How Much Paint? 400 Square Feet Per Gallon

How Much Paint Should You Buy to paint your rooms or house? I never know how much paint to buy and I end up buying too much. Once when I sold a house I left over $500.00 worth of paint in the garage for the new homeowner.

If you've ever painted your home's exterior, or even just a room inside, you may have had the problem of what to do with left over paint like I did. To prevent ever having to deal with the messy disposal or storage of partially used can of paint again, here's a way in which you can measure ahead of time to find out exactly how much you'll need.

INTERIOR PROJECTS

1. When painting indoor walls, multiply the room's perimeter by the height of the ceiling.

2. Subtract the square footage of the doors and window frames if you plan to use a different paint for the door or window trim.

3. When painting ceilings or floors, multiply the length of the room by the width.

EXTERIOR PROJECTS

1. To paint siding surfaces, multiply the perimeter by the height.

2. When painting peak areas, multiply the height from the base of the roof line to the tip of the peak by half the base length.

3. To paint the total square footage, find the sum of both the siding surface figure and the figure from the peak areas.

4. To paint gutters, add one square foot for every running foot.

5. If you're using a different paint for the trim, subtract the square footage of doors and frames.

Once you have your measurements, divide the total square footage by 400, the total square footage one gallon of paint will cover. Then you'll know how many gallons of paint your project requires.

I hope this helps you the next time you are planning on a painting project.

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