If you’re planning to paint your house’s interior, understanding how to calculate the costs is a good place to start. Let us assist you with the basic data and some helpful tips
Painting your home interior can provide a new look and feel and increase your property value. While the results are worthwhile, it is important to gather all the facts and information you need before you begin the project.
This article will present a general overview of a home interior paint project: how costs are calculated, the pros and cons of doing it yourself versus hiring a professional painter, the kinds of primers and paints that are best for your project, and some of the unexpected steps you need to take to bring your project to fruition.
The Average Cost to Paint Your Home
Painting Your Home Yourself
While certainly the cheaper option in the short term, there are several factors to consider before painting your home interior yourself. First, painting is time consuming. Do you want to take time away from your professional life, your family, hobbies, and leisure time.
In addition, do you have the skills to correctly paint the difficult areas: crevices, corners, ceilings, windows, baseboards, moulding, doors, light switches, electric sockets, and the like? If you make a mistake, can you live with the results for years into the future?
If you do choose paint your home yourself, you’ll need to think about the types of paint you’ll need, how many coats of primer and paint you’ll need for the walls and ceilings, and you will need to purchase drop cloths to cover the floors and minimize the potential mess. On average, homeowners handling the process themselves can expect to spend at least $700.
Hiring professional painters
Hiring professionals to paint a house is definitely the more expensive option to consider, but it comes with several benefits over handling the job yourself.
Painters will reduce the headaches involved in painting, providing professional advice and experience, providing the highest quality materials and paints, and solving problems for you on the spot.
Most painters will generate their estimate based on square footage, and the kind of paint required for the job. For a 2,000 square-foot home, which is a standard single-family home in Texas, the average cost to paint the interior of your home is around $2,115, based on the typical range of $1 – $3 per square foot charged by local contractors.
Other factors they will take into account is your location and accessibility and the specific design and decor requirements you may have.
Before You Start
If you intend to tackle the job yourself you’ll have some prep work to handle before the painting can commence. Here are some things you should always make sure you take care of before you begin painting your home’s interior.
Consider that professional painters will often include these costs in their estimate, allowing you to relax while they do the work:
1. Make sure furniture is moved
You don’t want your furniture to get in the way of yourself or the painters and run the risk of getting ruined by paint. Begin by moving furniture that may block the path. You could store furniture in an outdoor shed if you have one, in the garage or basement, or rent a storage unit while your home’s interior is being painted.
2. Ensure walls and ceilings are smooth
Make sure any damaged walls are sanded and patched, and that any cracks in the walls are repaired before beginning. After all, smooth walls are the easiest to paint! The same is true if you are planning on painting your ceiling.
3. Prepare for the mess
Getting the Necessary Paints
Given that you are painting your home yourself, you will need to purchase paint at your local hardware store. You will need to decide the color and types of paint you desire, as well as ensure you have enough to cover the entirety of your home’s interior.
On average, paint costs anywhere from $15 to even $50 a gallon, depending on the brand of paint you choose. Each gallon of paint should be able to cover up to 400 square feet of your home’s interior. Keep in mind that two coats of paint are often required.
What Kind of Paint Should I Use?
There are two common types of paint that you may choose for a home interior project:
- Latex paints: Latex paint is usually applied to walls and ceilings. Latex paint is durable and is known for drying quickly.
- Oil-based paints: Oil-based paints are a great choice for painting your home’s trim and baseboards. Oil-based paints are durable, provide good coverage for the price, and are beloved for their excellent resistance to stains. They are a bit harder to clean and take longer to dry than Latex varieties.
Paint Gloss
Primer
Most surfaces require a layer of primer before paint is applied. Primer gives the paint a stronger adherence to the surface and allows its colors to appear more brightly and purely. A quality paint primer can be found for between $10 to $30 per gallon. There are several varieties of paint primer to choose from, depending on what your project requires:
- Latex-based primer: As the name implies, latex-based primer is best used with latex paint.
- Oil-based primer: Just like with latex primer, oil-based primer is coupled with oil-based paints.
- Stain-blocking primer: This type of primer will stop the majority of stains from walls or ceilings from bleeding through your new paint job, and also affords a strong mildew resistance.
- Paint and primer combinations: You can find paint and primer combos which are a great choice for giving an additional coat (make sure it is the same color as the paint it is going over), or providing touch-ups to the paint job where needed.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does interior painting cost?
How do painters arrive at their quote?
When a painter arrives to your home to generate a quote, he/she will examine several factors to generate an accurate price for the project, including:
- Determine the estimated time for completing the work
- Calculate the cost of labor needed
- The painter will then add the cost for painting materials, overhead costs, and the spaces needed to complete the job.
What quantity of paint is needed per square foot?
Should I buy cheaper or more expensive paint?
What essential supplies are needed for interior painting?
How much do professional painters charge per hour?
Giving Your Home’s Interior a New Sheen
Nothing feels fresh quite like a brand new coat of paint on your home’s interior. Not only will your home see higher market value should you decide to sell, it also makes your home seem like a whole new place for you and your family. Whether you intend to tackle the job yourself or hire professionals (if you’re in Dallas contact us), you’ll be pleased with your new paint job when all is said and done.
