Imagine yourself standing in a hardware store with a can of paint in your hand. You realize that you don’t know how much wall space the can of paint will cover as you go to the counter to pick the color you want. How many square feet does a gallon of paint cover? We can help you determine how many gallons you will need to paint any job.
How many gallons of paint do you need?
A professional painter will tell you that you can get 400 square feet from a gallon. This is equivalent to a 20-by-20-room, or a small studio apartment.
Most paint jobs require multiple coats. This means that you will need to calculate the number of coats required for your job. A gallon of paint can cover 200 square feet if you need two coats. One gallon of paint would be sufficient to cover a small space, such as a bathroom.
Two gallons of paint can cover 800 feet. This would be enough to do two coats in an average-sized room. This is the most popular amount of paint that people purchase, and it allows them to paint a room, such as a living area, with just two coats.
Three cans are required if you have to do one large or two small rooms. This will cover approximately 1,200 square feet.
Four cans will cover approximately 1,600 square feet in a great or average room.
Stretch Your Paint
Use the right tools to make your paint stretch. You will get the best coverage and the best looking results with a high-quality roller. For smooth walls, use a 9-inch roller with a 3/8-inch nap. For textured walls, you can use one with a 1/2-inch nap.
Take a look at your walls
Consider the walls you have. Older homes that have not been painted in a while might need to be given more than two coats. Primer may be used before painting to bond the paint to the surface.
Do You Need to Buy Additional Paint?
Many people purchase too much paint thinking that they will save money at the hardware store. This usually means that you are out the cost for a gallon of paint and your garage is full of half-filled cans.
You might end up spending more than you need, and you will have to go back to the paint store again halfway through your job. Both are bad outcomes, but with the help a paint calculator like this PPG Paint Calculator, you can avoid them both.
Round up when you calculate. You may find that the walls absorb more paint than you expected. However, a little more paint can be useful for touch-ups. Rounding up can mean buying an extra gallon of paint when you only need half the amount. Instead, buy an extra quart. This way you can get the extra you need without having to add to your garage’s paint pile.