Starting a painting project can be overwhelming in a multitude of ways – what color combinations should you use? What tools do you need to get the job done? What prep work is involved? How much will this cost? How much paint should you buy?
This home improvement project is enough of a task, the last thing that you want to happen is to be halfway through your project and realize that you don’t have enough paint to cover what remains of the room/ wall. We have compiled advice on how to properly measure the surface area that you plan to paint and translate that into the amount of paint you will need to cover it.
Starting Point
The best starting point is to measure the square footage of the walls you are wanting to paint. Measure the length of ALL walls you are wanting to paint and add these lengths together. Then, measure the height of the room (floor to ceiling). Multiply the height of the room by the sum of the lengths and you have the square footage of the room. Sounds simple right? Well, we aren’t done just yet.
How Much Room is Paintable
You will want to look over the room and determine how much of what you just measured is paintable surface. As the doors, windows, trim, etc. will be covered in a different paint, you don’t need to include their surface area in your measurements. You will subtract the surface area of each of the unpaintable surfaces from your room’s total square footage. You will find the surface area of these objects by multiplying the length by the height (just as we did to find the area of the entire room).
Tools to help Decide The Amount of Paint
Once you have this measurement, there are tools all over the internet to help you decide on the amount of paint it will take to cover your room’s surface area. Here is a paint calculator from Lowe’s that allows you to plug in the measurements and calculate the paint needed.
You can determine the amount of paint needed without a calculator by taking the following into consideration –
- 1 gallon of paint typically covers about 350 square feet
- More than 1 gallon will be needed if you have to apply multiple coats (unfinished walls, walls that are heavily patched or dark in color need more than 1 coat)
You always want to end up with extra paint to store for future touch ups. For more information contact Noel Painting
