How to Estimate the Cost of Getting Your Home Painted?

Renovation works tend to go over the budget, making you drop some extra cash into the project. Painting is no exception. So, if you are on a tight budget and don’t want any costly surprises, it is best to get an accurate estimate of the painting job. Get multiple estimates, and decide on what’s best for you.

Here are some things to base your estimate on-

Area to be painted

This is the most obvious consideration, calculate the area of your walls and subtract the areas of your doors and windows, and any other permanent fixtures. This is what your base cost is usually calculated from. If you plan to get your doors and windows painted, include them too. You might want to make a separate estimate for them depending on whether you will use the same or a different paint for them.

Painting Material                                                   

The next step is to assess how much paint you will need. The area to be painted will help you determine that. This, plus the number of paint coats, and the preferred finish should give you an accurate number. 

Now you know how much paint you will need, once you know this you can calculate the paint cost by picking a paint. There are numerous paint brands out there, each with its own categories having varying features. If you are unsure of what paint to pick, refer to guides on paints to decide on what’s best for your project.

The cost of the paint alone is not your final price, you might still need primer. If your painter is not getting their own painting tools, you might have to buy paint brushes, rollers, masking tape, and any other tool they might need.

Labor Charge

As long as you are not painting your home by yourself, you will be paying painters to do the job for you. Labor costs make up most of your painting project’s total cost. The labor charges are usually calculated based on the number of days worked by a painter, the number of rooms to be painted, or the square footage of the area to be painted. If you are paying based on the days worked, make sure the painter is not dragging out the work purposefully so that they can get paid more.

Prepping

This is usually included in the labor charge, but if there is any significant prep work to be done then you might have to pay for that too. Sanding, patching holes, stripping paint, and cleaning are all part of the prep work to be done before the painters start painting.

Additional costs

Make sure to discuss the post-painting cleanup beforehand. Throughout the course of the painting process, any additional services rendered by the painter like refinishing furniture and such will have to be compensated for, so plan accordingly. 

Make a checklist with the help of these points, and that should help you get an accurate number. Get multiple quotes from professionals to give you something to work with. Even with all this preparation, a surprise expense might jump out of nowhere, so prepare to be surprised.