How to Price the Cost of Painting a Room

Calculate the room's square footage to determine how much paint you need.

If you need to price the cost of painting a room, consider an important point. Paint prices can vary from $12 and $70 per gallon. You cannot estimate the final price until you set your sights on a particular brand of paint. Once you select your paint and determine the price per gallon, you can estimate the total cost. Calculate how many square feet you need to paint to determine how much paint to buy.

Things You'll Need

• Tape measure
• Calculator
• Stepladder

Instructions

1. Calculate the square footage of the ceiling. Measure the length of the room. Measure the width of the room. Multiply the two numbers together. Skip this step if you do not plan to paint the ceiling.

2. Measure the length of a wall. Measure the height of the same wall. Multiply the two numbers to determine the square footage of that wall.

3. Repeat Step 2 to calculate the square footage of every wall in the room. Add all the numbers to determine the total square footage of all the walls. Add this number to the final figure from Step 1, if you are painting the ceiling.

4. Divide the final figure from Step 2 by 400, because one gallon of paint will cover approximately 400 square feet.

5. Select a brand of paint and determine the price per gallon. Multiply this price times the figure from Step 3 to determine the total cost of paint you need to paint the room.

Tips & Warnings

• The above steps will only determine the price for a single coat of paint. If you require a second coat, multiply the final figure by 2.

• If you already own painting tools, you only need to pay for paint. If you do not, you may need to purchase rollers, paintbrushes, drop cloths and painter's tape. These items vary in price, depending on the brand and store.