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Paint calculator: how many gallons for a room

The short answer

Add the room’s length and width, double it and multiply by wall height. Take off doors and windows, multiply by coats and divide by coverage. A 14 by 12 foot room with 8 foot walls is about 366 square feet to paint. Two coats at 350 square feet a gallon take 2.09 gallons, so buy 3.

Enter the room, the coats and what the can says it covers. You’ll get whole gallons to buy, and a price if you’re quoting the room.

The room

10 feet 6 inches is 10.5.
Leave at 0 if you’re not painting it.
It’s on the can. Rough or porous walls take more paint.

Price the job (optional)

An example. Use your supplier’s price.
What you charge for an hour, not what you pay.

Paint you need

3 gallons

2.09 gallons before rounding up to whole cans.

Wall area to paint
366 sq ft
Gallons for the walls
2.09
Gallons for the ceiling
0

Price for this job

Materials (3 × $45.00)
$135.00
Labor
$0.00
Markup
$27.00
Price to quote
$162.00

How it works

Wall area = 2 × (length + width) × height, minus 20 square feet for each door and 15 for each window. Gallons = area × coats ÷ coverage.

How far a gallon goes

Sherwin-Williams says (opens in a new tab) a gallon typically covers about 350 to 400 square feet, and a gallon of primer about 200 to 300. Textured or unpainted walls drink more. The calculator starts at 350 so you lean toward having enough.

Gallons at 350 square feet per gallon, two coats
Wall areaGallonsCans to buy
300 sq ft1.712
500 sq ft2.863
800 sq ft4.575
1,200 sq ft6.867
2,000 sq ft11.4312

Pricing the whole job from your time? The painting pricing calculator starts from labor and overhead instead.

Common questions

How much paint do I need for a room?
Work out the wall area, multiply by the number of coats and divide by the can’s coverage. A 14 by 12 foot room with one door and two windows, at two coats, takes a little over 2 gallons.
How many square feet does a gallon of paint cover?
About 350 to 400, according to Sherwin-Williams. A gallon of primer covers about 200 to 300.
How many coats do I need?
Two is the usual plan, and that’s where the calculator starts. A big color change or bare drywall can need primer as well. Follow the can.
How do I calculate paint for a ceiling?
A ceiling’s area is length × width. Enter its number of coats in the calculator, which adds the ceiling to your total.
How do painters estimate a job?
Most start from the time it takes, then add paint, supplies, overhead and profit. Measure the area, estimate the hours, and check the price with the painting pricing calculator.

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