Around 5.5 million homes sell each year in the US. While some homebuyers find the current color acceptable, others will want a fresh coat of paint before moving into the house. Even for current homeowners, periodic exterior painting is necessary even with well-maintained homes.

Whether you’re painting your dream house your dream color or just freshening aging paint, everyone has the same question. What is the cost of painting a house?

Keep reading and we’ll give you a quick guide on the factors that affect the price and general guidelines on the cost.

Basic Factors

One of the big factors affecting the price of getting your house painted is the house size. A gallon of exterior paint covers around 400 square feet when applied by brush and about a third that much when sprayed on. The more square footage, the more you will pay for that exterior paint job.

The condition of the existing paint and underlying material also plays a role. Paint that’s relatively new and on sound underlying material requires less prep work. Older paint in bad condition or paint on damaged material requires a lot more prep work, such as:

  • cleaning
  • scraping
  • sanding
  • repair

Every hour of prep work is an hour of labor on the bill.

Special Considerations

On older homes, there is also a possibility of a coat of lead paint hiding under more recent paint. Lead paint poses health risks to you, the painting crew, and your neighbors when scraped off. It requires special handling that can add to the final costs.

Tips for Reducing the Cost

Since preparation consumes so much of the labor involved with house painting, you can trim the estimate by handling some of the prep yourself. For example, you can scrape down peeling or bubbling paint ahead of time. Just make sure you’re not dealing with lead paint. You can also repair any damage to the underlying material.

Get multiple bids on the job from reputable painting companies in your area. This helps you see what an average local cost is for a house painting job.

Average Cost

The national average for an exterior paint job runs around $2800. Many factors can affect this price, especially location. Exterior painting in urban locations will routinely run higher than rural or suburban areas because of higher operating costs and local wage laws.

Parting Thoughts on the Cost of Painting a House

The cost of painting a house often proves difficult to pin down. Everything from the size of your house to the paint you choose and location and affect the going rate.

If you’re concerned the price will come in higher than you can comfortably afford, consider doing some of the prep work yourself before getting estimates. It’ll cut down on the labor costs.

A-Choice Painting provide painting services for both residential and commercial customers in the greater Milwaukee area. For more information or to schedule a consultation, contact A-Choice Painting today.