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Exterior paint costs $30 to $80 per gallon for standard acrylic or latex. The total cost of exterior paint for an average house is $200 to $1,200. The labor cost to paint a house exterior is $0.80 to $2.80 per square foot or 70% to 80% of the total cost. Professional painter hourly rates are $20 to $50 plus materials or $200 to $500 per day on average. Labor costs increase for homes with multiple stories, repairs, and obstructions like trees, bushes, or uneven ground.
Siding Type

Certain parts of the country charge less for labor, and this affects the cost. Name-brand paints with certain features, such as high gloss, could cost more. If it’s a smaller job, pros typically use brushes and rollers to paint your home.
Paint and Primer Type, Quality, and Finish
Asking a house painting professional the right questions can help minimize miscommunication, save money, and get the desired results. The following are some questions for homeowners to ask about the price to paint a house. Especially for homes with wood sidings, pests like termites and carpenter ants are a real concern. House painting is the perfect opportunity to inspect every inch of the home for potential damage before it’s too advanced.
How Much Does It Cost to Paint the Exterior of a House?
Additionally, painting siding essentially seals the material, protecting it from water, sun, and other elements. Maintaining this protective barrier can help the siding last for the entirety of its intended lifespan. Painting stone siding is somewhat uncommon; however, some homeowners prefer this to removing the siding and replacing it with another material when the home’s exterior could use an upgrade. Stone absorbs paint because it is porous, and it often takes several coats to achieve the desired look. For this reason, homeowners can expect to pay $2.40 to $5 per square foot for this job. If the exterior of the home is in bad shape, it will need to be repaired before it can be painted.
Exterior Painting Cost by Stories
If the ground outside the home is sloped or uneven, painters will need additional ladders and scaffolding. The more lifts, ladders, scaffolds, and planks required, the higher the price for the equipment. Eye protection, masks, tarps, tape, spray equipment, brushes, and rollers are all part of the cost to paint a house. Depending on how far away the home is located from the contractor, a travel fee may be included. Repainting a mobile home or townhouse costs $1 to $4 per square foot or $750 to $4,300 on average. Repainting costs more if the existing surface is in poor condition, and additional repairs and prep work are required.
This price depends on the type of siding, as different siding varieties require differing prep work, number of coats, and quantities of paint to get a good finish. The climate impacts the type of paint, the working conditions, and therefore the cost. Working in adverse conditions, such as extreme heat or cold, can increase labor costs by 50%. Because house painting is charged per square foot, the larger your house, the more you'll pay to have the exterior painted. However, when working out square footage, remember that you need to find the total paintable area, not the actual square footage of your home. For example, single-story homes might be relatively straightforward to paint, with easy access to all surfaces.
7 Questions to Ask a House Painter - Realtor.com News
7 Questions to Ask a House Painter.
Posted: Wed, 15 Sep 2021 11:51:57 GMT [source]
Before a single stroke of a brush, your home needs to be prepped for paint, and this is often most of the work. Exterior siding prep work can cost anywhere from $0.50 to $2.50 per square foot—don’t fret, this is often included in your square footage painting cost. Paint prep work can include scraping, sanding, stripping, power washing, caulking, replacing siding and more. If there is peeling or chipped paint, the house may need to have its paint stripped. While it’s not usually necessary to strip the entire house, sections can be stripped using a sander, heat gun, or scraper. Late spring, summer, and early fall are the best times to paint a house exterior.
Painting a home’s exterior doesn’t just improve its appearance and curb appeal, although that is a huge benefit. Applying fresh paint can increase home value, provide a layer of protection against weather, and even extend the life of the siding. In many cases, homeowners can get away with leaving steel siding unpainted because it is not prone to rotting or mold. However, if the siding is being painted for aesthetic purposes, it’s usually possible to skip priming. More often than not, siding is not the only part of a home that will need a fresh coat of paint.
The mild and dry weather makes the exterior paint less likely to peel or chip. Painting the first story of your home is not too difficult as the painters will likely be able to access it from ground level. Accessing the second or third stories to paint is much harder and will require ladders, scaffolding or electric-powered lifts that you will ultimately pay for in the total cost. Painting the exterior is a tried-and-true way to refresh a home’s overall look. Looking through exterior house paint ideas can be also an exciting and enjoyable process. For homeowners who are looking for a way to create a new look for their home without the expense of a significant remodel, choosing a modern paint color scheme is the way to go.
Not only does spraying have a lower per-hour cost of $30 to $50, but it also takes less time to complete. A job that would last as long as 6 days with rollers can be finished in half that time with a sprayer, which makes a huge difference when costs are calculated by the hour. Some smaller parts of the exterior will typically still need to be painted with a brush or roller, which costs about $40 to $60 per hour. Unpainted surfaces and surfaces that are being painted a drastically different color need a primer. Primer helps the paint adhere to the surface of the house and makes it last longer.
The cost of labor is a huge portion of your total exterior house painting cost. Expect to spend between $1 and $2 per square foot or $25 and $100 per hour on labor alone. Your project might have higher labor costs if extra work like priming or stripping is required. Weather and climate impact the type of paint needed, and it also determines how often a house will need to be painted. If the home is located in a hot and sunny climate, direct sunlight may cause the exterior paint to fade. Homes in areas that experience harsh winters or high humidity will need paint that can withstand the elements.
Altogether, these estimates cover a range of about $4,000 to $17,000 to paint the entirety of the inside of a 2,000-square-foot home. Next, a pro tapes off any features of the room that aren’t being painted, including doors, trim, hardware, and light switches. Rural locations with a lower population density will typically have more affordable rates because the services are not in as high of demand. However, it should be noted that the prices can also fluctuate based on the geographic region. Commercial painters charge between $2 and $6 per square foot, which equates to $60 to $100 per hour.
Painting in the fall or early winter is ideal in southern states that stay warm year-round. Concrete foundations are porous and should be sealed and primed before painting with paint formulated explicitly for concrete. A few factors affect the cost of this type of project, including your location.
The brand of paint being used is another important factor in how much it costs to paint a house. Anyone who has calculated the cost to paint a room in their house knows that choosing a paint brand can feel daunting because of the wide variety of options available. Narrowing down any qualities that will need to be prioritized, such as mold resistance or low volatile organic compounds (VOCs), can make it easier for a homeowner to pick the best fit.
If DIY exterior painting isn’t for you, there are likely plenty of local painters in your area up to the task. When soliciting professional painters, obtain quotes from at least three companies to compare services and pricing quotes. Not only that, but it can be a sign that mold or water damage has infiltrated the siding material. The following are a few reasons a homeowner may need to paint the exterior of their house.