Dreaming of a fresh coat of paint for your whole house? Whether you’re painting on a new build or transforming a fixer-upper for the next buyer, or creating a fresh new look for you and your family, this blog covers all the important factors you need to consider. Don’t miss out on our expert tips and advice to make your painting project a success!
How Long Does It Take To Paint The Whole House?
It can take anywhere from several days to a couple of weeks to paint the whole house.
But let’s be clear that there are many variables to this, especially when it comes to painting the whole exterior of your house versus the whole interior of your house. We will break down the factors involved in these two different areas. First we’ll talk about painting the whole interior of a house, and then we’ll share all the important details for painting the whole exterior of a house.
Interior Whole House Painting:
Tackling a paint job on the whole interior of your house can feel a bit daunting, but we’re here to help with that.
Consider the following questions to help determine how long your project will take.
Who Is Doing the Painting and How Many People Are Part of The Crew?
An interior paint job that includes walls, ceilings, doors, door frames, and trim can take anywhere from 2 days to a week with a professional team of 2 or more people. You will need to factor quite a bit more time if you’re doing it yourself.
What Is the Size of Your Home?
The size of your home will also determine how long it will take to paint. An average sized home with 4 or fewer bedrooms can be painted in 3-4 days, while it could take up to a week and a half if you have a larger house with 5 or more bedrooms. It might be helpful to consider that an average sized room will take about 2 days to prep and paint.
To What Extent Are Repairs Needed?
Usually, painting on new construction will take less time (an average of 3 days) than painting as part of a renovation project with needed repairs. Remember that any repairs will need to be completed before the painting begins, and depending on the extent to which repairs are needed, the project could take a good bit longer.
What other prep work is required?
Before any painting begins, it is also important to factor in extra time for cleaning, before and after the project. Prep work can include caulking, sanding, and sometimes taping. Priming is also something that needs to be done before painting begins. Other prep work includes moving furniture out of the way, and laying down floor protection. Cleanup time will vary largely on whether you’re doing it yourself or you’ve hired professionals for the job. Professionals make little mess, in part, due to their handy equipment, but also their expertise. If you’re doing it yourself, you may have to clean up any splotches created in areas you did not intend for paint to land, clean brushes, rollers, and drop sheets. Finally, you’ll need to move all the furniture back into their places before you can call the project finished.
Whole House Interior Painting Cost
The following table shows the average cost to paint your house, comparing different house sizes with whether you hire a professional contractor, budget painter, or do it yourself. These are only estimates and it must be taken into consideration that there are many factors when figuring out the cost of painting the whole house.
| House Size | High end Professional Painter | Budget Painter | DIY cost (materials only) |
| 1 Bedroom Home | $4200 | $2,100 | $700 |
| 2 Bedroom Home | $6,900 | $3,450 | $1,150 |
| 3 Bedroom Home | $11,100 | $5,550 | $1,850 |
| 4 Bedroom Home | $12,900 | $6,450 | $2,150 |
DIY Whole House Interior Painting Cost
Completing a DIY paint job for your entire house can take anywhere from 1 to 3 weeks. While doing it yourself gives you more control over the project, the ability to work at your own pace, and save yourself some money, keep the following things in mind.
First of all, factor the cost needed to rent or purchase equipment. Your supplies, including paint, will cost around $250. Plus add up any time you may need to take off from work to make sure the job gets finished in good time with lasting quality. Higher quality lasts longer. If your homemade paint job does not meet high standards, you may find yourself needing to repaint sooner than if you opt for professional painters.
Secondly, consider your level of personal experience. If you’re new to painting, your project will take longer than if you’ve had some experience. And don’t rush. Being precise is crucial for a great result, and you can’t get excellent precision if you’re in a hurry.
Lastly, think about the size of your home, too. If your house is small, it will take fewer days than if you live in a several bedroom house.
Let’s break it down some more. For an average-sized room, plan for your DIY paint project to take at least two days. The first day you’ll need to collect supplies, choose paint, and prep the walls. On the second day, expect to spend 5-10 hours applying coats of paint and then tidying up. So if you work a Monday-Friday job, one room will take up your free weekend. Any extra rooms will need to wait until your next open weekend, or you’ll need to consider taking vacation days or taking unpaid time off work to get it completed in a more timely manner.
Exterior Whole House Painting:
How long will it take to paint the whole exterior of your house?Some sources might suggest you can do it in one day, but that’s not typical. If you rush, you might make mistakes. For a good paint job, plan on spending anywhere from a few days to several weeks on it. However, there are many things to think about before you know how long it will really take to paint your house.
What Prep Work Is Required?
Before you ever start painting the exterior of your house, you will need to make sure everything is clean, which probably means you will need to do some power washing, scraping, or sanding. Once you’ve cleaned the surface, you will need to add a prime coat (which is an unneeded step only if you’re painting on an already sleek paint finish and have zero bare spots or damage to cover up). Pros use top-notch tools and skill to keep things tidy and finish cleanup quickly. If you’re DIY-ing, you might need to clean up a few extra spills. Also remember to add extra time for clean up, which includes washing out brushes and rollers or returning rented sprayers.
