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Paint Calculator

Calculate gallons of paint needed based on room size, paint type, and coats.

To quickly estimate the amount of paint you'll need to paint a room, use our paint calculator. It estimates the gallons per coat and the total gallons needed to cover walls and ceilings (optional). You can deduct doors and windows and choose a coverage rate based on the paint type and wall surface.Houzz Pro’s pre-priced material Cost Catalog can help speed up your painting estimate process. You can also use our Clipper tool to link costs directly to your preferred vendor websites.

Calculating how much paint you need

To calculate how much paint you need for a room, measure each wall's dimensions to find the square footage to be covered, subtract the area of doors and windows, and divide by the coverage rate per gallon of paint. Coverage rate will vary depending on the type of paint and surface characteristics.A standard gallon of paint will cover approximately 350 square feet of wall area. If the wall is textured, coverage can be reduced to 200 square feet per gallon. A gallon of primer usually covers 300 square feet, and a gallon of ceiling paint usually covers 400 square feet.Note that dark colors may require up to three coats to cover a light-colored base, so price accordingly. Also, buy all the paint for a room from the same batch to avoid color variations.Example: How many gallons of paint will it take to paint a 12’x12’ room?Here’s an example showing how our paint calculator determines the amount of paint required for a 12' x 12’ room.Calculator inputs:
  • Room length and width: 12 feet x 12 feet
  • Ceiling height: 8 feet
  • Paint type: Standard wall (350 square feet per gallon)
  • Number of doors and windows: 1 and 2
  • Number of coats: 2
  • Price per gallon: $45
Based on the inputs above, the calculator estimates the wall area, the number of gallons of paint needed (including 10% waste), and the cost of paint and supplies. Here’s the breakdown:
  • Wall area: 333 square feet
  • Gallons per coat: 1
  • Total gallons needed: 2
  • With 10% waste: 3
  • Estimated material cost: $90
  • Estimated supplies cost: $35
Using our paint calculator can help reduce material waste and costs, leading to increased profitability.Houzz Pro’s Cost Catalog and Clipper tools can help save time when estimating painting projects. These tools can also help improve accuracy and pricing consistency.

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