Table of Contents
Introduction
Every homeowner looks to increase the aesthetic appeal of their homes. One way to do this is to have a paint job done in your home. Painting your home is a great way to ensure that your home stands out from that of others, making it is something that you should be proud of. Painting your home may be expensive. However, it is a project that should only be counted as an irregular expense because you only need to paint your home once every few years.
Regardless, homeowners need to know how much painting their home will cost them. In this article, we will be breaking down a number of things concerning how much it will cost you to paint a home.
Breaking Down The Cost Of Painting
The cost of house painting varies based on a couple of things. The type of paint you are using, the material you are painting, and the country that you live in are just a number of these variables. Generally, most of your painting expenses fall into two categories
Labor Costs
You will spend more on labor than on anything else. Most people think that the painter’s job is limited to applying paint on the walls. It is a lot deeper than that. In fact, most of the painter’s time is spent preparing the surface so that the paint job will last long. A great way to reduce the labor cost is by reducing how much time the painter will spend cleaning, patching, sanding, and caulking the walls.
Paint Costs
The cost of paint is the other expense that will determine how much painting your home will cost. Paint costs something between $20 and $70 per gallon. The price could be much higher depending on the sheen or other special features that you may have chosen. For instance, if you have a mold problem in your home, mold-resistant paint may be what you need.
However, your painter will most likely recommend the type of paint that they trust. It is always best to go for the paint that the painter suggests. However, knowing a thing or two about paint types is not a bad idea. Other materials, like tarps, tape, brushes, and rollers won’t cost as much as the other two previously discussed variables.
Painting Estimates Based On The Size Of The House
The size of your home will play a major role in determining the cost of painting your home. This chart below should give you an idea of what your budget should look like:
Please note that these prices are estimates. The actual cost of painting your home may be higher or lower depending on the painting contractor.
| Size | Cost (Interior Painting) | Cost (Exterior Painting) |
| 500 | $750 – $1500 | $1000 – $1500 |
| 1-story 1000 square feet | $1500 – $3000 | $1000 – $3000 |
| 2-story 2500 square feet | $3,750-$7,500 | $3,000-$5,000 |
| 3 to 4-story 4000 square feet | $6,000-$12,000 | $4,000-$7,000 |
Ways to reduce house painting costs
You can reduce how much you spend on painting your home. By reducing the workload of your painter, you could significantly reduce the cost of painting your home. There are a number of other ways to do this. Here are some tips that will help you reduce the cost of painting your home.
Do all or some of the work yourself
You can save yourself a lot of money by doing the labor yourself. Paint is going to be your biggest expense if you want to go the DIY route. However, if you could still do with the help of some paid labor here are a few things you can do to reduce the cost of labor:
- Trim The Shrubs
- Move the furniture yourself
- Do some prep work like patching, sanding, and scraping
- Remove and reinstall your doorknobs, outlet covers, et cetera.
Don’t Wait Too Long Before You Repaint
Don’t wait for any visible signs of wear and tear to appear before you repaint. When you wait until the paint is in a terrible state, you will have to spend lots of hours prepping the surface. Those hours cost a lot of money. You can easily offset the cost of those hours by repainting early.
Reduce The Scope Of The Job
Before you sign a contract with the painter, read it thoroughly. It is very likely that you will find aspects that are not so important to you. You can trim these aspects so that the cost of painting your home can be significantly reduced.
Be Strategic About Color
You can significantly reduce the cost of painting your house by being strategic with colors. For instance, you do not have to change colors every time you repaint your house. This way you may not need to use so much paint. This is only valid if the surface is in very good condition.
Staying away from excessively bright colors for exterior surfaces is another way to be strategic about color. Bright colors will require multiple coats of paint to cover well.
What is the Best Type Of Paint To Use For Exterior Painting?
A smooth finish masonry paint can increase the lifespan of your paint job by a decade. However, the painting has to be done efficiently for the results to materialize. Also, the paint should be allowed to cure for 30 days.
What is the best weather condition for exterior painting?
Before you go on to hire a painting contractor, it is important to consider the predicted weather conditions. Painting in the wrong weather condition can make you spend more than you should. Painting during the rainy season is obviously a terrible idea, however, most folks forget that humid weather conditions can have a bad effect on your paint job.
Conclusion
Painting your home is an amazing way to ouch things up and improve the general aesthetic value of your home. In this article, we have covered important topics regarding home painting costs. I hope you find them useful.