Who Is Doing the Painting and How Many People Are Part of The Crew?
As was mentioned above, a DIY versus hiring professionals will make a difference in how long your project will take. If done by a professional company, with a team of at least 2 people on the job, the whole exterior house painting can take 3 – 5 days. If you’re doing it yourself, it could take anywhere from a couple days to a couple weeks to complete. It bears repeating: taking your time to do a quality job could make years of difference in how long this paint job will last, before you have to do it again.
What Is the Size of Your Home?
The size of your house also affects how much time it takes to paint. A small house might take 2 days. An average sized home of 2 stories can be painted in 4-5 days. A larger house with 3 stories will take 5-6 days.
How’s the Weather?
This might seem like an obvious question, but it’s really important to think about when painting the outside of your house. You will want to pick a time of year when the climate is more clear and less humid. Avoiding rainy days and other bad weather will help your project get completed more quickly.
To What Extent Are Repairs Needed?
When painting a new home, it usually takes less time (2-3 days) compared to painting during a renovation where repairs are needed. Remember that repairs must be done before painting starts. If repairs are extensive, the project will take longer.
How Often Should You Paint Your House?
How often you should paint the exterior of your home depends upon the material used. Let’s break it down.
How Often Should You Paint A Brick Home
If your brick was painted using high quality paints, it should last over a decade. If lower quality paint was used, it may need to be painted again in 3-5 years. Other factors to consider are high temperatures or lots of rain, which will shorten the time needed to repaint. Also, pay attention to any rules in your neighborhood or district that may require more specific guidelines on how often you need to paint your brick.
How Often Should You Paint A Vinyl Sided Home
Vinyl siding needs to be repainted every decade, so every 10 years. This is assuming that correct vinyl paints were used and the right prep work was performed during the previous application. Also, be aware that direct sunlight will bring quicker wear to the paint job on your vinyl siding, and if this is the case for your home, you will probably need to paint it sooner than 10 years.
How Often Do You Need To Paint A Home With Stucco
Stucco will need to be repainted every 5-10 years, depending on the quality of its last paint job. If your house gets lots of full sun, you’re in an area with higher humidity or increased yearly rainfall, you will need to repaint your stucco more frequently.
How Often Should You Paint A Wood Sided Home?
If your house has wood siding, you should paint it every 3-7 years. If you stain your wood siding, it will need to be restained every 4 years. Several factors are considered, impacting how often you should repaint wood, including weather and the quality of the last paint job. If the weather is extra bad or the quality of the last painting wasn’t great, you will need to repaint sooner rather than later.
Whole House Exterior Painting Cost
How Much Does It Cost To Paint A Brick Home?
The average cost for painting the exterior of a brick house using standard paint is $7,000. If you use the whitewash method, it will cost around $3,150. The lime washing technique will cost about $2,000. And a German Schmear can cost $2,250. Plan on spending $1.40 and $4.20 per square foot of brick siding, so for a 2,000 square foot house, that would total between $2,800 and $8,400.
How Much Does It Cost To Paint A Vinyl-sided Home?
The average cost to paint the entire outside of a median-sized house with vinyl siding is $4,000. Plan to spend somewhere between $1 and $3 per square foot of vinyl siding, so for a 2,000 square foot house, your total can be anywhere from $2,000 to $6,000.
How Much Does It Cost To Paint A Home With Stucco?
When painting the entire exterior of your stucco house, the average cost will be $5,400. Consider spending $0.85 to $5.80 per square foot for painting stucco siding. For a 2,000 square foot house, the job will cost somewhere between $1,700 and $11,600. There are various paint options available for painting stucco that vary in cost. Your options include elastomeric, which is more expensive but lasts longer, or acrylic and masonry paints.
How Much Does It Cost To Paint A Wood-sided Home?
The cost to paint the entire exterior of your wood siding house will be an average of $4,000. It usually runs between $1 and $3 per square foot, so for a 2,000 square foot house, your total will be between $2,000 and $6,000.
Need A Painter To Paint Your Whole House?
By now you’ve considered many varying factors for painting your whole house interior or exterior. You need to make some decisions on how you will go about it. Will you go with low grade paint or choose a higher end option? Will you paint it yourself or hire it out to a contractor?
We know that you want the best bang for your buck with a finished product that you will love and will endure for a long time.
At Fine Line Painting, we promise to deliver a high-quality paint job that lasts for years. We prioritize clear communication and upfront pricing. Our thorough prep work ensures paint adheres well to clean, smooth surfaces, and we use top-notch, durable paint. With years of experience, specialized equipment, and attention to detail, we complete jobs quickly and professionally. Let Fineline handle the mess, and you can enjoy years of a beautifully done paint job.
