The cost to paint the exterior of a house can vary greatly, whether you’re repainting your old house or painting new siding for the first time. Doing so can be a daunting task. No matter how you choose to do so, the cost is always a factor.

If you hire someone you’re paying for labor. But even if you do it yourself, you could end up overpaying thousands of dollars! Start things off right by finding out the average cost to paint exterior of house.

How Much Does Cost To Paint Exterior Of House?

The way you figure the cost of paint matters. You can figure the price per gallon, per sqft of wall area, or by the average price of paint for the size of the house you have. Here are the two most common ways to figure paint costs.

Cost To Paint Exterior Of House: Price Per Sqft

According to Nerd Wallet, the price of exterior paint is usually just over $1000 per 500 sqft. This translates into $2 per sqft. This is an easy way to get a rough estimate in seconds. But it’s not the only way.

Note that this is the square footage of your home, not the area that will be painted. Figuring the area of an exterior wall can be difficult, so doing it by square footage is easier, though slightly less accurate.

Cost To Paint Exterior Of House: Price Per Gallon

Since you’ll be buying your paint by the gallon, it’s useful to know how much each gallon will cost. In order to calculate the cost to paint exterior of house, you need to know the brand of paint you will use. Here is the average price by brand per gallon.

All of these brands are reputable. Those that are more expensive are generally higher quality, but all are acceptable.

Glidden – $20

Diamond Brite – $25

Kilz – $30

BEHR – $35

Valspar – $40

Sherwin Williams – $45

Romabio – $50

ECOS – $60

Benjamin Moore – $80

But how much does a gallon of paint cover? About 400 sqft of space. On average, you need about 10 gallons of paint for a 1500 sq ft home. However, this depends on window size, how many stories, and more.

Interior Paint Vs. Exterior Paint

Via Tracey Rapisardi Design

Your question is probably, “can I use interior paint on the exterior of my home?” The short answer is no. There’s a reason that exterior paint is more expensive than interior paint. Exterior paint is made to withstand harsh weather.

Interior paint has resins that allow it to be wiped clean easily without damaging the paint. Exterior paint is more durable, thicker, but also harsher. They are made with materials that help it fight against mildew and bad weather.

Related: 50 House Colors To Convince You To Paint Yours

Even if you don’t mind using the weaker paint outdoors, it won’t last. However, what is even worse is using exterior paint indoors. Exterior paint can contain harmful chemicals that need to be aired out. Using them indoors can be harmful.

Via Gerber Berend Design Build, Inc

Now that we’ve got the majors details out of the way, let’s put it all together. As you can see, the brand of paint you use matters a lot, but so does the type of siding you use.

Brick and wood absorb paint quickly.However, vinyl siding often shows through.

So, make sure the paint you choose is right for the type of siding you have. If you choose the wrong one, you’ll be adding three or four coats, which can quadruple your price.

Price Of Labor

This is definitely the biggest cost. While paint can be expensive, you can usually get it for pretty cheap overall if you get the best brand within your budget. Remember, better brands mean fewer coats.

Painters usually charge between $1000 and $3000 to paint your house. Oftentimes, they include the materials, so you only have to tell them which color you want. But still, hiring a painter will double the cost of painting your house.

On average, painters expect $40 an hour. If you have them there for a week, that really adds up. So if you can spare the time to paint yourself, you’ll save a ton of money.

Picking An Exterior House Paint Shade

Via Stofft Cooney Architects

Picking a shade to paint your exterior can be stressful. After all, this is the one color everyone will see, even if they are just driving by. So how do you do it? The truth is that it only matters what you think of the color, not anyone else.

However, there are a few safe choices that you can never go wrong with.

Grey

Grey is one of the most common house colors. It is safe and comes in hundreds of shades. You can even get a custom color to find that perfect shade that works just for you. Add more brown for warmer and more black or white for cooler tones.

Yellow

Yellow is perfect for that cottage that will soon feel like home. People who want more joy, life, and sunshine in their life love yellow. If you want a bright color but don’t want to overdo it, yellow is a great option.

Blue

Blue is versatile. The most versatile non-neutral color you can paint your house. Add a touch of green and it’s beachy. Keep it pastel and it’s a cottage. Make it dark and you’ve gone suburban. The shade matters so much with blue.

Beige

Beige is another safe color. You can use a medium tan beige for the safest shade. Or, you can add darker browns for a warmer house. There’s a reason so many trailers and prefabs are beige. It works for everyone.

White

White may be the most popular pick. Everyone likes a white house. If you want to add color, you can add color to the trim. White can take a house from dreary to refined in one afternoon, so never say ‘no’ to white without considering it.

Picking A Trim Color

Trim color is important, but not as important as the main color of your house. Most people just pick white for trim color, but you can always experiment. Paint your door one color, shutters another, and windowsills a different color!

How To Paint The Exterior Of A House

Via Our Town Plans

Now that you’ve picked a paint color and know what you’ll pay, it’s time to get down to business.

Prepping

The first thing you do after you get all of your supplies together is tape the trim. Use painter’s tape, frog tape, or electrical tape to cover everything you don’t want to be painted. For windows, you can tape plastic to cover them.

Make sure lines are clean and that you leave the tape on until the paint is completely dry. If you take it off too soon, you could smear paint on your beautiful trim. So be careful and be patient.

Painting

There are a few different ways to paint the exterior of your home. Each has its own pros and cons. Some are more expensive but more effective while others are cheaper yet require more work. More work is more time, so make sure you have enough of it!

Spray Painting

Spray painting is ideal if your trim and windows are covered well. All you have to do is spray the entire exterior, which is surprisingly quick with a spray painter. You can rent one from most hardware stores for under $200.

Brush And Roller

If you’re afraid you’ll make a mess or if you can’t afford a spray painter, just use a brush and roller. The roller can cover most of the house while the small brushes can help with the edging. Edgers themselves are affordable as well.

Cleaning Up

If you do make a mistake and get paint somewhere you didn’t mean to, don’t panic. If the paint is wet, you can wipe it up with a wet rag followed by a dry one. If it’s dry, you can use a paint stripper or a little bit of acetone.

However, these substances will remove all paint if you’re not careful. So it’s a good idea to keep the paint used to paint the trim on hand. If you didn’t get any paint anywhere you didn’t want to, then good for you!

All that’s left to do is remove the tape and plastic. Bag it up in black trash bags, and dispose of it according to the city code. Any paint that has dripped on the grass will be cut when mowed or washed away when it rains.

All Set On Learning The Cost To Paint Exterior Of House

If you can’t afford the paint job you want, then hold off. Save up the money to give yourself your dream home. You definitely deserve it! If you don’t need the house painted today, then calculate the cost and set up a fund.

This works for any project and you will always be happy you waited whenever you’re getting exactly what you wanted. Prioritize quality over speed, no matter what the project may be. If you’re going to put in the effort, make that effort worth it.