Time allowance for painting a room??

[BRENT in 10-uh-C]

Is there a square footage formula for figuring the time allowance for painting one coat onto the walls of a room? For example, if you have a 12'x16' room that is empty, and you are only wanting the walls painted, what is realistic so that a good job can be done??

 

[Chuckster in NJ]

Some information missing.
How many coats?
How much trim?
Ceiling and walls same or different colors?
Patching holes?
Doors?
Priming walls?

Keep in mind that there is no such thing as one coat paint that really works.

BTW! This room size would be a days worth of work for me.

 

[johninct]

Some information missing.
How many coats?
How much trim?
Ceiling and walls same or different colors?
Patching holes?
Doors?
Priming walls?

Keep in mind that there is no such thing as one coat paint that really works.

BTW! This room size would be a days worth of work for me.

Also add your skill and ability.

 

[mike93lx]

Curious, are you trying to evaluate a bid from a pro?

If you are doing it yourself, you should be done in about another hour

 

[BRENT in 10-uh-C]

Some information missing.
How many coats?

How much trim?

Ceiling and walls same or different colors?


Patching holes?
Doors?
Priming walls?

Keep in mind that there is no such thing as one coat paint that really works.

BTW! This room size would be a days worth of work for me.

Also add your skill and ability.

Thank you all for responding but I thought I asked a very simple question. Is there a formula for painting ONE COAT onto the WALLS of a room.

I really did not want to factor in any drywall repair (-none needed), -or painting the ceiling (-it is drop in acoustic), -nor even the trim (-which there presently is none).

I guess I was thinking that if a primer was needed, ...that would be ONE coat. Or, if I wanted to have 3 coats of paint, that would be the time factor of ONE coat multiplied by 3. Did I misstate something that I was not clear about above??

 

[ericlar80]

One 10x8 wall usually takes about an hour when painted by hand, so scale accordingly. Call it 6 hours.

 

[Jagmandave]

Spray, roller or brush? What kind of paint? You keep trying to analyze this down but there are a thousand different things that can affect the time it takes, including the brand of paint, temp and humidity of the weather......I don't think there's a way to get what your after.....but I guess you could ask a couple of professional painters....they can give you an idea..... but it may not be accurate for your specific situation.

 

[Ecreps]

It seems like a very simple question, but there are endless possibilities that will change how long it takes:

Does the floor need covered (or is it a bare subfloor)?

Is there anything that needs taped off?

Are you rolling it, using a sprayer, using a paintbrush? What size sprayer/roller?

How tall are the ceilings? How many doors? how many windows?

Are you getting a bid for it? It will be much more expensive per square foot for a smaller project than a larger project. The travel time, and setup and cleanup time remains pretty much the same for 16x12 as for 2x or 3x that amount.

 

[WunTon]

Just count on it taking way longer than it seems like it should and you will be good to go!

 

[jd_1138]

Is the room empty? Painting is mostly a function of prep -- cleaning the walls, masking, putting down drop cloths, patch any holes, etc.. I imagine around here, that'd be like a $300 job.

 

[Slednut]

If you are using a roller is it a 9" or 18".

 

[GirchyGirchy]

It seems like a very simple question, but there are endless possibilities that will change how long it takes:

Typical, just like the "what's wrong with my car?" and no mention of what it is.

I guess it's just a room with no windows or doors.

 

[kd3pc]

Pro painters in Roanoke, VA use a smart phone app, that measures (if you have the right tape app) the room, calculates the sq footage and ceiling area, add in the doors, windows, casings, and so on, number of workers expected to work, color and maker of the paint and then it spits out an estimate.

In December 2019, several painters used this to provide me an estimate of over $12K and all of their estimates were within a couple of hundred dollars. 3,000 sq ft home.

The old timers (6 guys, two provided by my realtor) came in just around $4K and were within a couple hundred of each other.

