House Painting Cost Estimator

A house painting job is a huge project for anybody to handle. The financial cost as well as other arrangements that need to be made, during the painting job, make it a complicated project. It is always best to have your own estimate of what the house painting cost would be, according to the current market prices and other specifications. That way when you hand out the job to somebody, you know if you are paying a reasonable price and getting value for your money. Here I provide you tips in the form of a house painting cost estimator algorithm, which will give you a general road map, as to how to go about making an accurate estimate, for your house painting job.

How To Be Your Own House Painting Cost Estimator
Here is a step by step guide or house painting cost estimator algorithm that will tell you stepwise how to go about making an estimate.

Get the Tools for Calculation
Your house painting cost calculator algorithm cannot be implemented, without some basic tools and some information about painting prices. What you will need is a painting price guide which includes house painting cost per square foot, for various types of paints. You'll need a calculator, a pen and a paper with aligned columns and a tape measure. Other than that, you'll need some patience and enthusiasm.

Decide Your Painting Area
A house painting cost estimator algorithm has an important variable which is house painting area. Decide areas of the house, which you plan to get painted. On paper, make columns for the length and breadth dimensions of each wall and roof, to be painted. You will have to list other parts like windows and exterior walls separately. List each item and leave space for its dimensions (length & breadth).

Measure the Painting Area
The next step in house painting cost estimator algorithm is to measure all the dimensions of walls and windows that you intend to paint. You can go one room at a time. Measure the length and height of every wall in the room in feet, using a tape measure. Note down all the dimensions carefully in the columns. Make a calculation for total surface area by summing up the area for every room's walls, ceilings and windows if any. You may require somebody to help you out with the measurement part. To get an idea about the exterior dimensions of your home, get hold of your house architectural plan, which will have the measured details of your house. You can use it to calculate the interior painting area's square footage too. For those unfamiliar with square footage calculation, surface area to be painted, can be calculated by using the formula - 'Area (in square Feet ) = Length (in Feet) x Height (in Feet)'.

Calculate the Painting Cost
You must decide on the color and quality of paint you intend to use. There are many house paint color combinations to choose from. Next step is to have the total square footage of your interior painting area, multiplied by the house painting cost per square foot. The amount you get will be the rough estimate of pure paint cost. There are additional labor charges that need to be added. The labor cost depends on the job volume of course. The labor price can only be estimated by discussing with the painting contractors. If you are adventurous enough and the job volume is not so high, you could paint your house yourself!

Rough Painting Cost Estimate
Although, it's difficult to come up with precise figures, due to the high variation in quality, cost and type of paint, along with labor charges, here I provide some rough estimates. On an average, high quality external paint will cost about $60 to $100 per gallon or a lot more, while average paint will cost about $20 to $40 per gallon. The paint cost will only constitute about 20% of the overall expense involved in painting the entire house. Include the daily cost of $150 to $200 for renting equipment like rollers, ladders and other such essentials. Rest of the cost will involve labor charges, which will vary according to the scale of the job and the time frame within which, the work is expected to be done. The expense for painting a single story, two or three bedroom house will be around $2000 to $3000. For more accurate estimates, it's best to contact your nearest paint contractor.

Getting your house painted is a huge exercise and if you want it to be just as you've planned, you need to put in your own efforts. Hope this house painting cost estimator procedure will be of help to you in getting a painting cost estimate. It is mostly all plain old common sense and some school level math. Inquire with multiple paint contractors to get a reasonable cost estimate.