Painting a room is a relatively simple job and won't eat up your entire day. If you prepare ahead of time, you can paint a room in 4-6 hours without a professional's help. Just make sure that you take each step one at a time, so you do not have to end up redoing anything.
Beginner painters will find that it is easy and can be completed in a day or less depending on the size of the room and dry time. If you're looking for more painting tips, check out these articles below!
The average bedroom, according to the National Home Builder Association, is about 432 square feet. For the average painter and a room this size, the whole job should take about 4-6 hours from preparation to cleanup.
Generally, to paint a standard room that measures 12 x 12 feet, it takes about 6 hours for both the walls and the ceiling. That time estimate is only correct if the walls are in good condition and spackling does not need to be done first.
How Long After Painting Can I Sleep in a Room? Even if you choose zero VOC paint, we'd recommend allowing the paint to dry before you sleep in any room. This helps protect you from fumes and protects your paint job from smudges and handprints. Water-based paints take roughly four hours to dry.
Once you've rolled the paint on, it's time to wait for it to dry. After a couple of hours, then it's time to put the room back together. Remove painter's tape, put switch plates and pictures back, and move the furniture back in. All told, a 10” x 10” room should take you anywhere from 6-10 hours.
How many square feet does a gallon of paint cover? Most typically, a gallon of paint covers anywhere from 350 to 400 square feet, so a gallon of paint is enough to cover a small space like a bathroom.
How Long Does It Take To Paint a Room? Painters spend two to four days painting an average-sized room. That's how long it takes to prep, prime, and paint correctly. It's more work, but when you stand back to admire the results, you'll agree it's time well spent.
Time to Paint a Room Bottom Line
Painting might seem like it would be a huge slog, but it does not have to be. Painting a room is a relatively simple job and won't eat up your entire day. If you prepare ahead of time, you can paint a room in 4-6 hours without a professional's help.
Professional Painters Usually Don't Wash Walls
Washing cuts into painting time, which cuts into their income, so don't expect your hired painter to wash down your walls unless you agree to pay them more for the service. Better yet, hire a cleaner to do this work, or do the cleaning yourself before the painter arrives.
How many coats of paint do I need? Generally, you will want a minimum of two coats of paint – this is a good rule of thumb for any wall or ceiling you're painting. You'll rarely get a seamless finish from just one coat of paint, and even if you do, coverage isn't the only goal when it comes to painting a room.
It is typically safe to apply a second coat after four hours for latex paint and 24 hours for oil-based paint.
On average, a painter covers approximately 150 – 200 square feet an hour. To paint the walls with a two-coat painting system in a regular office (14' wide x 14' length x 9' high = 504 square feet) it will take him or her about 3.5 hours of time. (An average painter should be able to cover about 150 square feet an hour.
A good principle is to wait about four hours for water-based paint to dry, and about 24 hours for oil-based paint to dry. Before the painting job starts, make a plan to allow the room adequate time to dry and air out before moving occupants back in.
The general rule is that you should use two coats of paint. However, this rule changes based on the color, quality of the paint you use, whether or not you used primer, and the type of surface you're painting.
Adding a Second Coat
After your first coat of paint is dry, it's safe to recoat typically after four to six hours. A good rule of thumb is to wait at least three hours to recoat your paint or primer if it's water-based. Waiting 24 hours is best for oil-based paint and primer.
Remember that each coverage amount is for two coats.
Automatically, the paint calculator gives you an estimate of 2 gallons of paint for applying two coats to a 12 x 12 room with an 8-foot ceiling with two windows, one door, and the painting of the ceiling is not included.
Most flat paints cost between $25 and $50 per gallon. But there is an almost equal number of flat paints in the $15 to $25 per gallon range. Progressing up the gloss scale, eggshell paints mostly cost from $15 to $50 per gallon, though more weighted toward the $25 to $50 per gallon range.
Always cut in first then continue painting with a roller. Cut in and paint with a roller one wall at a time. If you cut in all areas first and then roll the entire room, the paint that was applied when cutting in will have dried quicker and you will be left with a patchy, uneven finish.
That means spray painting is the fastest way to paint large areas where you don't need so much accuracy, like an exterior wall; roller painting is good for interior walls where you need to avoid getting paint on other surfaces; and brushes help you do the detail work.
You probably don't need a primer. If the current wall is smooth, clean and covered with the same type of paint (both are oil-based for example), you can head straight for the paint. You need to fill holes, spackle and sand*, maybe even cut a new piece of drywall in to the existing wall.