House Painting Cost Factors

Painting Your House? Consider These Factors When Thinking About Cost

One of the quickest ways to give your home a refreshing new look is with a coat of paint. Inside and out, paint can make every home feel brand new. The easiest way to tackle a paint job, while ensuring the outcome is exactly what you pictured, is by hiring a professional. But how can you know what to expect from a cost standpoint? There are many factors that you can look at to get an idea of how expensive your paint project will be.

Total Size Of Your Paint Job

Let’s start with how big of a job are you planning. Is it the inside or the outside of your house? Is it both? How big is your house? Is it one story or more? Whole house interior paint jobs are more expensive than whole house exterior jobs, and the price will increase with the size of your house and the number of stories.

It’s All In The Details

Do you want the ceilings and floors painted? Are you interested in painting inside your closets or just the walls? Details like these can either add or subtract costs from the final total and are important to consider as you think about the scope of your job.

Your Home’s Architecture

The architectural style of your house also plays a role in the cost of painting. If your house is a more elaborate or intricate style, more prep work will be required to ensure your walls, and not your trim or window frames, are properly painted. Victorian homes are beautiful to look at, but their intricate details require much preparation to ensure they stay pristine while you are painting.

The Siding On Your Home

If you are looking to paint the exterior of your house, the biggest factor in the cost of the job is the first thing you see. The type of siding covering your house will have the most impact on the cost of the job. Different siding types have different textures, meaning that the type and amount of paint needed to adequately cover the siding will differ between types. Generally speaking, metal siding is the cheapest to cover, while stucco siding, with its large amount of texture, is the most expensive. Concrete, vinyl, and wood siding all fall in between.

The Condition Of Your Siding

The state of your siding also impacts the cost of a paint job. Siding that is in disrepair will cost more to paint because the painter, or another contractor, will need to repair the damage in order to achieve a finish you will love. Additionally, the quality of the paint currently on your siding will impact the final cost of a new paint job. Paint that is significantly faded will require more coats in order to get the desired result.

More Colors, More Cost

The color scheme you choose impacts the cost of your paint job more than you may think. The more colors you choose, the more you are going to pay a professional. Deeper colors will also cost more to use than light colors because, generally, it takes more coats of a deep color to get an even finish. If you’re painting your home’s exterior a darker color, it’s important to keep in mind that darker colors fade faster so will require repainting sooner.

How Many Paint Coats Do You Need?

Another thing to consider when choosing colors is how different the new color is from the existing color of your walls. A simple paint refresh (where you paint the same color over the existing paint to give it a lift) will require the fewest coats, so the least amount of paint and the lowest amount of labor. If you want to go from a very dark wall to a very light wall, you will need to use a primer before using your new color.

Is Primer Needed?

With the advent of two-in-one paints, that are thick enough to avoid the use of a separate primer, priming your walls can be useful to cover uneven spots, grease stains, lessen the smells absorbed by old paint, and hide water damage and mildew stains. As stated above, priming can add to labor and supply costs but it can be mitigated with the type of primer you choose. An oil- or latex-based primer will be less than a shellac primer.

Pick Your Paint Color Wisely

Once you have chosen a color, be sure to test your choice on a swatch in the room before hiring a painter. This way, you ensure that you will be satisfied with your choice when it covers all of your walls, saving you the heartache and expense of having to repaint a freshly painted room when a color turns out to be something different than you expected.

What Type Of Paint Do You Want To Use?

Now, it’s time to think about what kind of paint you want. The type of paint you choose will not only impact the price of your paint job, but how durable it will be and how long it will last. There are two main types of paint: latex paints and oil paints. Latex is the most common indoor paint used, but is not as durable as oil based paints (which tend to be used in kitchens and bathrooms where people are generally harder on their paint).

Choose The Finish Best For Your Room

Each paint type comes in five different finishes, each slightly different in how shiny they appear when dry. The finishes you can choose from (in order from no shine to the highest shine) are: flat/matte, provides the most coverage because it soaks up the most light; eggshell, flat with a low-shine finish but a little luster; satin, dries with a lovely luster that is often described as velvety; semi-gloss, in between satin and high gloss in sheen when dry; and high gloss, ultra-shiny, light-reflective, and hard. As you go up in shininess, you also go up in durability, with flat/matte being the least durable and hardest to clean without removing paint to high gloss, which is the most durable and the easiest to clean.

Need Paint With Special Features?

You can also get paints with special features. Some paints will inhibit mold; some paints will cover up existing imperfections easier; some paints will seal in and cover smells that have been absorbed by existing paint. These are great features for some paint jobs, but they do increase the cost of the paint so should be used strategically.

How Much Prep Work Is Needed?

Now that you’ve thought through all the factors involved in your paint choice and how it can impact the cost of your paint job, take a look at the current state of the surfaces that you need to paint. The less work your painter needs to do to prep the surface for painting, the less money you will need to spend. Clean, smooth walls are needed to ensure a flawless finish.

Need To Fix The Walls Before Painting?

When assessing the state of your walls, look for things like old, peeling paint, uneven surfaces, or places where the paint is very dirty. How much caulk and/or putty is needed to fill holes? Is there a wall texture that needs to be sanded down? All of these factors will determine how much prep work your painter needs to do to ensure your walls are ready to paint. Less prep work means you pay lower labor costs.

Do The Walls Have Wallpaper?

Another factor to consider is whether your walls are wallpapered. While experiencing a resurgence in popularity, wallpapered walls need special attention before being painted. Wallpaper is not a surface that should just be painted over as it can cause problems in the future. Wallpaper removal can result in damaged walls that need repair before they can be painted, so it’s important to take this into consideration when trying to estimate the cost of your paint project

A professional paint job is a wonderful way to refresh the look and feel of your home, without the hassle of painting yourself. It’s also a service that can fit any budget, especially when you know what factors to consider when estimating the cost of the job.