How Much Is the Cost To Paint a House Exterior?
The exterior of our house is the first thing that other people see. It tells right away whether or not your property is well-maintained. If you think your house exterior needs a fresh coat of paint, it’s best to determine first the cost to paint a house exterior.
Different painting services and professional painters will provide you with varying quotations, but having a rough estimate of the cost is important so you’ll have the average pricing to help you with budgeting and planning. Once you already know the average cost, it will also be easier for you to decide which service to go for to paint the exterior of your house.
How Do You Estimate Exterior Painting?
The evident factor in determining the exterior house painting cost is the size of the house. Typically, a larger house means more surface area, however, houses of the same size might have varying exterior surfaces to paint due to the house’s exterior design and features.
Here are some of the common price ranges that a painting service may charge you depending on the required labor and other factors when it comes to house painting st petersburg.
According to Square Foot
House exterior painting usually costs anywhere from $1.50 to $4 per square foot. For houses that are less than a thousand square feet, like an 800 sq. f.t one, it could be $1,200 to $3,200.
The amount that a painting service may charge you depends on your house’s exterior design and features, the accessibility of your property, and the amount of prep work that needs to be done.
According to the Number of Stories
A single-story house can cost $1,500 and even up to $6,000 to paint the exterior. If your house is two stories, the painting cost will be $3,500 to $6,200. Meanwhile, a three-story house costs $5,000 and upwards of $10,000 plus, depending on the structure.
Generally, the higher the number of stories means higher costs as more time will be spent on the job.
According to the Siding
The siding is another way to determine the house exterior painting cost. It will depend on the material used for the siding. Some can be expensive due to the extensive preparation and labor.
For the most common types of siding including vinyl, wood, metal, fiber cement, and insulated siding, the cost per square foot is between $1 and $3.20. To paint 800 square feet of these types of siding, expect to pay $800 to $2,560.
There are many other types of house siding, and the painting cost differs as they also require different prep work and different quantities of paint to get a good finish.
Factors Affecting the Cost To Paint a House Exterior
While the main factors that affect the cost to paint a house exterior are the actual cost of the paint and the required labor, there are other factors that directly impact how much a painting service or a professional painter charges for a house exterior painting project. These other factors include the finishes, the location of the property, and the necessary amount of prep work.
Paint
The paint material varies according to the type of paint, brand, and other factors. Exterior house paints can cost you $32 to $99 per gallon. The amount of exterior paint needed for the job depends on the type of surface that needs painting and the number of coats necessary to get a good finish.
Aside from your allotted budget, when deciding which paint to purchase for your house exterior painting project, you need to remember that although they come with a higher price, higher-quality paints have better-quality ingredients and generally last longer. Experienced hardware sales associates can provide recommendations on which will work best for your project.
Labor
Labor costs usually are paid per hour of work. The exterior painter’s skill and the complexity of the paint job determine the labor cost. The labor cost varies widely depending on the region or city and ranges between $25 to $100 per hour per painter. This estimate already includes the costs of priming and painting but can be reduced by 50% if your exterior no longer needs priming. However, if any repair work is necessary, the labor cost can increase depending on the exterior problem that needs fixing.
Finishes
Another would be the choice of finishes for the exterior paint. There are different paint finish types. The most commonly used finish on home exteriors is Eggshell. Eggshell exterior paint usually costs between $30 to $50 per gallon.
The other finishes on home exteriors are flat, satin, semi-gloss, and high-gloss. Flat exterior paint costs around $15 to $40 per gallon, with satin exterior paint costing a little bit higher, between $30 to $50. Semi-gloss exterior paint costs between $40 to $60, while high-gloss exterior paint costs $50 to $70.
With home exterior finishes, glossy paints last longer, and flatter paints cover better.
Location
The cost of house exterior painting will also depend on the location of your house. More expensive areas will carry a higher price than those with lower living expenses.
For example, in New York, New York, the average house exterior painting cost is from $2,100 to $5,000 for a 1000 sq. ft. house. However, for the same house size in Atlanta, Georgia, the price is from $1,200 to $2,900.
Prep Work
Preparation is another factor for the cost. Before painting, the exteriors must be prepped up first, usually by removing the existing paint.
Prep work costs anywhere from $500 to $2,500 for a home that is 1000 square feet. Prep work cost is usually included in the total project price as it’s necessary to do proper prepping to ensure the quality and durability of the finish.
House Painting Cost: How Much for the Paint?
Each type of paint has a varying cost. This will depend on the type of paint used to paint the house exteriors. The three main types of exterior paint are latex, oil-based, and acrylic. Latex has a $20 – $70 cost per gallon. As for oil-based paint, it’s a bit more expensive, with prices ranging from $30 to $90. Acrylic paint, meanwhile, is comparable to latex paint when it comes to its price – between $20 to $70 for a gallon of paint.
How To Save on Custom Exterior Painting
While the cost of a house exterior painting project varies depending on the choice of paint, required labor, finishes, your house’s location, and the amount of necessary prep work, it can be helpful to have an idea of how you can reduce the labor cost associated with house exterior painting.
Here are a few tips on how to save on custom house exterior painting:
1. Regular Repairs
What inflates the exterior house paint cost is when there are additional repairs or laborious prep work required before painting them.
Aside from the complexity of the job and the accessibility of your property, painting services will charge more when they identify problems or damages that need to be fixed before they can paint. To save on these additional costs, check your house exterior for any damages that need fixing first before hiring a painting service or a professional painter.
Regular repairs and home maintenance can not only help you save on future painting projects. They can also help avoid future inconveniences and premature replacement and repair bills as a homeowner.
2. Do the Prep Work
If there is anything that can add cost, it is the required prep work. However, if you can do it yourself, it is best to handle this so there won’t be additional costs due to the necessary prep work.
To ensure that your house exterior is ready to paint, check if it is clean and free of debris before hiring professional services for a painting job.
3. Invest in High-Quality Paint
It might be counter-intuitive to spend some more on paint when you’re trying to save. One thing to know about paint choices is that high-quality paint reduces the need to paint your exteriors for a long time.
4. Get Quotes From Different Companies
Different painting services can have varying quotes to paint the house exteriors. When you get a price quote from multiple sources, it becomes easier to choose which one is more affordable or provides more value.
Having a rough estimate of how much you need to spend on the painting project will help you with your planning and budgeting.
DIY or House Exterior Painting Services?
DIY House Exterior Painting
Painting your house’s exterior by yourself can be difficult. However, if you trust your handyman skills and have complete painting equipment, then choosing DIY is okay. Otherwise, house exterior painting services from professionals are, by far, a better choice.
When you decide to do a DIY house exterior painting, you will need supplies such as paint brushes, rollers, ladders, and a pressure washer for cleaning the siding before painting. These are the basic supplies needed, but if you do not have them, it would cost you around $440 to get these, excluding any others not mentioned, as well as the many gallons of paint needed for the paint job.
Hiring Professionals
While you need to pay for labor costs when hiring professional painting services, you no longer need to worry about the supplies needed to complete the painting job. Also, you’re sure to get quality work from professional exterior painters from these services.
It’s best to get quotations on the cost to paint a house exterior from different painting services to know if they can deliver based on your budget and provide quality exterior painting jobs based on their previous works.
Professional exterior painters from Tampa Bay Painting Company use all the equipment and materials needed to provide premium painting services and deliver results as promised.
