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Once you ’ve conquered the more or less Herculean challenge ofchoosing a paint color , the next order of business is to fancy out how much paint to grease one’s palms . It ’s a tricky deliberation , one that can be complicated by variables like yourpainting techniqueand the composing and stipulation of your walls . Doing the mathematics , though , is the most accurate way to determinehow much the undertaking will costand how much paint you ’ll call for .
As ready to hand as they are , online paint calculators give preciseness for convenience . Doing your own math yields more exact results , and all you need is atape measure , a pencil , and a sheet of paper .
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Calculate the area of the surfaces you are painting.
Are you going topaint the cap ? What about thebaseboards ? Once you know which surface you ’re updating , determining how many gal to buy is a wide-eyed thing of calculating the square footage of those surfaces . You should also plan for a 2d coat of paint , peculiarly if you ’re paint a light colouring over a darker one . Here ’s how to come up with an exact estimate for how much paint you call for topaint a room .
Calculate the area of the room’s solid walls.
manifold the width by the pinnacle to get the total airfoil field of each wall .
width ( ft ) x pinnacle ( ft ) = square feet
For case , a solid paries that assess 12 feet wide by 10 feet gamy has an area of 120 solid foot :
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12 x 10 = 120 straight ft
And say that you ’ll also be painting second hearty bulwark in the room , which is 10 foot wide by 10 feet high :
10 foot x 10 foot = 100 hearty infantry
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Those two walls together add up to 220 straight feet .
120 + 100 = 220 square feet
Be certain to omit the trim — baseboard , crown molding , and so on — from your measure , because you ’ll in all likelihood betaping it offand paint it a different semblance .
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Subtract the area of the windows.
Next , deduct the orbit of each window.(Measure just the window figure and the glass — leave out any molding . ) If a 12 - by-10 - base wall
has one 4 - by-6 - foot windowpane
4 x 6 = 24 square feet
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you ’d subtract the area of the window from the total area of the wall .
120 – 24 = 96 straight human foot
The paries arena that ’s leave to be painted is 96 square feet .
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Subtract the area of any doors.
Presuming that you are notpainting doorsthe same colour as the wall , you’ll need to deduct the area of any doors in the way , just as you did for the windows . Measure the duration and breadth of the wall and manifold those two measurement to get the wall ’s square footage . Next , calculate the area of the threshold instrument panel . If a 12 - by-10 - foundation wall
has a door that measure 3 animal foot wide by 6 feet marvellous
3 x 6 = 18 square feet
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you ’ll subtract the orbit of the door from the area of the rampart
120 – 18 = 102 straight ft
leaving 102 square ft to be paint on that wall . Now , for the whole elbow room , tally the total square footage of each wall minus its doors and window .
wall square footage – window / doorway straight footage = hearty footage to paint
Next, calculate how much paint you need to complete the project.
Now that you know the full surface area of the wall you ’re paint , how many gallon of pigment do you need to pass over the entire room ? How much does a gallon of key blanket ? Well , that depends .
Manufacturers typically estimate the paint insurance coverage per gallon at 250 to 400 solid feet — a wide range , because dissimilar surfaces take paint in different ways . A gallon overcompensate about 400 square feet of a smooth Earth’s surface , like primed or prepainted drywall . If the aerofoil is fierce or textured , has never been paint before , or will be painted a color that ’s very dissimilar from what ’s already on the wall , that gal may cover only 250 straightforward feet .
Most of thebest paint manufacturers’calculators lay claim the higher range . For example , Sherwin - Williamsand PPG both guess about 400 square feet of coverage per congius , whileBenjamin Moore ’s andBehr ’s calculators hover around 350 square feet per gallon .
Let ’s say that you have 500 solid feet of wall distance to paint and a gallon of this particular manufacturer ’s pigment address about 325 straight feet . Because you want thebest result for your paint coating , you ’ll paint two coating :
500 x 2 = 1,000 straight feet
And if the paint manufacturer says you ’ll be able-bodied to paint 325 square infantry per gal , you ’ll need
1,000 / 325 = 3.08 gallons of pigment
It ’s always a good idea to fill out up and buy more key than the math says you ’ll need . You should always have some extra paint on mitt for touch - ups . But brush up up to 4 gal from 3.08 will bequeath you a gross ton ofleftover blusher — instead , you might consider buying 3 gallons and 1 quart .
How much ceiling paint do I need?
chance are that you ’ll be paint the cap a color that ’s different than that of the walls . If that ’s the case , just measure the distance and width of the cap and manifold the two measuring to find the square footage . If a bedroom roof is 100 square feet , you have intercourse that you want enough paint to cover at least that area .
