Estimating How Much Paint to Buy

By Gene Hamilton and Katie Hamilton

Before you begin painting your home's interior walls, ceiling, woodwork, doors, or
windows, you need to estimate the amount of paint you'll use. Estimates require specific
calculations for each surface you want to paint.
To estimate the amount of paint you need in order to cover the walls of a room, add
together the length of all the walls and then multiply the number by the height of the
room, from floor to ceiling. The number you get is the room's square footage. Is that
math class coming back to you now?
Now you have to determine how much of that square footage is paintable surface area.
Because you use a different paint on the doors and windows, subtract those areas from
the room total. No sweat, just subtract 20 square feet for each door and 15 square feet
for each average-sized window in the room. You end up with a number that is close to
the actual wall area you have to cover with paint.
In general, you can expect 1 gallon of paint to cover about 350 square feet. You need
slightly more than a gallon if the walls are unpainted drywall, which absorbs more of
the paint. You also need to consider whether to paint more than one coat. If you're
painting walls that are unfinished, heavily patched, or dark in color, plan on applying
two coats of paint.

When painting a dark color, pros often add a color tint to the white primer. Tints for
both latex or alkyd paints are available at most paint stores. For best results, choose a
tint shade that's closest to the top coat color.
Now for the clincher of the math problem. Divide the paintable wall area by 350 (the
square-foot coverage in each gallon can) to find the number of gallons of paint you need
for the walls. You can round uneven numbers; if the remainder is less than .5, order a
couple of quarts of wall paint to go with the gallons; if the remainder is more than .5,
order an extra gallon. Of course, buying in bulk is usually more economical, so you may
discover that 3 quarts of paint cost as much as a gallon.
Examples
The following examples walk you through the calculations for determining how much
paint you need for a 14-x-20-foot room that's 8 feet tall and has two doors and two
windows.
Ceiling paint estimator
Use the following formula to estimate the amount of ceiling paint you need. Double the
result if the ceiling requires two coats.
1. Multiply the length of the ceiling times its width to find its area.
14 × 20 = 280 square feet
2. Divide that number by 350 (the estimated square feet covered per gallon) to
figure out how many gallons of paint you need.
280 ÷ 350 = .8
For this example, you want to buy 1 gallon of ceiling paint for a single coat.
Wall paint estimator
Use the following formula to estimate the amount of wall paint you need. Double the
result if the walls require two coats.
1. Add together the length of each wall.
14 + 20 + 14 + 20 = 68 feet
2. Multiply the sum by the wall height, to find the total wall area.
68 × 8 = 544 square feet
3. Subtract 20 square feet for each door (20 × 2 = 40) and 15 square feet for each
window (15 × 2 = 30) to find the actual amount of wall area you're painting.
544 – 70 = 474 square feet
4. Divide this figure by the paint coverage (350 square feet per gallon), and the
result is the number of gallons to purchase.
474 ÷ 350 = 1.4
For this example, you want to buy 1 gallon and 2 quarts of paint for a single coat.
Woodwork paint estimator
Measure the length of the trim in feet, and multiply that number by 1/2 foot (.5), as a
rough size for the width of the trim. Include all the trim around doors and windows,
at baseboards, along the ceiling, and for any built-in furniture.
As an example, imagine that you have ceiling molding running around a room that is 14
feet wide and 20 feet long.
1. Determine the total length of molding around the room by adding together the
length of all the walls that the molding covers.
Round the numbers off to the nearest foot.
14 + 20 + 14 + 20 = 68 feet
2. Multiply the sum by .5 for an estimated width of the molding.
68 × .5 = 34 square feet
3. Divide this number by 350 to estimate the gallons of paint required to cover the
molding.
34 ÷ 350 = .09
The result in this example is much less than a quart, but you may paint other woodwork
in the room the same color, so buying a full quart may not be terribly wasteful.
Door and window estimator
Use the same figure for estimating door coverage as you use in your wall-area
calculations — 20 square feet = one door. Multiply the number of doors by 20, doubling
the answer if you plan to paint both sides. Wall paint estimates allow for 15 square feet
for each window. Use about half that window area to figure trim and inside sash — the
glass isn't important to the calculation.
For the room in this example:
1. Multiply the number of doors by 20.
2 × 20 = 40 square feet
2. Multiply the number of windows by 7.5.
2 Windows × 7.5 = 15 square feet
3. Add these numbers together.
40 + 15 = 55
4. Divide the result by 350 (the estimated square feet covered per gallon).
54 ÷ 350 = .16
Often, you end up needing to buy only a quart of paint, which goes a long way on doors
and window trim.

