When painting your home, it’s difficult to know how much paint you’ll need.
There’s a lot to take into consideration.
For starters, no two homes are alike. Naturally, the bigger the house, the more paint you’ll need.
You need to think about the actual paint you’ll be using as well.
All paints have a spread rate that determines how much square footage per gallon. The rule of thumb is 250 to 400 square feet per gallon per coat depending on the porosity.
Determining the Right Amount of Paint for Your Home
The best way to figure out how much paint you need is to take length of home multiplied by the height.
For example – 10’ long x 10’ high equals 100 square feet. The average 1200 square foot ranch/rambler home would take about 12 to15 gallons of paint for two coats. This includes painting the overhangs, siding, & soffits.
The accent trim will take two to three gallons of paint for the fascia, gutters, and window trim. The average two story home (about 2,500 square feet) will take 22 to 25 gallons of paint for siding, soffits, and overhangs and 3 to 5 gallons for accented trim.
For a larger home (around 3000 square feet), it will take 25 to 30 gallons and 5 to 7 gallons for the accented trim.
The cost break down is about $1,100 to $1,350 for paint and supplies for the rambler home. The cost of the two story home will be around $1,825 to $2000.
The larger 3,000 square foot home will cost around $2,700 to $3000+.
Not All Paints are the Same
It’s important to keep in mind that not all paints are created equal!
At Painting America, Inc., we specify premium paint offering premium results
Benjamin Moore Regal High Build Exterior paint is a great product that will last at least 15 plus years. We highly recommend Benjamin Moore Aura in satin finish for all accented trim.
When it comes to paint, you get what you pay for.
The cost of premium paint is naturally more, than low level paint, because it contains different ingredients to provide longevity, color retention and superior adhesion, providing 15-18 years of protection to the exterior surfaces of your home.
No need to paint every 5 years!
Spending more on paint now, saves you dollars over the life time of the paint job.
Contact a Painting Contractor for Professional Help
For more information on painting your home or to receive an estimate, contact us at Painting America, Inc at 425-488-1192 or contact us here
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How to Figure Out Paint Amounts for Walls, Ceilings, and More
Body
Looking to paint a room in your house but not sure how much paint to buy? Find out how much paint you need using our guide.
Estimate your room size and paint needs before you go to the paint store. Running out of a custom color halfway through the job could mean disaster!
Painting Walls
Follow the instructions below to calculate how much paint you’ll need. To help, we’ve added an example: A room that is 10 x 15 feet with an 8-foot ceiling. The room has two doors and two windows.
- Measure the total distance (perimeter) around the room. (10 ft. + 15 ft.) x 2 = 50 ft.
- Multiply the perimeter by the ceiling height to get the total wall area: 50 ft. x 8 ft. = 400 sq. ft.
- Doors are usually 21 square feet (there are two in this example): 21 sq. ft. x 2 = 42 sq. ft.
- Windows average 15 square feet (there are two in this example): 15 sq. ft. x 2 = 30 sq. ft.
- Take the total wall area and subtract the area for the doors and windows to get the wall surface to be painted: 400 sq. ft. (wall area) – 42 sq. ft. (doors) – 30 sq. ft. (windows) = 328 sq. ft. of walls that need to be painted.
As a rule of thumb, one gallon of quality paint will usually cover 400 square feet. One quart will cover 100 square feet. Because you need to cover 328 square feet in this example, one gallon will be adequate to give one coat of paint to the walls. (Coverage will be affected by the porosity and texture of the surface. In addition, bright colors may require a minimum of two coats.)
Painting Ceilings
- Using the rule of thumb for coverage above, you can calculate the quantity of paint needed for the ceiling by multiplying the width of the room by its length: 10 ft. x 15 ft. = 150 sq. ft. This ceiling will require approximately two quarts of paint. (A flat finish is recommended to minimize surface imperfections.)
Painting Doors, Windows, and Trim
- The area for the doors and windows has been calculated above. (The windowpane area that does not get painted should allow for enough paint for any trim around doors and windows.) Determine the baseboard trim by taking the perimeter of the room, minus 3 feet per door (3 ft. x 2 = 6 ft.), and multiplying this by the average trim width of your baseboard, which in this example is 6 inches (or 0.5 feet). 50 ft. (perimeter) – 6 ft. = 44 ft. 44 ft. x 0.5 ft. = 22 sq. ft.
- Add the area for doors, windows, and baseboard trim. 42 sq. ft. (doors) + 30 sq. ft. (windows) + 22 sq. ft. (baseboard trim) = 94 sq. ft.
- One quart will be sufficient to cover the doors, windows, and trim in this example.
Tip: Before you paint, ventilate. Keep a window or outside door open in the room you are painting to avoid breathing noxious fumes.
Now see how to choose and use a paintbrush and you’ll be in business!
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