Buying paint is easy but you’ve got to figure out how much paint to buy. You have to know the condition of the walls, ceiling or trim you’ll be painting and you want to include enough paint for touch up later on. This is true whether you’re hiring a professional painter or plan to do-it-yourself.

This article begins with the preparation every painting project needs in order to be sure you’re happy with the results. The best results come from good prep, good paint and a good paint brush.

We’ve created a worksheet to help you calculate how much paint to buy before you begin your project. It can be very frustrating to run out of paint and have to go back to the store. You also don’t want to buy too much as disposing of paint may not be easy depending on your town’s regulations.

Preparation for a Painting Project

The quality of any painting project is based on attention to detail. The paint surface must be prepared properly, filling in nicks and cracks and especially where walls touch doors, windows and trim. You also want to use a quality paint and apply it with a quality paintbrush, both of which you should purchase at a paint store where the staff can answer other questions you might have.

Pick paints in colors (try Sherwin Williams Color Visualizer) and finishes that fit your lifestyle, i.e. “easy to wash” finishes for high traffic areas. Here are the basics for what finish works where or read our article, Help, What Paint Finish Do I Want?

• Walls are usually flat (low traffic) or satin (high traffic) finish.
• Ceilings are usually flat and by using the same color throughout your house, you can save on paint.
• Trim is most often semi-gloss, or high gloss if you want a very hard/shiny surface.

Next comes the preparation which can greatly change the way the paint looks when done. In fact most people assume that all you do is get some paint and one coat does it all. This couldn’t be further from the truth. You’ve got to repair imperfections first, then the overall surface to get good adhesion of your final paint coat.

• Patch holes, sand rough spots, and use a primer on new sheet rock. Use a stain block like Kilz as needed.
• Apply 2 coats when painting unfinished or heavily patched walls, or when covering dark colors.
• DO NOT use cheap paint (minimum of $20/gallon) or you will need to apply an extra coat of pain, which then costs more.
• Buy some extra paint for small repairs by rounding up to the nearest gallon. (The cost of a gallon is usually about the same as 2+ quarts, so you may as well just purchase the gallon.)

Calculating Square Footage for Painting

Here’s a worksheet to help determine how much paint to buy. The example is for a 10 x 14 ft room with 2 doors, 2 windows and ceiling height of 8 ft (average). Most paint covers 350 sq ft per gallon but it’s best to review the label, especially when using a paint that says it only needs one coat.

Author: tinagleisner: Tina Gleisner is passionate about helping women home owners LEARN about their homes, CONNECT with home professionals committed to delivering quality home products, and CREATE homes that support their lifestyle. Leveraging her experience as the owner of a handyman business, Tina created the Assn of Women Home Owners at www.HomeTips4Women.com.