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Painting render will use more paint.

Rendered walls will use more paint then smooth surfaces


 

HOW MUCH PAINT DO I NEED



 
 

Estimating how much paint you need is a little tricky and the best any one can do is minimize their excess paint or wastage. You will always have excess due to paint only being available in certain size cans and its normally cheaper to buy the larger cans when you work out the per litre or gallon rate. To purchase just one litre of paint it would cost about $35 and to purchase say 10 litres of paint it would cost $160. So the litre rate for a 10 litre tin is $16, that is much cheaper then paying $35 for 1 litre. So do take this into account when you are purchasing your paint, you maybe better off painting two rooms the same colour so you can purchase the larger can. Paint that is left over could be tinted to a darker shade of that colour but you will be limited to what you can do with it, maybe use it for a feature wall.

 

 
Walls with large window will use less paint.
 
 

Rooms with large windows will use a lot less paint.

 


The amount of paint you need will vary a lot with the size of a room or house you are going to painting. I suggest you read the manufactures guide on how many square feet or metres their paint will cover. Every brand of paint and all paint finishes will have different coverage rates. Another factor that will alter the amount of paint you use will be the surface you are going apply it too.

For example if you are painting a previously painted wall then the coverage rate will be close to the manufactures standard specifications. If you are painting an unpainted block wall then you will use a lot more paint, the coverage rate could be down to about half meaning you will use 2 times the amount of paint.

 

One thing that we all don't want to do is order too much paint its too expensive to waste. There are two ways you can over come this issue, firstly only order the minimal amount and work out from there how much you might need to finish. The other way is to get an extra tin of paint but don't get it tinted, asked your paint shop to put the tint required into a cup or small plastic container. If you do need to use it then all you need to do is add the tint and stir it in. By doing this you will have extra paint on hand if needed and if its not required then you can return it because it has not been tinted.

 

 

 How Much Paint You Will Need

 

 

All estimates are approximate due to all the variables and paint estimates are based on an average 3 bedroom single storey home previously painted and applying two coats of paint.

Interior

An average room 12 x 12 x 9 or in metric 3.6 x 3.6 x 2.7

Ceilings -  1/2 of a gallon or 2 - 3 litre's of paint per room, to paint all the ceilings in a house it would be  6 - 8 gallons or 20 to 30 litres.

Walls - 1 gallon or 4 - 5 litre's of paint per room, to paint all the wall in a house it would be 8 - 10 gallons or 30 - 40 litres.

Woodwork/Trim - 1/4 of a gallon or 1 litre of paint per coat per room, to paint all woodwork it would be 4 litre's per coat.

Sealer/Primer for a new plaster board - 1 gallon or 4 litres of paint for walls and ceiling per room or 10 - 12 gallons or 40 - 50 litre's for all walls and ceilings in a house.

Feature Wall - 1/4 to 1/2 gallon or 1 - 2 litre's of paint.

Exterior

Gutters & Fascia's  1 gallon or 4 litres of paint.

Eave linings - with a carport 2 - 3 gallons or 10 - 14 litre's of paint.

Windows - 1 gallon or 4 litre's of paint.

Walls - for a smooth surface  8 - 10 gallons or 30 - 40 litre's of paint.

Doors - 1/4 of a gallon or 1 litre of paint.

 

 

There are still more factors that will alter how much paint you use, every person applies paint differently meaning some will apply more then others. Roller covers all have different dispersion rates and this can vary how much paint you use. So for any one person to give you an exact usage amount is impossible due to the variables but all in all the amount of paint you used shouldn't vary by any huge amount.

 


     
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