The guy we chose did it for $3800 and included paint. And he did a fantastic job, had one guy helping here and there. Less than a week to complete the job, cleaned up and damp mopped.

 

[BRENT in 10-uh-C]

Thanks everyone!! I guess my question should have been stated a little clearer. I really just wanted to know how much generic time to allot for painting the walls.

I also realize that this was just an estimate much like the paint can stating a gallon of paint covers 400 square foot. I was just looking for a generic estimated time factor to roll the paint onto the wall. We just made a 4'x4' outline of tape on the wall, and pretended like we were painting the 16 sq. ft. area, re-loading the roller after every 4 swipes, and over lapping by 50% -and we were less than 10 minutes covering that area.

So if I figured in all 4 walls at 448 sq' ft, and divided that by 16 sq ft., there would be approximately 280 minutes of actual paint time, --or about 4½ hours. Thanks for the help everyone..

 

[BRENT in 10-uh-C]

You're definitely overthinking this. Recently graduated engineer?

Nah, ...a 60 year old detail-oriented business man who is trying to keep a non-essential business profitable.

 

[Chuckster in NJ]

$1.50 to $4.00 per square foot.

TIP! Buy a good brand of paint like Ben Moore or California and a good roller.

BTW! In my previous post I said it would take a day for me to do this job...... Includes set up, prep, paint, clean up and scratching my balls for for an hour.

 

[The Cobbler]

it all depends on your skill level.
also depends on , do you need to cut in base or is the floor finished & needs drop cloths etc.
I know professional painters that would be out of that room in 20 minutes with one guy rolling, another cutting . And they do a great job.
that's not counting getting to & from the job, getting your paint, getting set up, etc.
They do a 400sqft 1 bedroom apt beige walls, off white trim & doors, white ceilings , semi in the bathroom & kitchen, inside all closets. ( all surfaces painted) in about 4 to 5 hrs ( 8 to 10 man hrs )

 

[tonyciambrone]

Thank you all for responding but I thought I asked a very simple question. Is there a formula for painting ONE COAT onto the WALLS of a room.

https://lmgtfy.com/?q=time+to+paint+a+room

 

[nadogail]

Steer clear of the guy advertising per room price in the local shopping news. He, 30 years ago, advertise that he would paint apartments for $10 a room.

You used to be able to get a car painted for $49.99 if you were not fussy about masking and paint quality.

 

[egdede]

I remember when Mr Scheib would paint any car for 29.99!

 

[jetnow1]

My rule of thumb- same color one coat is fine, color change gets two coats if similar tone, prime and two coats if changing from dark to light tone or over any red. I could paint a 5 room apt same color, ceilings, trim and walls in two days if humidity allowed drying as it was always same color, unless previous tenant painted walls with their own paint.

 

[PhantomEB]

And which room is this?
Can it be empty for a week or so?
Are you working?

This all are relevant questions.

 

[Lassen Forge]

I can do the 4 walls and ceiling of a room in half a day, including putting dropcloths, masking... Another couple hours for trim and touchup.

 

[PugetDude]

When I was working my way through college, I spent one summer painting student apartments.
Got to where two of us could knock out a complete apartment- 2 bedrooms, bath, living room, kitchen and dining nook, 2 closets in a day. We were bidding them by the unit not by the hour.

I'd allow a full day for an "average" room- including transit time, prep/cleanup. You might knock it out a little quicker, but basically a room is a room. 10x12 won't be a lot faster than a 12 x16 once you are set up and painting.

 

[didit]

Depends, union painters with contractual breaks? or someone like me that would knock that off before breakfast. lol
Every job is different and every customer is different too. Some want absolute perfection which will obviously consume more time. Most will need prep work, such as crack repairs, nail holes filled or any number of incidentals. The amount of trim and windows, doors etc. Does furniture need to be moved, covered. One coat rarely does it, regardless of the paint company claims.
Bottom line, I wouldn't venture a guess on time required or cost until actually seeing the job or coming to a pre determined agreement on actual time spent and materials used.

