How Long Does It Take to Paint a House?
A method-and-calculator post: estimate the labour hours for a repaint from area, coats and prep. Thin single-keyword page (see audit).
How long it takes to paint a house depends on the area, the number of coats, the prep and how many painters are working. Rather than guess, measure the walls and ceilings and estimate the labour hours below: the calculator uses real production rates to turn area and coats into hours.
What drives the time
Four things move the number most: total square metres, how many coats, how much preparation the surfaces need, and access, ladders, scaffolds and cutting-in around detail all add hours. Two houses of the same size can take very different times once prep and access differ.
Estimate the hours for your job
Enter the areas and coats; the labour figure includes the hours behind the price.
The "Labour (hrs)" line is the engine’s estimate of the hours the job takes at your production rates.
From hours to a price
Hours are only half the quote. Multiply them by your charge-out rate and add materials to get the price. See the full quoting method →
Frequently asked questions
How long does it take to paint a 3-bedroom house inside?
It depends on the area, number of coats, prep and how many painters are on it, so a small repaint and a full detailed job can differ by days. Rather than a fixed figure, measure the walls and ceilings and let the calculator estimate the labour hours for your job.
How long does exterior painting take?
Exteriors usually take longer per square metre than interiors because of access, surface prep, weather and drying between coats. Estimate the hours from the area and coats, then add for scaffolding, height and heavy prep.
How do painters estimate time?
From area and a production rate: how many square metres of a given surface a painter covers per hour, multiplied by coats, plus prep. That is exactly what the calculator does, using the same engine the Kastrion app runs.