How Much Do Painters Charge? Painting the interior or exterior of your home yourself can be time-consuming, burdensome, and messy. If you are like many homeowners, you may be considering hiring a professional painter to complete painting jobs you’ve meant to finish for a while.
Hiring a professional to paint your home’s interior or exterior is an effective way to ensure a clean, efficient painting project. However, you may be wondering how much professional painters tend to charge for their services these days in our region of Colorado.
Read on for more information about average professional painting costs, then contact Robinson Painting of Colorado today for a free estimate for painting your house along the Front Range in the Denver, Golden, or Boulder area.
How Much Do Professional Painters Charge in Colorado?
Many Colorado painters charge per square foot for their services. These companies have a base rate that they multiply by the number of square feet the customer needs them to paint, providing you with a minimum cost to paint the area.
At Robinson Painting of Colorado, we charge $1 per square foot for interior paint jobs. We also require a minimum total cost of $2,000 for each project we complete. This rate reflects our professional training and expertise, high-quality painting materials, and superior attention to detail. Visit our recent blog post for more information about the cost of painting a house.
How Much Do Painters Charge Per Hour?
Some painting companies charge an hourly rate rather than a square footage rate. If you plan to work with a company that charges by the hour, you can expect to pay anywhere from $20 to $70 for every hour they dedicate to your professional paint job.
What Is the Average Cost of an Interior Painting Project?
According to a report from Home Advisor, the average cost for professional interior painting is between $2 and $6 per square foot, with most interior painting jobs sitting around $3.50 per square foot. These rates equate to an average total cost range of $953 and $2,896 for interior jobs, depending on the house size and necessary preparation. You can read more about how we calculate costs to paint a room here.
Factors Affecting Interior Painting Costs
Various factors affect the cost you will pay to hire a professional to paint an interior space. Even though many residential painters charge per square foot, they also add additional expenses to the final price. Below are a few prominent factors that affect the cost of painting a room.
Size of the Room
The size of the room you need the company to paint is one of the most significant factors affecting price. In addition, this variable affects the amount of paint the interior painter will need and how much time it will take to paint a room.
One gallon of paint covers up to 400 square feet of wall space in interior spaces. You can calculate how many square feet you will need the company to paint by measuring the room’s perimeter and multiplying it by the height, then subtracting the size of any windows or doors in the room.
Additionally, your painting contractor will calculate how many gallons of paint you need during your painting estimate. The amount of paint depends on how many coats to apply and the quality of the paint product itself.
Type of Paint
Next, the type of paint you choose also will also affect the cost to paint a room. Paint costs different amounts depending on the type of paint and the size of the container. However, the average price for a gallon of medium-quality paint is around $30.
Along with determining whether you need matte paint, semi-gloss paint, or high-gloss paint, the painting contractors can also help you choose your paint product’s overall durability and quality. While high-quality paint tends to be more expensive, it lasts longer and withstands dings and dents more easily.
Number of Coats
How many coats of paint your walls need also affects your overall cost. Each additional coat doubles the original paint cost and requires more labor and time from the painting company. However, applying two coats is often necessary when placing a lighter color over a darker one.
Wall Textures
You may not realize it, but the texture of your walls greatly impacts how much paint you need to create smooth, even coverage. For example, textured walls, such as popcorn or swirled patterns, require more paint than flat walls. Additionally, specialty projects, such as a textured accent wall, will cost more than single-color projects.
What Is the Average Cost of an Exterior Paint Job?
A Home Advisor report found that hiring professional painters to paint the outside of a house or building costs an average of $0.50 to $3.50 per square foot, with a total average cost of around $1,777 to $4,321. These prices include the labor cost and additional materials, but they may not include the paint costs.
Factors Affecting Exterior Painting Costs
Several factors may affect the base square foot rate and increase your total project price. Here are a few of the most common variables affecting exterior house painting costs.
Type of Paint
The type of paint you want the painters to use affects your costs. Sometimes, painters require you to purchase the paint yourself, while at other times, they add the paint cost into their final project costs.
Oil-based paint, which costs an average of $40 per gallon, is pricier than latex paint, but many painters consider it the more durable option. If you purchase the cheapest paint, you should plan to repaint the house in a few years, as cheap paint does not hold up to weather and debris as well as higher-quality options.
Lead Paint Testing
If your house dates to before 1978, your painters might need to conduct lead paint testing before applying a fresh coat to your house exterior. Unfortunately, this process can rack up your overall costs, as the average price of lead testing ranges between $224 and $418.
Exterior Condition
Exterior projects require more prep work than interior ones do, as the outside of your home is probably dirtier and in slightly worse shape than the interior. As part of professional painting service, painters prep the house exterior by power washing it, sanding any rough patches, filling in cracks, and creating a trench around the perimeter.
If you have not had your house painted in a while, the house painter may need to put in more prep work to get the exterior ready for a new paint job, increasing your costs but being a necessary part of the job.
DIY Costs vs. Hiring Professionals
You may be wondering if painting your house yourself will be cheaper than hiring a professional. While completing the project DIY-style may save you a bit of money, this endeavor comes with distinct expenses compared to professional painting and will require more of your time and labor. So let’s discuss how DIY painting costs compare to hiring professionals.
DIY Painting Costs
When you complete a painting job yourself, most of your costs consist of the supplies and tools you need to purchase for the job. If you plan to paint a house interior, you will need the following paint supplies at a minimum:
- Paint
- Primer
- Paint trays
- Tray liners
- Paintbrushes
- Paint sprayers (for exteriors)
- Rollers
- Drop cloths
- Painter’s tape
You will also need the tools and supplies for the prep work: clean the walls, fill in any holes, and sand away any peeling paint or rough spots before beginning.
In general, you can expect to pay about $200 to $300 for materials when painting a small room yourself.
Professional Painting Costs
Meanwhile, when you hire professional painters, about 75% to 85% of your total bill encompasses labor costs, while the rest covers the cost of paint and any new materials the painters need to purchase for your job. However, when you hire a professional, you are paying for their expertise, high-quality tools, efficiency, and clean work, along with their general labor.
If you’re still unsure whether hiring house painters is the right choice for you, we can help. At Robinson Painting of Colorado, we are committed to providing top-quality painting services for customers across Colorado’s Front Range, from Denver to Boulder, at prices they can afford. So please get in touch with us today at 866-529-1143 to schedule your free estimate.