An anesthetic upgrade for your home can benefit it hugely and boost its curb appeal. By leveraging a new paint job, you not only impact the overall appearance of your house, but you also tremendously increase its value.
The national house painting cost is averaged at $2,944 and ranges between $1,650 and $6,300 depending on various factors.
While you may hire a professional painter Orange County or DIY your project, these factors still apply when estimating costs. Your geographical area and condition of your exterior material are but a few.
The type and quality of paint also add to your overall house painting cost, with paint per gallon sitting anywhere between $20 and $80. You should also consider labor.
Most professionals will factor in worked hours when calculating total labor cost.
To help you estimate how much your custom home painting project will cost, here are factors you should keep in mind:
Paintable Area
On various occasions, most painters will calculate costs based on the square footage of the paintable area. The paintable area is the total surface you intend to cover with new paint.
To determine your house’s paintable area, measure the finished area— your house perimeter multiplied by its height. Then exclude the areas covering the doors and windows to get the surface you need to paint.
Your structure may also incorporate gables, balconies, or complex architectural designs. In that case, your painting contractor should give an accurate estimate.
A gallon of paint can cover 350 square feet on average. This can range anywhere between 230 and 450 square feet depending on the material in question.
Also, you’ll need at least two coats of paint to complete your project.
For example, if your paintable area is 1600 square feet, you can determine how much paint you will need by diving 1600(paintable area) with 350 sq ft (the area that can be covered by one-gallon paint). This equals 4 gallons of paint.
Then double this number because your building will require two coats. For your case, you will need 8 gallons of paint.
Labor Costs
You can DIY your house painting project or hire a professional. Going with the latter means you’ll budget for labor costs. Labor hugely impacts house painting costs, often covering the largest portion.
Most professional painters will charge anywhere between $24 and $65 per hour to cover your house—often incorporated in the quote. Hourly costs are often calculated per painter.
With multiple painters on your project, you attract an increased rate. If you’re charged an hourly rate of $30, two painters working on your project will double the rate to $60.
But the job gets done faster. Regional prices will also apply, depending on your area’s living cost.
An experienced house painter will estimate hours they will spend on your house painting project and any other painters they’ll need to complete the job.
Type and Volume of Material
Your exterior material type and volume are important considerations when estimating your house painting cost.
You’ll spend less to paint wood and vinyl structures (a cut of $1 to $2) relative to other materials as they are less porous.
When painting concrete, stucco, or brick, you’ll need a varying amount of paint and labor, which sways the overall painting cost. Other materials like metal will require unique paint.
The volume of material determines how much prep work you need to do.
Prep work puts your walls in the right status for paint but can take more hours if there is a lot of prep work to be done. This raises the cost of painting your house.
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Condition
Your house condition incorporates its age and style and will significantly impact the house painting costs.
For instance, if you live in an apartment with crooked walls, peeling off paint, or disoriented floor panels, you will need more preparation work. This can heighten labor costs by $1000, according to professionals.
In addition, you may pay more if your house’s decorative cornices, ceilings, and ceiling roses are constructed high. This is commonly witnessed in Victorian and Edwardian homes.
Ease of Access
Ease of access is also an essential factor when determining the cost of painting your house. It might cost extra depending on how easily accessible the paintable area is.
Are the walls within reach? Or is the space to work limited? Sometimes you may have a fully furnished house or may even have to move or cover furniture, all of which adds to the total cost of your paint job.
