Do you have a painting project in your near future? If so, getting clear on the budget now can help you avoid unnecessary costs later. A DIY painting project is usually straightforward, but there are things you’ll want to keep in mind to create a comprehensive and accurate painting budget for your next project. Here are the things to consider for your painting budget:
Size of the room
Obviously, larger rooms will require more paint than smaller rooms. You’ll want to measure the length and width of the room you wish to paint to determine the appropriate number of gallons to purchase. On average, one gallon of paint can cover up to 400 square feet. One thing to keep in mind is that even if paint gallons are mixed on the same day, by the same manufacturer, you’ll still want to combine all paint together and use it to paint the rooms. This way, if there are slight variations across the individual gallons of paint, then you can make them into one blended color for all the rooms you paint.
Texture of the room
Whether you have flat walls or walls with stucco or other textured designs will be important to know to determine how much paint to purchase. Textured walls tend to need more paint than smoother wall surfaces. As a rule of thumb, professional painters will add an additional half-gallon of paint per room, for those with textured surfaces.
Type of paint
Painting prices will vary across brands and what type of paint you want. The types of finishes as well will influence the price for the actual paint materials. Painting brands like Benjamin Moore may cost more per gallon over store brands. It will all depend on the quality of paint you want to use, but generally budgeting about $35 per gallon is a safe bet.
Good to Know
Many of these tools can be used time and again for any future painting projects
Painting tools
From paintbrushes to pole extensions, to drop clothes, to paint trays – there are several essential painting items you’ll want to assemble to make sure you have what you need to effectively get the job done. At the bare minimum, you’ll want to have on hand: metal paint tray ($10), at least three paintbrushes ($20), large drop cloth ($15), extension pole to reach ceilings ($25), paint edger ($40), and at least two rolls of high-quality painting tape ($15). These total another $125 in painting supplies outside of any paint you need to purchase as well.
Putting it all together…
For one medium sized, interior room (15’ x 15’ or 225 sq. ft), you could expect to spend approximately $35-$45 on a gallon of paint plus an additional $125 in supplies, with a total of $160-$175.
The one thing not considered here is the time commitment it takes to gather the supplies, paint the room, and to clean up. A quality paint job may take an hour of shopping and another two hours to paint and clean the room carefully. The time cost consideration is something to think through in determining if it’s best to do the painting yourself or to hire a professional paint contractor who may charge a little more but get the job done in half the time it would take you.
Either way, painting yourself is a completely viable option and can make any future paint projects you do that much easier as you’ll become a DIY painting pro!