Coving Costs UK — What to Charge to Fit Coving and Cornice in 2026

Coving Types and What They Cost to Supply

The first decision on any coving job is the material. It drives both your supply cost and how long the run takes to fit, so it's worth understanding the main types before you price. Here's a breakdown of what each costs to buy in 2026 and how it behaves on site.

Lightweight Plaster / Gypsum Coving

Gypsum-based plaster coving is the standard choice for most domestic work — the familiar C-profile sold in 2m and 3m lengths by the major merchants. It's rigid, takes paint straight off the wall and gives a crisp, traditional finish. It's heavier than the foam alternatives and a little more brittle to cut, but it's what most customers picture when they ask for "normal" coving.

• Standard 100mm gypsum coving: £8–£14 per metre supplied
• Larger 127mm / 135mm profiles: £12–£20 per metre supplied

Polystyrene / EPS Coving

Expanded polystyrene coving is the budget option — light, cheap and quick to put up with adhesive. It's popular on landlord refurbishments and price-sensitive jobs because the material cost is minimal and one person can fit it fast. The trade-off is that it dents easily, the surface can look less crisp, and some customers dislike the "plasticky" feel. Don't fit it near downlights or anywhere it might get warm.

• Standard EPS coving: £3–£8 per metre supplied

Duropolymer / Polyurethane Coving

Duropolymer and polyurethane (PU) coving — brands like Orac and NMC — is the premium modern alternative to plaster. It's lightweight, far more impact-resistant than gypsum or EPS, comes pre-primed and holds sharp detail on ornate profiles. It's a favourite for plain contemporary shadow-gap looks and for tall, decorative profiles where plaster would be heavy and awkward. The supply cost is higher, but fitting is fast and clean.

• Plain duropolymer coving: £10–£25 per metre supplied
• Ornate / decorative PU profiles: £20–£45 per metre supplied

Traditional Fibrous Plaster Cornice

At the top end is traditional fibrous plaster cornice — solid plaster mouldings, often ornate Victorian or Georgian profiles, cast in moulds and sometimes made to match an existing pattern. This is the genuine article for period properties and listed buildings, and it commands period-property prices. It's heavy, needs mechanical fixing as well as adhesive, and demands real skill to mitre and join cleanly. Bespoke run-in-situ cornice is a specialist sub-trade in its own right.

• Off-the-shelf plaster cornice: £25–£60 per metre supplied
• Bespoke / matched heritage profiles: £60–£150+ per metre supplied

Fitting Labour per Metre

Labour is where coving margins are won or lost. A plain run of standard coving in a square room is genuinely quick — a competent fitter can run several metres an hour once set up. But corners, joins, high ceilings and ornate profiles all slow the work right down, and that's where loose per-metre pricing catches people out.

As a rough guide for 2026, fitting labour typically runs at:

• Plain coving, standard ceiling height: £10–£18 per metre
• Larger or ornate profiles: £18–£25 per metre
• Fibrous plaster cornice (skilled, mechanically fixed): £25–£50 per metre

Many fitters prefer to price the day rather than the metre on smaller jobs. A decorator or plasterer day rate of £200–£300 covers a fair amount of coving — most single rooms are a half-day to a day once you include cutting mitres, gap-filling and caulking the top and bottom edges. On a short job, the minimum charge or call-out matters more than the per-metre rate, so don't quote a tiny run at metre price alone.

Worked Example — An Average Room

Take a typical 4m x 4m living room with a standard 2.4m ceiling. The perimeter is 16 linear metres, with four internal corners. Here's how a supply-and-fit quote stacks up using mid-range plaster coving:

• Materials: 16m of 100mm gypsum coving at £11/m = £176 (round up for offcuts and waste)
• Adhesive, filler, caulk and consumables: £25–£40
• Fitting labour: roughly half a day to a day = £120–£250

That puts a realistic supply-and-fit price for a single average room at around £150–£400, depending on profile size, ceiling height and how square the room actually is. Budget EPS coving in the same room could come in nearer £120–£200; a large or ornate profile pushes it toward £400–£550. Always quote the room as a whole — customers want one number, not a parts list.

