Painting
Interior Painting Cost Calculator
Prices interior painting, where protecting the room is real time.
Result
A planning estimate, not a quote. Access, the age of the equipment, what is found once it is opened up and local labour rates all move the real figure, sometimes a long way.
Get a Free Business AuditHow the calculation works
Hours times crew times rate, plus materials and the call-out, over wall and ceiling area. Interior work adds labour that exterior does not: moving and covering furniture, masking floors and fixtures, removing and refitting hardware and switch plates, and cleaning up to a standard someone will live in that evening. On a furnished occupied room that protection and reinstatement can approach the painting time.
What moves the number
- Whether the room is empty or furnished and occupied.
- Number of coats, which a colour change increases.
- Repairs needed, since filling and sanding precedes painting.
- Trim, doors and windows in the room, which are slow per unit.
Where this one goes wrong
Covering a colour change needs more coats than covering like with like, and a dramatic change over a dark or strong colour can need a tinted primer plus two finish coats rather than two coats alone. Quoting two coats for a red-to-cream change produces a patchy result and an argument. Repairs are the other item to settle: filling nail holes is normally included while patching damaged drywall, repairing cracks that keep moving, or dealing with water stains is separate work, and a quote silent on it is a quote that will be revised.
Before you quote
- Allow extra coats or a tinted primer for a significant colour change.
- State what repair work is included and what is extra.
- Price protection and reinstatement in a furnished room.
Questions
About this calculator
How many coats does a colour change need?
More than a like-for-like repaint. A significant change, particularly over a dark or saturated colour, often needs a tinted primer plus two finish coats rather than two coats alone. Quoting two coats for a dramatic change produces a patchy result that needs another coat anyway.
Is furniture moving included?
It should be stated, because on a furnished occupied room moving and covering furniture, masking, removing hardware and cleaning to a liveable standard can approach the painting time. A quote that assumed an empty room will overrun on a full one.
Are wall repairs part of a painting quote?
Filling nail holes normally is. Patching damaged drywall, repairing cracks, dealing with water stains or matching texture is separate work and should be identified as such, since it is unpredictable and can exceed the painting itself on a neglected room.
The formula
total = hours x people x rate + parts + call-out, then sales tax
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How to use this calculator
- Hours on site (h). Enter your own figure; the page starts at 32 h.
- People needed. Enter your own figure; the page starts at 1.
- Labour rate charged ($). Enter your own figure; the page starts at $68.
- Parts and materials ($). Enter your own figure; the page starts at $520.
- Call-out or diagnostic fee ($). Enter your own figure; the page starts at $95.
- Sales tax (%). Leave at zero if you are quoting before tax.
The result updates as you type, so you can try a figure, see what it does to estimated total, and change it back. Nothing you enter is sent anywhere or saved.
A worked example
These are the figures the calculator opens with. Every number in the results column below is produced by the same calculation the page runs, so you can follow it through before putting your own figures in.
What goes in
| Input | Value |
|---|---|
| Hours on site | 32 h |
| People needed | 1 |
| Labour rate charged | $68 |
| Parts and materials | $520 |
| Call-out or diagnostic fee | $95 |
| Sales tax | 0% |
What comes out
| Result | Value |
|---|---|
| Estimated total main result | $2,791 |
| Labour | $2,176 |
| Before tax | $2,791 |
| Sales tax | $0 |
About $2,791: $2,176 of labour, $520 of parts and a $95 call-out.
How sensitive the answer is
Holding everything else steady and changing only labour rate charged, this is what happens to estimated total. It is worth knowing which of your inputs the answer actually hinges on, and which barely move it.
| Labour rate charged ($) | Estimated total |
|---|---|
| $34 | $1,703 |
| $51 | $2,247 |
| $68 example above | $2,791 |
| $102 | $3,879 |
| $136 | $4,967 |
Every other input is held at the example value while this one changes, which is not how a real job behaves. Treat it as a guide to which number matters most, not as five separate quotes.
What each figure means
- Hours on site (h)
- Measured in h, between 0 and 400, starting at 32 h.
- People needed
- A number, between 0 and 40, starting at 1.
- Labour rate charged ($)
- A money amount, starting at $68.
- Parts and materials ($)
- A money amount, starting at $520.
- Call-out or diagnostic fee ($)
- A money amount, starting at $95.
- Sales tax (%)
- Leave at zero if you are quoting before tax.
What the results tell you
| Result | What it is |
|---|---|
| Estimated total | The headline result. A money figure. |
| Labour | A money figure. |
| Before tax | A money figure. |
| Sales tax | A money figure. |
Estimating is the easy part
The jobs you never hear about cost more than the ones you mis-measure. BDEVY builds the marketing, systems and automation that bring them in.