish, eco paint), we buy it and charge it at shop price with the receipt.
Do I have to empty the room before you come?
You do not need to empty it, but it helps. We move furniture to the middle, cover it with sheeting and protect the floor. What we do ask is that you take down pictures, curtains and small objects, and empty shelves against the walls. In furnished flats the quote includes that protection time.
Can you paint while I am away?
Yes, and it is very common in Torrevieja, Benidorm and Dénia with second homes. We collect the key from the agent or a key safe, send photos every day and a full set of photos of the result at the end. You pay by bank transfer or Bizum on receiving the photos and the invoice, and we return the key wherever you tell us.
What guarantee does the painting carry?
Six months in writing on labour: if the paint flakes, a roller mark appears or an area is poorly covered, we come back and go over it at no charge. It does not cover stains from new damp or knocks. We flag active damp before starting precisely so that problem does not arise.
Get a free, no-obligation quote
Shall we fix it today?
Call, message us on WhatsApp or leave your details. Fixed price before we start, no call-out fee if you accept the quote.