How Much Does it Cost to Paint Your House, and Exterior Implications

Cost plays a vital part of the quality of painting houses. Anyone that has painted seriously has witnessed the implications of a cheap paint job. If fact it could be argued that cost largely controls the painting end-product.

Expect to pay at least 30% more for a repaint. And heights on the exterior, mean that extension ladders are involved, which requires greater time and effort. Not only that, but the grade that the home is built on can determine accessibility, along with the nearness of neighboring structures especially if doing spraywork is a realistic option (houses very close might mean scaffold instead of ladders).

The main costs of house painting include:

Materials, which consists of paint, supplies and tools needed to apply the paint to the home. Typical costs for paint range enormously and go from $15.00/gal for cheaper latex to more than $40.00/gal for acrylic and based formulas. Customarily, however, many painters have their own markup on the total paint purchased for delivery to the jobsite as a built-in to the overall project.

Solvent/oil-based paints range from $25/gal for lower end enamels to more than $60/gal for higher end grades of paint. Costs which are constantly increasing, even in a hampering economy. Many paint dealers cite continual increases in ingredient costs to explain this rise in prices over recent years to better maintain environmental compliance and for other reasons.



Often price breaks are offered for quantity purchases, though be mindful that 5 gallon buckets consist of more open air that results in unwanted dry-out during storage and dealers normally consider the return of single gallon containers for non-custom mixes only. Too, most paint dealers do offer discounts for frequent or large quantity purchases but you will have to inquire.

Experienced painters do like to work with water-borne paints as opposed to solvent-based solutions, and as a result, the latter may incur higher costs for performing this type of work. A rule to go by is that paint accounts for about 1/3 of the total cost of a painters bill, whereas if doing yourself, it makes up about 80% to 90% of the total.

When figuring the paint needed, be sure to take into consideration both the texture of the surface and the sheen, with higher gloss finishes covering over broader areas. Too, the amount of surface porosity helps determine coverage and gallons of paint required.

If you are painting a house for rent, look at a quality paint since the exterior still gets wear from the weather. With the cost of paint, this still generally pays since the outer portion is more of a constant when it comes to durability.

The cost of labor carries the main part of the cost of house painting. If you are painting the house, you can save the bulk of the entire costs over bringing in a painter - that can easily surpass $35.00 per hour on the low end. But if there is no cap, knowing what you are going to pay means a fixed lump sum. In addition, many painters require minimum projects that can start at $500 to $600 - due to setup and scheduling.

The types of surfaces being painted can cause costs to swing. As can the economy and various locations of the country.

How often the painting is done will certainly affect costs. But paying for the higher grade materials upfront normally will extend the life of the paint job.

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