There are some calculations you can do to help you how to figure out what it will cost to paint a room. Every room is different and every contractor has a different way of figuring out what he will quote you to paint a room. Because of that prices can have quite a bit of spread between multiple quotes. As a professional painter I will help you in figuring out the cost of painting different rooms.
First thing all contractors must know is how long will the job take. A normal sized bedroom should take 1 day unless there is a lot of preparation and repairs. The rooms we will discuss in this article will be bedrooms, foyers, great rooms and dining rooms.
So lets dive in and get a feel for what you may be dishing out for cash to paint your room. The first of rooms to discuss will be Bedrooms. There are various sized bedrooms and there can be paint-able windows and there can be closets with multiple doors, there can be decorative moldings, there can be vaulted ceilings. Lets start with a basic room of 12 foot by 12 foot the prices we will discuss here can go up to 15 foot by 15 foot, we will then add to the quote for any extras that can raise the price.
The basic room takes 1 day to paint. Now just how much should a paint contractor get paid for 1 day of work and what variables can make the price go up or down for just the basic room. Where you live will determine what a contractor may need for a days work. Say we are in New York City, then obviously the cost will be higher. On the low end we will say 200 for a days work and on the high end 500 dollars for a days work. Most folks fit into 300 to 400 a day for labor. This is just a gauge though. Lets put a quote together.
And Guys and Gals – come on and empty the room you will pay some extra if a lot has to be moved – you will not know you did though, because the quote will not specify a cost for moving things. Please have respect and gather all small stuff and small furniture like night tables and get them out of the room. Remove window treatments and pictures.
Paint costs are around 30 to 50 dollars a gallon.
Bedroom 12 x 15 ft.
This room has a couple of nail pops and two small cracks that need to be patched ( this is average and does not really affect price)
Walls painted with two coats
Ceiling painted with two coats
Trim, baseboard, 1 entry door and two closet doors, two windows painted with two coats
Paint for this room will be
1 gallon of ceiling paint
3 gallons of wall paint
1 gallon of trim paint
Paint 40 dollars a gallon
Labor cost………. 350 dollars
Material cost……. 160 dollars
Total…………… 550 dollars
Now lets add variables That add to cost
If you live in an affluent area add 100 to 200 dollars to the cost.
If there is much more in repairs add 100 to 300 more dollars.
If there is wallpaper to remove add 300 dollars
If that wallpaper is difficult to come off and messes the wall up add another 100 dollars ( A word on wallpaper. If you attempt to remove wallpaper yourself if it does not come right off with no damage – go for it
If it does not STOP NOW Before it costs you dearly especially if your walls will need to be skim coated to fix it!)
If there is crown moldings add 50 to 100 dollars depending on what kind of crown (like dentil molding).
If there is a chair rail add 50 dollars
If there is other decorative moldings add 100 to 500 dollars ( this is very rare )
If you want to use two different colors on the walls like an accent wall or on color on top of a chair rail and another below add 50 dollars plus the cost of another gallon of paint.
If you are using deep colors add 50 dollars – They can be difficult to work with and may need extra coats
If you have windows that have the crosses that need to be painted add 25 dollars a window.
Add 25 dollars a door for extra doors.
Add 15 dollars for extra windows and if they have the crosses in them add 25 more
If you have a closet add 100 to 500 dollars ( depends on closet – walk-ins can get elaborate)
Add 100 to 500 for a sitting room.
Add 25 dollars a pillar if there are pillars.
Add 50 to 100 dollars for chauffeured, vaulted or tray ceilings.
Now lets add variables that can subtract from cost
Re-coat same color to freshen up as long as the walls are not that bad thus needing only 1 coat – less 50 dollars (setting up is the hard part a second coat is easy to do when your all set up already. It is possible you can reduce a gallon of paint
so less 40 dollars more.)
All one color, ceiling and walls – less 50 dollars
No trim and doors or windows – less 50 dollars
No ceiling – Less 50 dollars
I think you should now be able to get a good idea on how much the cost to paint a room will be with the above calculations. Make sure to get at least three estimates and do not just go with the lowest price.
Now I will just rattle off some prices of other rooms.
A dining room – same as a bedroom
A foyer – same as a bedroom – variables here are adding stairwell, halls, coat closets, ceiling height, moldings, repairs, windows, doors
A high foyer – 800 to 1500
A Great Room – 600 to 1500 and above for elaborate stuff such as moldings, windows, pillars etc.
A Kitchen – 300 to 800 dollars
A Bathroom – 200 to 800 dollars if it is like a master bathroom with high ceilings etc.
A Master Bedroom – Larger sized room 500 to 800 high ceilings 800 to 1500 and add for any other bedroom variables above.
A Powder room – 100 to 300 dollars
This is labor only cost, the material has not been added. But for every gallon you get anywhere from 300 sq ft to 400 sq ft.
Example – 10 x 10 ft room…. Ceiling 100 sq ft but two coats so it is 200 sq ft- you need 1 gallon. Walls are 100 sq ft each for 400 sq ft with two coats that is 800 sq ft and that is a possible two gallons but maybe 3. Contractor will ad the third gallon. 1 gallon for trim. 5 total gallons.
These should help you gauge what it may cost to paint a room. Also if the square footage of the house is 3000 sq ft then you can expect to pay around 2 dollars a sq ft so it would be 6000 dollars. But again it depends upon variables and where you live. I hope this has been helpful!