Worked Example — A Whole House

Coving a whole house is where the maths gets attractive, because your setup, travel and mobilisation are spread across many metres. A typical 3-bed semi having coving fitted throughout — say lounge, dining room, hall, landing and three bedrooms — might run to 90–130 linear metres.

• Materials (mid-range plaster, ~110m at £11/m): £1,100–£1,300
• Consumables across the job: £100–£150
• Fitting labour (3–5 days for one or two fitters): £800–£1,500

A whole-house coving job in plain plaster typically lands somewhere between £2,000 and £3,500 supplied and fitted. Price decorative or ornate profiles, very high ceilings or a period property with fibrous cornice well above that. The key is to measure every room properly rather than estimating — a tape measure and a few minutes per room protects your margin on the larger jobs.

What Affects the Price of a Coving Job

Two jobs with the same metreage can carry very different labour. These are the factors that move the quote up or down — get them onto your survey before you commit a figure.

• Ceiling height: Anything above a standard 2.4m means working off a podium, hop-up or scaffold tower. Stairwells, galleried landings and Victorian rooms with 3m+ ceilings slow the work dramatically and need safe access — price the access in.
• Ornate profiles: Decorative cornice with egg-and-dart, dentil or floral detail is far harder to mitre and join invisibly than a plain cove. Detail that has to line up across a corner takes real time.
• Number of mitres and corners: Every internal and external corner is a cut-and-fit operation. A room with bay windows, chimney breasts and alcoves can have a dozen mitres in 12 metres — that's the real labour, not the straight runs.
• Preparation: Coving needs a sound, dust-free surface. Old coving to strip out, blown plaster to make good, or a freshly skimmed ceiling that has to be left to dry all add time before you can start fitting.
• Painting: Coving is rarely left bare. Caulking the top and bottom edges, filling the joints and applying two coats is a separate stage — decide whether your quote includes decoration or hands a primed run over to someone else.
• Wall and ceiling condition: Bowed walls, out-of-square corners and uneven ceilings mean more filling, packing and fettling to get a clean line.

Supply-and-Fit vs Labour-Only

Decide early which way you're pricing. Supply-and-fit is the cleaner option for the customer and the more profitable one for you: you buy the coving on trade terms, add a sensible margin, and quote a single all-in figure. The customer gets one point of responsibility and you keep the markup on materials.

Labour-only works when the customer has already bought the coving — common when they've chosen a specific designer profile or ordered ornate PU mouldings direct. Charge your day rate or per-metre fitting rate, but be clear in writing that you're not responsible for material shortfalls, breakages from poor storage, or a profile that turns out to be wrong for the room. Always carry a little contingency on labour-only jobs — you don't control the supply, so build in time for missing lengths and damaged pieces.

Quoting Tips — How to Win the Job and Protect Your Margin

Coving quotes go wrong when they're priced off a phone call rather than a measure-up. Before you commit a price:

• Measure every run. Don't estimate perimeters from a floor plan or a guess — bays, chimney breasts and alcoves add metres and mitres that a rough figure misses.
• Count the corners. Note internal and external mitres separately. They are the bulk of your labour and the easiest thing to underprice.
• Confirm the profile. Plain or ornate, plaster or PU — pin it down before quoting, because it changes both supply cost and fitting time substantially.
• Check access and ceiling height. Flag stairwells, high ceilings and anything needing a tower so the access cost is in the quote, not a nasty surprise on site.
• State what's included. Make clear whether the price covers stripping old coving, making good, caulking and painting — or just fitting a primed run. Ambiguity here is where disputes start.
• Set a minimum charge. A single short run isn't worth metre price alone once travel and setup are counted. Have a sensible minimum job figure and stick to it.

A tidy written quote that lists the rooms, the metreage, the profile and exactly what's included reads as far more professional than a single scribbled number — and it converts better, because the customer can see you've actually measured the job.

Quick Reference: Coving Prices UK 2026

Prices are indicative UK trade ranges for 2026 and vary by region, profile, ceiling height and access. Always measure and quote each job individually.