Read more: http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/estimating-how-much-paint-to-

buy.html#ixzz1HWMTRlrt

Rule of thumb: add 1/4" to the thickness of your slab for your slab concrete budget. This assumes you
have the job evenly graded to the right depth, and the grade is well compacted.

If you check your grade and one spot is 4", some spots are 4.5" to 5"-the best solution for both the job
quality and your concrete budget is to fix the grade.

Odd shapes: Transform odd shapes into rectangles and odd shapes are suddenly easy to figure.
Figure driveway 14' x 20' and your estimate will be good. Here is why: The driveway is 16' at the top and
12' at the bottom. Through the center the width averages 14'.

Footings will rarely follow the drawing exactly.

In rocky soil the footings may collapse when big rocks are excavated

This was supposed to be a 12"*12" footing, but note how the left side of the footing has collapsed.
Calculate the true width.

The excavator may have dug too deep, or it may have rained and footings needed to be dug out deeper
to reach firm soil. So it is important to check a variety of spots on your footing and get an average size.
Then use the calculator to figure the amount of concrete needed.

House slabs on grade that are 8" out of grade with a 4" slab also have some of the footing above the
grade too.
This 12" x 12" footing needs to be calculated 12" x 16" so the footing is figured to go above grade to
reach the 4" slab thickness.

Find a Homes, Slabs or Foundations Contractor

Steps seem tricky to calculate but are not. If there are three steps leading up to a porch:

• Use the slab calculator to figure the concrete needed for the porch surface.

• Use the footing calculator to calculate the sides of the porch and the steps

Here is an example:

3' x 3' Porch

This porch has 9 sq. feet of porch surface, so enter in the slab calculator 4" thickness by 3' width by 3'
length. This totals .11 cubic yards.

The porch also has 9 linear feet of 6" step. So enter in the footing calculator, 6" depth by 12" width
(always figure steps with a 12" width) by 9' length. This totals .17 cubic yards.

The total concrete needed for the 3' by 3' porch will be .28 cubic yards. (.11 + .17 cubic yards = .28 cubic
yards)

Repeat this for added layers of steps.

 To use the Block Wall Calculator, simply enter the height and length of
the wall, click on whether you are filling an 8-inch or 12-inch wall, then
click on the Calculate button. The calculator will estimate the number of
cubic yards that will be required. Note that this is an estimate. There is
significant variation in fill space among different blocks. This calculator
assumes the use of double open-ended bond beam blocks.
Top of Form
BLOCK WALL
Height Length Block
(Feet) (Feet) Size

8 inch

12 inch
Cubic Yards Required:
Bottom of Form

Dimensions for this gable roof truss:

1. The roof system is 39 feet long.
2. The truss bottom chord is 30 feet
wide.
3. The trusses are 23 inches o.c.

From the National Renovation & Insurance Repair Estimator available from
Craftsman Book Company. Visit our website for more information, or to
order the book.

QuickCalculator results for this gable roof truss:

Number of trusses is: 22
How to calculate: Convert the length of the roof (answer 1) into inches by multiplying it by 12. The number of trusses is then calculated
by taking this length in inches, dividing it by the truss centers (answer 3), then adding 1 for the first truss.

Lineal feet of trusses is: 660 LF

How to calculate: Multiply the number of trusses by the length of the truss bottom chord (answer 2).

Dimensions for this rectangular room:

1. The room is 39 feet long.
2. The room is 16 feet tall.
3. The room is 32 feet wide.

From the National Renovation & Insurance Repair Estimator available from
Craftsman Book Company. Visit our website for more information, or to
order the book.

QuickCalculator results for this rectangular room:

Perimeter of room is: 142 LF

How to calculate: Add the length (answer 1) to the width (answer 3) and multiply by two.

Square feet of walls: 2272 SF

How to calculate: Multiply the perimeter of the room by the room height
(answer 2).

Square feet of ceiling or floor is 1248 SF

How to calculate: Multiply the length of the room (answer 1) by the width (answer 3).

Square yards of floor is: 138.67 SY

How to calculate: Divide the square feet of floor by 9