How much area will 5 gallons of paint cover

You’ve finally landed on the perfect color for your next painting project. Now, you’re probably wondering how much paint to buy. First, you’ll need to understand paint coverage so that you can get your interior paint estimate right.

Every room has its own quirks that impact how much a gallon of paint will cover. Things like the condition, texture and porosity of your wall surface can make a difference in how much paint the walls will soak up. Below are the general paint coverage guidelines to follow, assuming your walls are in good condition, plus some things to keep in mind in those quirky edge cases.

Paint Coverage 101

• One gallon of Wall Paint will cover approximately 375-425 square feet.

• One gallon of Trim Paint will cover approximately 375-425 square feet.

• One gallon of Ceiling Paint will cover approximately 350-400 square feet.

• One gallon of Primer will cover approximately 225-275 square feet.

*These estimates approximate and coverage amounts may vary depending on the condition of your wall or surface.

Special Circumstances that Impact Paint Coverage

Dramatic Color Changes

If you want to make a dramatic color change, like black to a light neutral, it’s typically going to require extra coats paint to cover up that super dark color with full opacity. Using primer will help make this much easier and cut down on the number of coats it takes to cover up a dark color.

Fresh Drywall

It might surprise you, but a fresh canvas is not necessarily the most efficient one. Fresh drywall is very porous and will soak up much of your paint so priming drywall with at least two coats first is a must. Granted, most drywall will be pre-primed or even painted by the time you get to it, but if you’re replacing drywall after a leak, for instance, or working on a newly renovated space, factor in an extra coat or two of primer to be sure your surface is well-prepped.

Textured Walls

A textured wall means more surface area, which means you’ll need more paint to cover it. Think stucco, brick, popcorn ceilings,or similar surfaces which have more surface area to paint. We recommend buying 20 percent more paint for a textured surface (so, if you are painting a 100-square-foot room, account for 120 square feet).

Calculating How Much Paint to Buy

Now that you know the basics of paint coverage, here’s how to figure out exactly how much paint to buy — no matter the size or layout of your space.

1. To get started, multiply the width times the height of each wall in your space. Voila, you’ve got your square footage.
2. Next, calculate the square footage of each window and door, or any other area that you’re not painting (like a wall niche or doorway), and then deduct that from the total square footage of your wall surface.
3. Do the same for trims and ceilings, multiplying the length times the width to get the square footage, then check out our coverage amounts for each type of paint below to figure out how much you’ll need. Remember that each coverage amount is for two coats. If you paint one coat and feel like you’ve got good coverage, awesome! But for the most professional look, we always recommend two coats.

Not into math and just want a general paint estimate? Look no further - we’ve created a handy paint calculator to do all the work for you.

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• Paint Tips

We make paint shopping simple with curated colors, zero VOC paint and everything you need to create a home you love, delivered.

One of the most typical questions regarding paint is, “How much paint do I need?” Use the paint calculator below and our custom video tips to find out exactly how much paint you need for your next painting project.

Calculate how much paint you will need for your next painting project by following the steps below.

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STEP 1 of 4

Small

Up to 8 ft by 10 ft.

Medium

Up to 14 ft by 14 ft.

Large

Up to 18 ft by 18 ft.

Extra Large

Up to 22 ft by 22 ft.

High

Between 10 ft abd 14 ft.

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RESULT

We recommend

1 of paint for 1 on 100 sq. ft.

1 gallon of paint will cover up to 400 sq. ft. (372 sq. meters) per U.S. gallon (3.78 Liters) on primed, smooth, nonporous surfaces. Coverage figures do not include material loss due to application. Some colors, drastic color changes, or porous surfaces may require more than one coat to achieve uniform finish.

How much square footage will 5 gallons of paint cover?

How much does 5 gallons of paint cover? How much does a quart cover? According to our paint estimator, 5 gallons of paint can cover as much as 1,800 square feet. A quart of paint will coat about 90 square feet of space.

How many rooms will 5 gallons of paint do?

How many rooms will 5 gallons of paint cover? One gallon of paint typically covers 350 to 400 square feet of area. Using the same calculation, you can safely say that 5 gallons will effectively cover 2,000 square feet or 4 to 5 average size rooms.

How much paint is needed for a 12x12 room?

Painting a 12x12 room with eight-foot-high walls would necessitate 1.5 gallons of paint. The average coverage for paint per gallon is about 400 square feet for one coating.

How many square feet is a 5 gallon bucket?

A: About 30 square feet per gallon, so 150 square feet per 5 Gallon pail.