Have you purchased a home and want to save a few bucks by doing interior painting on your own? Indeed, this is a great idea because interior painting can be done even by a person who does not have any experience. But before taking a brush in your hands, make sure you do some homework by reading a few learning guides. This article is to help you determine how much paint your need to purchase so it is enough to cover all of your walls.
Next time you go to a place that specializes in paint, take a good look at labels that let you know the expected number of square feet a gallon of paint will cover. Normally, you can expect to easily cover around 350 square feet with one gallon of paint. Although basing your calculations on the figure is a good starting point, you still should take it with a grain of salt. In other words, don’t take it too seriously because the number of square feet you can cover with one gallon of paint will greatly depend on the type of the surface you will be working on and how you paint.
To get a more precise amount of paint that needs to be purchased, it is important that you measure a room. Luckily, measuring the room is not a brain breaker. Just measure the surface, after which you can convert the numbers into square feet. You do this by multiplying the width and the length of the surface that need to be covered with paint. Make sure you multiply the result by 2 if you are going to be applying to coats of paint.
The method of calculation described above is not 100% precise, but provides you with a good starting point.
A problem might arise when you decide to calculate the amount of paint needed to cover the surface next to doors and windows. It is not that easy to do, so a good rule of a thumb to follow is to pretend that windows and doors also need to be covered with paint. In other words, imagine that the door is the continuation of the wall. This allows you to have some space for an error. Since you are not a professional interior painter, chances are you may will spill a bit of paint.
Below is a calculation of an imaginary wall, just so you have an example to follow when calculating the amount of paint needed. Say you have a wall which is 15 feet by 25 feet. We multiply these numbers to get 375 square feet of surface. If it is a newly constructed building, you will want to use to coats of paint to make sure the wall will not be seen through it. Therefore, we need to purchase enough paint to cover 750 square feet. If 1 gallon of paint should be used to cover 350 square feet, then all you need is to be 2 gallons of such paint.
Hopefully this article helps you tackle of one the many problems you need to address when it comes to interior painting.