 

[GirchyGirchy]

My rule of thumb- same color one coat is fine, color change gets two coats if similar tone, prime and two coats if changing from dark to light tone or over any red. I could paint a 5 room apt same color, ceilings, trim and walls in two days if humidity allowed drying as it was always same color, unless previous tenant painted walls with their own paint.

I've been doing one coat of primer + two coats of paint in order to cover up the patching I've been required to do in these rooms. Wonder if I could get by with just two coats of paint though...

 

[cgall]

Four beers per room.

 

[Motorman55]

I remember when Mr Scheib would paint any car for 29.99!

Not only do I remember that ad, but my job as a commercial air compressor mechanic I used to do maintenance/repair service on their air compressors in a couple of his locations in New Jersey. I remember the places as shitholes.

 

[nadogail]

In the words of Yogi Berra, "it takes as long as it takes" and "It ain't over until it's over"

 

[Robinson1]

Theres no formula that I know of.

Lots of variables in painting.

On a room that size I'd figure 2 hours per coat plus another 2 hours for painting woodwork

I'd charge $200 if you provided paint (that met my recommendation)

$275 if I provide paint

That's assuming no patchwork and room is cleaned out and ready to go painting walls only

 

[niget2002]

I find the longer I paint the faster I get...

Second coats go a lot faster than first.

The real question is if you're trying to wash the rollers afterwards or if you plan on tossing them for new ones next time. If you're washing, add an hour per roller...

 

[didit]

I've been doing one coat of primer + two coats of paint in order to cover up the patching I've been required to do in these rooms. Wonder if I could get by with just two coats of paint though...

Just have your primer tinted the same color as your finish coat.

 

[didit]

Painting and the prep work is like any other kind of work. The more you do, the better you get at it. That goes for the techniques and materials used too. You learn by doing. Watch a pro while he is working. There are no wasted moves, no second guessing; they know every trick in the book, in order to get it done and done right. The lowest estimate is not any indication of your satisfaction level when the job is done either.

 

[egdede]

Not only do I remember that ad, but my job as a commercial air compressor mechanic I used to do maintenance/repair service on their air compressors in a couple of his locations in New Jersey. I remember the places as shitholes.

And I suspect they would have been worse except for all the **** that stuck to people's new paint jobs.

And, as didit said, if you are using primer, tint it. I t helps the 1 coat paints cover in 2!

 

[Ole Slewfoot]

I wold allow approximate 5/10-1/10 of time to prep said room

 

[Alchase]

You guys are good, I **** at painting. It takes 3/4 of the time for me to mask everything off. And the last 1/4 takes three times as long as I originally think it will.
It always comes out nice, but I always underestimate the time it takes.

 

[coljar]

If it's me painting a room, I have to figure 5 times longer than any one else.

 

[dreamingmuscle]

Four eight foot walls, no installed trim, electric plates removed, no floors to cover and protect, only the ceiling to cut in.

Rank novice 12 hours to do a decent job.
Amateur. 8 hours
Semi Pro. 6 hours
Pro if he is tall and doesn't need a ladder. 4 hours 4.5 if he does.
If you just want color on the walls and don't care if it gets on everything else and has runs everywhere 3 hours.

 

[Lassen Forge]

For one room? Anything more than 8 hours is silly...

And while I'm not a professional union card carrying painter, painting a room is easy-peasy...

 

[rayra]

aspbergers? don't get upset about not getting the exact answer you wanted to a poorly crafted question.

yeah you left out your skill and experience and how much masking you would need to do (if any). And experienced painter can do the 'cutting in' and/or use the appropriate edge and corner tools to make very fast work of painting a wall, with doing little more than pulling switchplates and putting a bit of tape over switches and outlets for speed's sake.
and then very effectively rolling while keeping a wet edge. And with little more that a step stool and a 2-3'W tarp along the base of the wall.