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How much to charge for painting a room

Measure the walls, work out the paint and the hours, then price labor at your rate and materials with a markup. Here is every step, with a full example you can check by hand.

Pricing for painters ·

Short answer: price = labor hours × your hourly rate + materials with a markup. In our worked example, the walls of a 12 × 14 ft bedroom with 8 ft ceilings (365 sq ft after the door and windows, two coats) take about 7.5 hours and 2 gallons. At $55 an hour, with $145 of materials marked up 20%, that's about $590, or about $1.62 per square foot of wall. The rate, hours and paint price are examples, so put in your own.

How do you measure a room for paint?

  1. Perimeter: add up the wall lengths. A 12 × 14 room is 12 + 14 + 12 + 14 = 52 ft.
  2. Wall area: perimeter × ceiling height. 52 × 8 = 416 sq ft.
  3. Take out openings: a common estimating allowance is about 21 sq ft for a door and 15 sq ft for a window (starting guesses; measure big openings). One door and two windows: 416 − 21 − 30 = 365 sq ft.
  4. Times the coats: two coats of 365 sq ft is 730 sq ft of painting.

Ceilings, trim and doors are priced as their own lines. A 12 × 14 ceiling is 168 sq ft, and it's slower work per square foot than walls.

How much paint does a room need?

Divide the painting area by the coverage printed on the can or the product's data sheet. Benjamin Moore lists its Regal Select eggshell at 400 to 450 sq ft per gallon. Use the low end, because textured walls, patched spots and color changes drink more paint.

730 sq ft ÷ 400 sq ft per gallon = 1.8 gallons, so buy 2 gallons. A dark color over a light one, or fresh drywall, may need primer as well: add it as its own line.

How many hours does it take to paint a room?

Split the job into three parts, because each one runs at a different speed:

  • Prep: moving furniture, covering floors, filling holes, sanding, caulking and taping. 2 hours in the example (starting guess). Prep is where rooms run over, so look before you quote.
  • Painting: cutting in and rolling. At 150 sq ft an hour per painter (starting guess), 730 sq ft takes about 4.9 hours.
  • Cleanup: pulling tape, washing tools, putting the room back. 0.5 hours.

Total: 2 + 4.9 + 0.5 = about 7.4 hours, call it 7.5. Time a few of your own rooms and use your real speeds; they will beat any starting guess.

A worked example: the full price

  • Labor: 7.5 hours × $55 an hour = $412.50.
  • Materials: 2 gallons at $60 (example price; use your supplier's) = $120, plus $25 of tape, plastic and roller covers = $145.
  • Markup on materials: 20% markup: $145 × 1.20 = $174.00. (A 20% markup is a 16.7% margin; see markup vs margin.)
  • Total: $412.50 + $174.00 = $586.50, quoted as $590.

Per square foot of wall: $590 ÷ 365 sq ft = about $1.62. That number is useful for checking quotes against each other, but it comes from this room's prep and openings, so don't use it to quote a room you haven't measured.

Should painters charge by the hour, the room or the square foot?

Customers want one price for the job, so quote one. Build it from hours like the example above. A flat "per room" price loses money on rooms with high ceilings, lots of trim or heavy patching, and wins jobs you didn't want on rooms that are quick. A price per square foot is a fine check, but prep work doesn't scale with square feet.

What do painters forget to charge for?

  • Color changes. Going from deep red to white can add a primer coat and a third coat.
  • Wall repair. Patching holes, cracks and peeling paint takes drying time and often a second trip.
  • Furniture and access. A full room of furniture, or a stairwell that needs a plank and ladder, is real time.
  • Lead paint in older homes. Homes built before 1978 may have lead paint, and federal rules require certified renovators and lead-safe work practices when paint is disturbed. Plan the time and the certification before you quote.
  • Drive and pickup trips. A run to the paint store in the middle of a job is an hour you didn't price.

Questions painters ask

What hourly rate should a painter use?

One that pays you a real wage plus your costs and the hours you can't bill (estimates, driving, buying paint, billing). Our hourly rate calculator works the same way for any trade: ignore the plumber wages and put in your own pay, costs and billable hours. $55 is only an example.

Should I mark up the paint?

Yes. You pick it up, carry the cost until you're paid, and stand behind it if a gallon is short. A markup covers that. Pick the margin you want to keep and convert it with the markup vs margin table.

Do I charge more for one coat or two?

Price the coats you will really paint. A repaint in the same color can sometimes be one coat; most color changes need two. Say which in the quote so the customer can compare fairly.

How do I price the ceiling?

Measure it (length × width), use the paint's coverage for the gallons, and use a slower painting speed than walls, since rolling overhead is harder work. Quote it as its own line so the customer can choose.

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