There’s a lot that a fresh coat of paint can do to your house. But when you’re planning on painting your home, there are a few questions that you should ask yourself. So, how much does it cost to paint a house?

The cost of painting a house’s exterior is between $1747 and $4168, and the average is around $2957. The cost of painting a house’s interior is between $7500 and $10,000, with an average of $8700 for a 2,500 square foot home. But these numbers are affected by several factors.

The cost of labor, type of paint, geographic location, and condition of your house are all factors that should be taken into consideration while planning the budget for painting your house.

This article will explain how to determine the budget for painting your house. We’ll also suggest some tips that can help you save some cash while renovating your property, so keep on reading.

How Much Does It Cost to Paint a House?

Painting your house isn’t just done for aesthetic purposes. It will increase the market value of your property, improve the curb appeal of the whole neighborhood when the paint is applied to the exterior, and protect your walls from damage.

But determining the budget needed to paint your house can be a little bit challenging, as the amount you pay can be a little bit more or less than your estimated cost. Here are the factors that affect the cost of the paint.

Area

The cost of painting the exterior or interior of your house depends on the type and area of your house. For example, the cost of painting an apartment can be as low as $1500, but a whole house can cost $10,000 or more.

A larger house that measures about 4000 square feet might cost up to $16,000 to have it painted.

Cost of Labor

The cost of labor is between $25 and $75 per hour. The painters will charge higher when they’re more experienced and have more work to do. Some workers will also charge you per square foot, and this cost is usually between $2 and $6.

But since you don’t plan on painting your house every year, it’s best to hire professional and skilled painters. They will sign a contract that covers all work hours and will be responsible for any damage to your property.

Condition of the House

An older house that hasn’t been maintained in a while will require more preparation work and probably more paint to ensure that the exterior and interior are in good condition. You’ll also have to spend more money on repair work before applying a fresh coat of paint.

Type of Paint

When it comes to choosing exterior paint, some types are more expensive because they’re made of high-quality pigments and are easier to apply. Exterior paint types are usually more costly because they’re supposed to be more abrasion and UV resistant to prevent fading.

On average, a gallon of paint can cost anything between $20 and $80. Professional painters might also be able to get a discount on the paint.

For interior paint, choosing the paint depends on where you’re planning to paint. For example, if you’re planning to paint the bathroom, your paint should be mold and moisture resistant. Most basic paint types will cost between $20 and $30 per gallon.

Paint types can have different finishes like satin, gloss, semi-gloss, flat, and eggshell. Most brands also offer safer paints that are free of toxins, and even if they cost a little more, they’re totally worth the price.

High-quality paint brands offer different types of finishes to suit every taste. For example, high-gloss and semi-gloss paint usually cost less than satin and flat paint. If you’re painting over wood or a metal surface, you’ll have to buy a special type of paint which typically costs more.

Painting Technique

Professional painters and interior designers can suggest different types of painting techniques that suit different spaces. From accent walls to two-toned walls, stencils, and other patterns, the painting cost can be between $100 and $500, depending on the nature of the painting technique.

A faux paint costs between $5 and $10 per square foot, while texture paint costs between $4 and $7. If you choose to draw a mural on a wall, you should expect to pay between $50 and $150 per hour, depending on the complexity of the design and its nature.

Geographic Location

The location of your property will affect the paint cost in several ways. First, if you’re located somewhere where there’s a shortage of professional painters, you’ll have to spend more time and money to find skilled workers who are ready to paint your house.

If you live in a hot, humid area, the exterior of your house will be subject to more damage from the sun. The interiors might be too humid, so you need to invest in paint that resists mold.

Extra Costs

In addition to paint costs, there are other costs that you need to take into consideration. This includes the cost of moving furniture, cleaning up the space before painting the room, and the cost of drywall repair.

You should also determine if the cost includes or excludes the cost of painting the windows, doors, and ceilings. The cost of removing old wallpaper or paint should also be added to your painting job.

Even if you don’t choose to remove old paint, you’ll use more coats of light-colored paint to cover dark paint. This means that you’ll buy more paint and hire painters for longer hours.

In some cases, some owners choose to soundproof their homes. Noise protection might cost between $50 and $100 per gallon, but lots of homeowners are willing to pay this price.

You don’t need a permit to paint the interior or exterior of your house unless you’re replacing a siding. In this case, you also need to pay for the inspection cost after replacing it, and in this case, you can expect to pay between $300 and $400.

How Do You Calculate the Cost of Painting?

Learning how to calculate the cost of painting your house will help you set the budget and stick to it. The paint cost depends on the finished and paintable areas.

Depending on the material, a gallon of paint covers between 200 and 400 square feet. If you’re planning to paint the exterior of the house, you need at least two layers to make sure that the paint is providing the required coverage.

The total number of gallons needed is calculated according to this formula: paintable area/ square feet covered. To calculate the number of gallons required for exterior paint, you’ll multiply the number by 2.

Tips to Reduce the Cost of Painting a House

New paint will make your house look fresh and can help you manipulate the interior space to look bigger than it really is. But if the cost of painting the exterior and interior of your house is more than what you can afford, there are a few tips that can help you cut down on the costs.

  • Don’t wait until your house is suffering from a lot of damage before deciding on painting. The cost of preparing and repairing a damaged house adds to the paint cost.
  • Head to the Painting Contractors Association’s website to find professional painters in your area. Compare the competing prices and choose the most suitable offer. Make sure that you ask about the number of hours needed to complete the job, the products used, and the number of paint coats that need to be applied.
  • Sign a contract with your painters. Having a written agreement guarantees that both you and your painters know what to expect when the job is done. For example, some painters will determine the date by which they’re expected to finish the job, while others will only mention the type of paint used and the kind of preparation work needed for the new paint job.
  • Revise the contract to exclude the parts that don’t really add value to you. So, for example, you can skip painting inside closets if they look fine.
  • Try to do some of the work by yourself. Painting the whole house by yourself is definitely more budget-friendly if you know how to finish the job. But if you don’t, you’ll probably end up with damaged walls that need to be painted one more time.

However, you can still cut down the costs by trimming the shrubs near the house to facilitate painting the exterior, moving the furniture, removing outlet covers and doorknobs.

  • Be smart about choosing colors. By applying a new coat of an already existing color, you might get away with one coat of color instead of two. If you want to use a dark color, keep it for trims and accents. You should also think about choosing exterior paint colors because the darker ones tend to fade faster.

Wrap Up

The cost of painting your house depends on many factors, including whether you want to paint the exterior or interior, in addition to the area, type of paint, and amount of preparation needed.

Understanding what’s included in your painting cost estimate will help you prepare a reasonable budget and also cut down on the costs where possible.

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