When calculating the cost of repainting your home or just one room in your home, one of the essential steps is determining how much paint you will need. Along with the wall area you are painting, often you will need to determine the additional paint you will need for trim work, cabinets and ceilings. As not all of the surfaces may be present, McKay’s Painting would like to share how to calculate the amount of paint you will need for each type of surface.
How Much Does a Quart or Gallon of Paint Cover?
One of the main cost of a painting project is the paint itself. You always want to get all the paint at the same time to ensure the colors match perfectly. When determining how much paint you will need it is important to remember some basics. For instance, 1 quart of paint on average covers about 100 square feet while 1 gallon of paint on average covers about 350 square feet. Additionally, most painting projects will require a minimum of 2 coats of paint for a clean coverage. When determining how much paint you will need to buy, remember to double it to allow for the second coat and remember that each gallon will cover nearly 350 square feet.
Ceiling Paint Calculation
When calculating paint for the ceiling you will need a ladder, measuring tape, and a note pad. First you will want to measure the length and width of the ceiling. If you are doing the whole house, make sure to keep each measurement separate from each room. When measuring make sure to round up to a full inch. (Example: 14 ½ rounds up to 15). With the measurement you will basically need to do two math problems. The first step is to times the length and width of the room together which is how many square feet the ceiling is. (Example: 16 x 22 = 352) The second step is to divide the ceiling square footage number to the coverage 1 gallon of paint will cover. (Example 352 ÷ 350 = 1.5) With this example the ceiling will need 1 gallon and 2 quarters of paint for 1 coat. You will want to double the amount of paint for the minimum two coats.
How Much Paint Do I Need for One Wall?
When determining how much paint you will need for painting the walls, essentially you take the same steps. However, you must do each wall. If you’re painting more than one room in the home, again make sure to keep each room measurement separate. Next you will measure each wall’s length and width. If there is four walls measure one wall at a time, times the length and width together for each wall to get how much square footage each wall has. With each wall’s square footage calculated, you will then need to add each wall’s square footage number together. When measuring out each wall, don’t be overly concerned about subtracting out the windows, door or other cutout features that may be in the room. It is always better to have the extra paint. Once you have added together all of the walls, then divide that number by 350 or the 1 gallon of paint coverage and see how much paint will be needed for one coat. Again double it for the minimum 2 coats.
Residential & Commercial Painting & More in Ventura, Ojai, Newbury Park, Westlake Village, Camarillo, Thousand Oaks, Agoura Hills & Santa Barbara California
If you need help determining the cost of your next painting project and want the aid of a professional painting company, contact McKay’s Painting and schedule our services today.
