Buying exact quantity of paint help you to keep your cost of painting low and it is good for environment too. But finding out how much paint one will required is quite difficult. Buying exact quantity of paint help you to keep your cost of painting low and it is good for environment too. But finding out how much paint one will required is quite difficult. Chances of getting excess paint while purchasing is always possible as paints only available in cans with various sizes. So it is always recommendable to buy the larger cans instead of smaller one. Purchasing one litres of paint alone will cost you more than purchasing 10 liters of paint in bulk. So one can always prefer of painting two rooms with same paint in order to purchase larger can. Rooms with larger windows generally use less paint.
The amount of paint one need will depend upon the size of room going to paint. One can also refer the manufacturers guide for getting an idea regarding how many meters their paint will cover. There are different coverage rates for various brands available in the market. The surface on which paint will be applied is another key factor for determining the amount of paint one need. For an instance, if someone is going to paint a previously painted wall then its coverage rate will depend upon specification of manufacturer and will be lesser.
Similarly painting an unpainted wall will definitely consume more paint. But one thing is very sure that we all don’t want to waste the excess paint which is very expensive. So we can solve this problem by either ordering the minimal amount or to get an extra can of paint but don’t get it opened, if it is unused and hence one can easily return it because it is unopened. It is always better to have one or two extra cans of paint in your hand as if you do not have to open those then you could easily return them back to the seller and get your money back. Instead, if you purchase the exact numbers of cans as you have calculated and in the middle you find that you need one more then you may find yourself in a bit of trouble.
Guideline for determining the amount of paint needed
First determine the size of bedroom one is going to paint. You can take help of your friend or professionals to help you to measure the height of the walls and breadth of bedroom with a measuring tape. After that you can multiply these together to determine the complete measurement of overall size of room. Space occupied by doors and windows will not be included into it. Their space should be eliminated by calculating the same as above from the overall measurement. Total square meter should be multiplied by number of coats one will require. One can keep some extra paint for giving finishing at the end.
At last total figure will be divided by the quantity of paint present into tin.
The kind of paint used and the manufacturer always make a difference. Higher quality of paint should be preferred as it will give great result by consuming less.
Quantity of Paint required for a bedroom
Giving you approximate calculations of determining the quantity of paint will be consumed. These are based on an average calculation of one bedroom with application of two coats. An average room is of size 12 x 12 x 9 with ceilings consuming two to three liters of paint. Its walls will absorb 5-6 liters of paint including woodwork of 1 liter alone. One gallon of paint for wall as primer and one to two liters of paint for featured wall. One can use various paint calculators available on the net for determining the right amount. One can assume that one has a 10×15-foot bedroom with an 8-foot ceiling, two windows and two doors. Following are the steps for finding out the nearest quantity.
Paint for walls
Calculate the total distance inside the room: (10 ft. + 15 ft.) x 2 = 50 ft.
In order to get the total wall area, one can multiple the perimeter by the ceiling height like 50 ft. x 8 ft. = 400 sq. ft.
Size of windows is generally 15 square feet, and we find two in every room. This will lead to 15 sq. ft. x 2 = 30 sq. ft.
One gallon of good paint will generally paint 328 square feet.
For Ceilings
For calculating the amount of paint used for the ceiling is to multiply the length by width: 10 ft. x 15 ft. = 150 sq. ft.
Add the area for doors, windows, and baseboard trim.
One quarter will be enough to cover the windows and doors.
Estimating paint for woodwork
First measure the length of the trim, and multiply it by 1/2 foot (.5).One should include all the trims around windows and doors. For example, calculate the length of molding around the room by summing up the length of all walls in the room that this molding will cover. Now round it to the nearest foot like 20+14+14+20=68 feet and multiply it by .5 i.e. 68 × .5 = 34 square feet. At the end divide it by 350 to get a rough estimate of quantity of paint required for the molding (34 ÷ 350 = .09)
Estimation for doors and windows
If one door is 20 square feet then multiply it by total numbers of doors. You can double it, if you are going to paint the both sides. Similarly windows which are approximate 15 square feet can be multiplied by number of windows in the room and then add them together. Wall paint estimates allow for 7.5 square feet for each window. At the last, divide the total by 350(the approximated square feet covered per gallon) in this way (54 ÷ 350 = .16)
Few tips for better result
Ventilate your room before painting it. Avoid breathing problems by keeping a window or door open outside. The Sealer is used for giving better coat adhesion to the wall surface. It will consume one coat of paint. Hence five liters will be sufficient. A better quality of paint prevents the growth of mould at damp areas.
There are many factors that will affect the quantity of paint one will use. Some people apply more paint than others. So it is quite difficult to estimate the exact quantity of paint due to large number of variables involved. But make sure that the amount of paint you use shouldn’t vary by large quantity.