Paint - How Much to Buy

[Dottie]

I need to paint my great room - hall - and dinette. Its all painted the sa= me color. I measured (three walls have those tall vaulted ceilings) -- but= as best I can tell - the area measures 1441 sq.ft. I have thrown away the= sales slips for the paint we bought - years ago - and I have no idea how m= any gallons. It will be flat paint, as close to the original color as poss= ible. Hopefully, one coat will cover it. How many gallons do I need? My = late husband always bought the paint - well, I bought it, but he told me ho= w many gallons to buy. Any help would be appreciated. Will probably shop = at Home Depot or Lowes. Thanks.

[Frank]

color. I measured (three walls have those tall vaulted ceilings) -- but as best I can tell - the area measures 1441 sq.ft. I have thrown away the sales slips for the paint we bought - years ago - and I have no idea how many gallons. It will be flat paint, as close to the original color as possible. Hopefully, one coat will cover it. How many gallons do I need? My late husband always bought the paint - well, I bought it, but he told me how many gallons to buy. Any help would be appreciated. Will probably shop at Home Depot or Lowes. Thanks.

Says ~4 gal.

[Doug]

color. I measured (three walls have those tall vaulted ceilings) -- but as best I can tell - the area measures 1441 sq.ft. I have thrown away the sales slips for the paint we bought - years ago - and I have no idea how many gallons. It will be flat paint, as close to the original color as possible. Hopefully, one coat will cover it. How many gallons do I need? My late husband always bought the paint - well, I bought it, but he told me how many gallons to buy. Any help would be appreciated. Will probably shop at Home Depot or Lowes. Thanks.

I just scanned the reference but didn't see any accountability for how it's painted.... roller, brush or spray. They use different amounts. Perhaps they assume the worst case scenario??

[Doug]

color. I measured (three walls have those tall vaulted ceilings) -- but as best I can tell - the area measures 1441 sq.ft. I have thrown away the sales slips for the paint we bought - years ago - and I have no idea how many gallons. It will be flat paint, as close to the original color as possible. Hopefully, one coat will cover it. How many gallons do I need? My late husband always bought the paint - well, I bought it, but he told me how many gallons to buy. Any help would be appreciated. Will probably shop at Home Depot or Lowes. Thanks.

Usually the paint can will tell you but surely the paint store will and give more tips to boot.

[dadiOH]

As someone said, you will need about 4 gallons +- depending on how it is applied. You might want to check the price for a 5 gallon bucket, may be less than 4 - 1 gallon cans. Plus, it will be tinted all in one go rather than individual cans.

[Tim Watts]

On Friday 25 January 2013 17:42 Dottie wrote in alt.home.repair:

You will need twice as much as the coverage figures on the can claim! :-|

And that's assuming good paint...

[Doug Miller]

Dottie wrote in news: [e-mail]:

For one coat, four gallons; for two coats, maybe seven but probably eight. Figure between 300 and 400 square feet per gallon, depending on method of application, type of surface, etc. For a previously painted wal, probably closer to 400 than 300.

[Jim Elbrecht]

How many

Go to your local True Value-- or a paint store.

Ask for the price on a 5 gallon pail of their *best* paint.

Save yourself a lot of aggravation.

Jim

[Doug Miller]

Tim Watts wrote in news: [e-mail]:

[how much paint to buy?]

Nonsense.

Doubly nonsense. Twice as much with *crap* paint, sure. For good paint, the label is pretty close, although coverage is usually closer to the low end of the range.

[dpb]

I didn't even look at the reference but that's >350 ft^2/gal if her measurements are even close to accurate.

It'll take 5 min. to be comfortable...

OP: Remember to mix it together before starting to eliminate any variations...

--

[Norminn]

color. I measured (three walls have those tall vaulted ceilings) -- but as best I can tell - the area measures 1441 sq.ft. I have thrown away the sales slips for the paint we bought - years ago - and I have no idea how many gallons. It will be flat paint, as close to the original color as possible. Hopefully, one coat will cover it. How many gallons do I need? My late husband always bought the paint - well, I bought it, but he told me how many gallons to buy. Any help would be appreciated. Will probably shop at Home Depot or Lowes. Thanks.

