How Long Does It Take to Paint a House?

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By Cynthia Anaya

Updated: Feb 05, 2024

8 min read

How Long Does It Take to Paint a House

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    The exterior and interior of the house should look beautiful and fresh. Whether you are planning to give a fresh coat of paint to rejuvenate the dirty exterior or to enhance the aesthetics, paint is an interesting way to maintain a perfect balance between the functional quotient and the charm element. Paint protects the house from external elements, extends a fresh look, and looks modern with trending colors. Now, the question that most of us ask ourselves is how long does it take to paint a house and how much does it cost to paint a room? In this article, we have tried to resolve most of your queries.

    How Long Does It Take to Paint a House Interior?

    The time taken and the cost involved in painting a house depends on many factors, such as the size of the building, the number of helping hands to accomplish the work, weather conditions, and many more, which are discussed in the following paragraphs.

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    Size of the house - The financial investment and time taken to paint the house depends on the area of the house. The bigger the area and rooms, the higher the investment of time and money. The time taken to paint a one-room home is much less than a five-bedroom house.

    Number of helpers involved - To accomplish the painting work faster, it's good to involve more helping hands. However, if you are seeking professional help, more helpers means more cost. Consider the budget and decide if you want more people.

    Season in which you plan the paintwork - Season is important as it affects the time taken to dry the paint. It's not advisable to initiate the paintwork during the rainy season because the presence of humidity and moisture makes the paint take more time to dry.

    A number of furniture pieces in the room - More pieces of furniture mean more time wasted in moving them here and there, taking up the painter's time.

    Whether it's simple paint or involves some repair - If a wall needs simple paint, it takes less time, but if there's some repair work on the walls, such as sanding and filling, the work will take longer than usual.

    How soon do you want the work - If you have urgency to finish the paintwork due to any reason, hire more people to wind up the work, if budget is not a constraint.

    How Long Does It Take to Paint a House Exterior?

    For an average home size, the professionals take 4-5 days to finish the work, and you may take more time in DIY projects. However, the unexpected change in the weather may lead to more time. The process involved in exterior painting is as follows:

    Preparation Time

    Painting the exterior of a house is time-consuming work. The preparation consumes the maximum time. In fact the siding material decides the length of time the paintwork takes. Pressure clean the home's exterior, remove the layer of old paint if it was partially peeled, apply primer on the bare wood, replace or repair the wood siding, if needed and cover the surface with tape that you don't want to get painted, even accidentally.

    Painting Time

    Paint the walls with two fresh coats of paint for a perfect finish. However, keep in mind that enough drying time is essential between both coats of paint.

    Cleaning the Post-painting Mess

    The biggest advantage of hiring a professional is they clean all the mess and remove debris from the house. The cleaning process involves removing tools, cleaning any paint dropped here and there and giving the home a fresh and clean look.

    Benefits of Painting the Home

    It enhances the look of the house, adding visual interest, painting helps in price appreciation from a sale and rent perspective because fresh paint makes the house look eye-catching, attracting buyers and protects from various external elements like rain, snow, and extreme weather.

    Advantages of Hiring a Professional Painter Rather Than DIY

    • Expert painters will do their work with more accuracy and finishing because they bring in years of expertise in their work.
    • Professionals take less time and do it more efficiently. A homeowner with no experience won't be able to match their level.
    • You can be stress-free
    • Expert painters bring the best tools and materials because they know what is required for the painting job. If you DIY, you may have to run to get things if you forget something.

    How Long Does It Take to Paint a Room?

    Paint a Room

    To paint the room of size 10 by 10, a professional will take between 2-4 days, including the process of preparing, priming, and painting. If you plan to DIY, it might take more time. To understand the process, here are some steps involved.

    The Basic Preparation

    Remove everything out of the room where the paintwork is already done or yet to start in the last, for furniture that can't be moved, cover it with canvas drop cloths and seal the edges with tape to avoid slipping off during painting, cover the floor with a drop cloth to avoid paint dropping on the floor, remove all the paintings and hung decor items from the walls and fill the holes and dents on the walls with caulk. When using multiple paint colors, use painter's tape to cover the window frame for easy cutting.

    The Challenging Cutting Process

    The next step is to outline the window, door frames, and walls with paint to ensure you don't end up painting the wrong area.

    Fun-filled Priming and Painting Work

    Now it's time for the easiest and most time-consuming work, i.e., priming and painting. Take a bigger roller of 18 inches for faster painting, as it'll cover more surface area. To avoid getting a ladder to paint the ceiling, use an extension rod. Use priming the exposed spots followed by painting.

    Cleaning and Winding Up

    Once the paint dries, bring all the things to their respective places and clean the room thoroughly.

    The Paint Brands to Paint the House

    1. Backdrop
    2. Clare
    3. Farrow & ball
    4. ECOS paints
    5. Sherwin-Williams
    6. Benjamin Moore
    7. Kilz
    8. Behr
    9. Glidden
    10. Valspar
    11. Prestige
    12. PPG
    13. Diamond Brite
    14. Rust Oleum
    15. Royal Ace

    How Much Does It Cost to Paint a 12x12 Room?

    The average cost ranges between $350 to $850; however, if you use the best quality paint and the best professional painter, the cost may go up to $1000. The price is calculated between $1 to $3 per square foot, so you can easily calculate the cost for any room size, considering little fluctuation in the cost.

    Conclusion

    If you are planning to paint the exterior and interior of the house with a fresh coat of paint, consider all the vital factors affecting the time, cost, and final work. The size of the house or room, whether it's a DIY project or done with professionals, weather condition, and the material used on the sidings all impact the time taken to accomplish the work and the investment. Initiate the work judiciously after knowing about how much cost it takes to paint the house and how long it takes to paint a house.

    FAQs

    How Much Does It Cost to Paint a Room?

    The cost per square foot is $1 to $3. You can calculate the approximate cost depending on the size of the room.

    What Are the Factors That Affect the Budget?

    There are several factors affecting the budget, such as the texture of the wall, unexpected wall repair, the color selected (light color over dark may require an additional coat), paint brands, ceiling style, and many more. Each of these factors affects the estimated budget.

    What Needs to Be Done Before Painting a Room?

    Remove all the furniture from the room, tape the edgings, and cover the floor with cloth to avoid stains from spilling.

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