How much paint will I need?

Painting your walls is a great way to update your space and make it all your own style. However, it can be scary and frustrating to figure out how much paint you will need. There is a general rule when estimating how many gallons you will need and I will show you how below. You will be a pro in no time!

1)      First Start by measuring the walls height and length.

·         Example: The picture shows below 18’ length x 9’ High

2)      You multiply W x H = to give you the square footage of the first wall.

·         In this case it is 18’ x 9’ = 162 sq.ft

 

3)      You will then do this for all the walls you want in the same color to give you the total square footage. If there are any windows or doors, just subtract them from the total.

·         In this example, we will keep all the walls the same size and color and not worry about the doors, ceiling and windows.

162 sq.ft x 4 = 648 sq.ft

 

4)      Most paints will show a spread rate that indicates about how many square feet the gallon will cover. On average they contain 350 sq.ft per gallon.

 

5)      You then divide your total sq.ft of the walls by the spread rate.

·         My total of 648sq.ft /350sq.ft = 1.8 gallons, but round up to the 2 gallons.

 

 

We did it! Not so bad was it.

Here are a few more important considerations to take when painting a room.

·         Are you covering an existing color? If so, is the color you’re covering light or dark? In most cases when you are covering an existing painted wall, you will need a primer and second coat.

·         Is the wall textured? If it is textured, you may also need to put on a second coat for an even result.

·         The quality of your tools make a significant difference on how the paint spreads and in giving you a more uniform result.

·         Always a good idea to purchase a little extra paint just in case and to have some for touch ups in the future.

Now get out there and paint your masterpiece!