How do you calculate square footage for painting?

Author: Willis Shields DVM  |  Last update: Friday, September 12, 2025

Here's how to get an accurate estimate:
  1. Measure the length of each wall of the room (in feet, round up if you have to), and add them together.
  2. Measure the height of the walls (in feet, round up if you have to)
  3. Multiply those two numbers together to get the square footage of the area.

How do painters figure square footage?

To estimate the square footage, you multiply length x width. For example: If you are painting a bedroom, you should measure from corner to corner of a wall and then measure the height. So if your wall is 12 ft wide and 8 ft high, that wall is 96 square feet.

How do you calculate paint per square foot?

The typical rule-of-thumb is one gallon for about every three to four hundred square feet. However, some paint formulas and wall textures may require more specific amounts. One gallon can of paint will cover up to 400 square feet, which is enough to cover a small room like a bathroom.

What is the thumb rule for painting area calculation?

Measure the height and width of each wall and then multiply those dimensions to get the total square footage of the paintable area. For example, if you have a wall that is 10 feet high and 12 feet wide, you have 120 square feet of wall to cover.

What is the formula for estimate of paint?

Simply divide the surface area by the coverage to get the number of gallons you'll need. For example, if you're painting a 10x10 room with a coverage of 200 square feet per gallon, you'll need 0.5 gallons of paint (10x10/200 = 0.5).

How to Calculate Square Footage | The Home Depot

How to calculate square feet?

To find the square footage, simply multiply the length and width. For example, if you want to find the square footage 20 feet × 20 feet floor, then multiply the dimension 20 x 20. Hence, the square footage of 20 feet × 20 feet floor is 400 square feet.

What is the formula for paint measurements?

Measure the length and width of the floor area of the room, and multiply the two measurements. For example, if the room is 4 metres wide, and 6 metres long, 4 x 6 = 24 square metres. 2 coats are required, so ensure you have enough paint to cover 48 square metres in total.

What is the correct way to measure a painting?

The standard format for reporting measurements of a print is as follows: Height x Width. For a framed artwork, use this format: Height x Width x Depth. If your work is not framed, you will need to know the size of the Canvas.

How to calculate paint required?

Estimate what you need

As a general rule, 1 litre of paint will cover between 6 and 6.5 metres squared of wall. So, to calculate how many litres of paint you will need, divide the total paintable surface area by 6.5. Let's return to the example above, and calculate how much paint is required.

How many square feet will a 5 gallon bucket of paint cover?

Q: How many square feet does a 5-gallon bucket of paint cover? A: A 5-gallon bucket of paint can cover up to 2000 square feet of space.

How do you bid paint jobs per square foot?

Calculate the Amount and Cost of Paint Required

Interiors usually need more paint because of extra prep and details. To find the total paint cost, multiply the gallons needed by the price per gallon. Contractors often charge $1.50 to $2.00 per square foot. They might multiply this by 4 to 6 times for a good estimate.

How much should you charge to paint per square foot?

The average cost to paint the interior walls of a home ranges from $1 to $2 per square foot. This estimate typically includes 2 coats of paint on a clean interior wall. If you include ceilings, trim, and baseboards, the average cost for general interior painting increases to $3 to $6 per square foot.

How to calculate a painting job?

Some contractors use a rough base rate of $1.50 or $2.00 per square foot, some multiply 4 to 6 times the paint cost, some estimate the time the job will take and add it to an estimate of materials—and some may simply offer the lowest price to outbid the competition.

How many square feet can one person paint in a day?

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.

Are height and length the same?

Difference between length and height is very precise, as length denotes how long the shape is, and height denotes how tall it is. Length is the horizontal measurement in a plane, whereas height is the vertical measurement. In Geometry, the important parameters used to describe shapes are length, breadth and height.

How do you list painting measurements?

It's height then width and then depth.

Unless the frame is an integral part of the work itself, its measurements should not be considered the size of the artwork. The standard is to list the height, then the width. The depth, if applicable, would be listed third.

How do you calculate footage for painting?

Here's how to get an accurate estimate:
  1. Measure the length of each wall of the room (in feet, round up if you have to), and add them together.
  2. Measure the height of the walls (in feet, round up if you have to)
  3. Multiply those two numbers together to get the square footage of the area.

How do you calculate the area to be painted?

How to calculate paint area? To calculate the painting area for the cost of painting a house, measure the total surface area of walls, ceilings, or trims to be painted. Multiply the length and height of each wall and add them up to get the total area, then estimate the paint required.

How to calculate the quantity of painting?

Estimating Paint Quantities
  1. Calculate the surface area by measuring the length multiplying it by the height or width.
  2. Eg. ...
  3. Subtract 1-2 square meters for each window or door.
  4. Multiply this by the number of coats needed. ...
  5. Eg. ...
  6. Divide this by the coverage rate for the paint. ...
  7. 120m2 / 12 = 10 litres.

How to square feet calculator?

Length (in feet) x width (in feet) = area in sq. ft.

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.

What is the rule for square feet?

Multiply Length by Width:

Once you have the measurements, multiply the length of the room by its width. The result is the area of the room in square feet. For example, if your room is 10 feet long and 12 feet wide, the area would be 120 square feet (10 ft x 12 ft = 120 sq ft).

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