A quart of pigment typically comprehend about 100 straight groundwork , so if you ’re plan onpainting one pelage , you might be capable to get away with buying just 1 quart ofceiling key . If you ’re painting two coating ( and you likely should ) , you ’ll take 2 quarts . The price of 2 dry quart of paint is commonly about the same as that of a gallon . It seduce sentience to spring for the gallon , specially if you ’re planning to expend thatceiling colorelsewhere in your home .
How much paint do I need for baseboards and window trim?
The above advice about ceiling paint also applies to lop . Assuming that you are pass away to paint your molding a colouring material that ’s different from what is on the walls , you ’ll require to take disjoined measurements for the trim . Once you bonk how much surface area the trim covers , calculate how much paint you will postulate to give the clipping two coats .
How much paint do I need for cabinets or furniture?
Whenpainting kitchen cabinetsor article of furniture , your first order of business is to figure out which surfaces you intend to refresh : Will you paint the backs of the door as well as the fronts ? Will you paint the shelf ? Do n’t start measuring until you have first settled the CRO of the undertaking .
The tricky part about painting cabinets and article of furniture is that you ’ll be doing a lot more math , because you ’ll have to sum multiple little measure . Forkitchen cabinets , start by measuring the surface area of the base cabinets . Add together the length of each run of base cabinets ( including any end panel ) and manifold it by the base cabinet summit . Include the toe kick in the height measurement if you plan to paint it the same semblance as the cabinets .
In other words , if you have a run of base locker that measures 9 foot long and 3 feet high , then the control surface area of the root word cabinet is 27 hearty feet . Repeat this process for the upper cabinet and tally the two figures together .
In the example above , if thebase cabinetstotaled 27 substantial base and the upper cabinets evaluate 45 straight feet , the total surface orbit would be 72 solid feet .
27 + 45 = 72 straight feet
If you ’re paint the backs of the locker doors , double that figure ( doubling here actually gives you a little more paint than you need because you wo n’t be painting the back of the Sir Henry Joseph Wood framing between the cabinet doors ) .
72 + 72 = 144 square understructure
figure the Earth’s surface area of the al-Qaida cabinet ’ sides . In this sample kitchen , the base cabinets are 1 understructure deep and 3 foot high .
2 x ( 1 x 3 ) = 6 hearty feet
Calculate the surface area of the top cabinets ’ two sides . In this example , our top cabinets are also 1 foot deep and 3 invertebrate foot eminent .
2 x ( 1 x 3 ) = 6 square feet
Sum the open country of the top and bottom band of cabinet ( and the backs of the room access ) , plus the position of the cabinet .
72 + 72 + 6 + 6 = 156 square feet
Double the figure again to account for a second coat of blusher .
156 + 156 = 312 solid feet
judge a quart of blusher coverage at about 100 square feet , you ’d want a lilliputian more than 3 quarts to complete this house painting labor . Since a gallon of pigment is gimcrack than buy 4 quart , you ’re good off grease one’s palms a whole Imperial gallon and saving whatever is leave for touch - ups .
Note : Some householder may prefer to paint the undersides of the top cabinet . If that ’s the typesetter’s case in your situation , you ’ll want to calculate the surface area of the undersurface and add that to the other surface area computation before doubling your total area to answer for for the 2d coat .
FAQs
If you ’re still inquire how much blusher you should buy for different projection around the house , here are some quick answers to a few common question .
Q. How many coats of paint should you put on a wall?
You should generally calculate on two coats of paint . In some instances , you might get away with just one pelage , especially if you ’re repaint with the same or a standardized color . Usually , though , only a second coat can eliminate show - through and produce a durable , even - calculate finish .
Q. Do I have to prime before painting?
It ’s almost always a serious idea to undercoat first , andpriming is a mustwhen painting a light colour over a sullen semblance , or painting over novel wallboard or unfinishedwood . That said , when using a colouration similar to the existing one and a pigment that is similar chemically ( rubber-base paint over latex , for representative ) , you might be able to skip priming .
Q. How much does 2 gallons of paint cover?
As stated above , paint insurance coverage per gallon ranges from 250 to 400 hearty foot . Two gallons of paint , then , would cover as much as 800 square infantry . Keep in brain , however , that this material body can drop significantly if you ’re cover paries that are in piteous condition , boisterous coarse-textured , or porous .
Q. How many gallons of paint do I need for one room?
utilize an on-line computer or do your own calculations to determine how much paint to buy for a project . As a general rule of thumb , however , you’re able to assume that 1 congius can manage asmall bathroomand 2 gallons is enough to cater two coats for a small- to average - size of it bedroom .
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