I'm a little puzzled by your description of the rooms, but assume the sq. ft. number is WALL area, not floor area. The area taken up by windows and doorways should be factored into the area to be covered, as should the roughness (more) or smoothness of the surface. Assume similar colors, not very deep or dark? I have never been able to get the coverage stated on the can, so one's technique matters, too.

[Tim Watts]

On Friday 25 January 2013 20:17 Doug Miller wrote in alt.home.repair:

Not at all - it has been my experience that the coverage figures need halving (approximately) on nearly every paint I have every applied.

This is not because it is crap and needs 2 coats - this is beacuse I don't roll it out to atoms thick like the manufacturer assumes.

No - 5 times as much with crap paint, because you'll need to double the number of coats as well!

Example:

Dulux Paint - a very good UK consumer[1] brand - the coverage abilities are excellent - 1 coa over a similar colour of existing paint, 2 coats over anythign else, including new plaster (OK, there is a "mist" coat as well, but that's a given).

Dulux "Once" - surprisingly it usually does actually cover in one coat with a change of colour. However, even this, the coverage figures on the can leave a *lot* to be desired...

[1] which means it's more forgiving of mishandling, but also because it happens to be easy to buy, being popular

[Cliff H]

Probably cheaper to get a 5 gallon pail vs 4 single gallons. Just to be safe and no boxing " mixing between gallons" required.

Of course its a little harder to haul around.

[Norminn]

That is pretty much what my experience has been, and I tend to roll it quite thin.

[Dottie]

same color. I measured (three walls have those tall vaulted ceilings) -- b= ut as best I can tell - the area measures 1441 sq.ft. I have thrown away t= he sales slips for the paint we bought - years ago - and I have no idea how= many gallons. It will be flat paint, as close to the original color as po= ssible. Hopefully, one coat will cover it. How many gallons do I need? M= y late husband always bought the paint - well, I bought it, but he told me = how many gallons to buy. Any help would be appreciated. Will probably sho= p at Home Depot or Lowes. Thanks.

We will be rolling the paint on. If we can paint this area without doing m= ajor physical damage to my back -- the other rooms are painted in the same = color so I can always use any left over to do them. Thanks for your help. = Just need to be sure we measured right.

[Doug]

I agree plus you have plenty of touch up paint then.

[Jim Elbrecht]

news: [e-mail]:

label is pretty

I usually come in right about in the middle. I have to say, though, after watching my wife and son paint a room recently- I get all my paint on the wall.

I am not a fast painter-- but I do a good job and don't need much cleanup.

Jim

[Doug]

color. I measured (three walls have those tall vaulted ceilings) -- but as best I can tell - the area measures 1441 sq.ft. I have thrown away the sales slips for the paint we bought - years ago - and I have no idea how many gallons. It will be flat paint, as close to the original color as possible. Hopefully, one coat will cover it. How many gallons do I need? My late husband always bought the paint - well, I bought it, but he told me how many gallons to buy. Any help would be appreciated. Will probably shop at Home Depot or Lowes. Thanks.

physical damage to my back -- the other rooms are painted in the same color so I can always use any left over to do them. Thanks for your help. Just need to be sure we measured right.

I think most replies you got so far are good ones. I guess I'd ask the paint store what they think the coverage will be if you roll it on. Likely at the lower end but why guess, just ask them. I'm sure they have a good idea if you tell them what you are doing. And as others suggest, might as well price a 5 gal bucket of paint and compare to 4 single gallons. I also agree don't get the cheap paint. I would not consider less than the middle grade or better. And yes I know it's not cheap but it might save you in the long run and be easier to apply too unless you are selling the house in a short time. Then in that case I'd use the cheaper grade paint.

[Doug Miller]

Tim Watts wrote in news:bu7bt9-ppu.ln1 @squidward.local.dionic.net:

It's not fair to blame the manufacturer's labelling when the actual problem is that you're applying too heavy a coat. :-)

[HeyBub]

Although you didn't ask, I recommend one of the books on painting tips you'll find at the box store. In it, you'll find dozens of ways to make your job easier. Here are a few (for latex):

• Oil and water don't mix. This means that if you spray your hands with PAM before the job, cleaning them up is SO much easier!

• Oxygen is the enemy of paint. Don't use the original container as the source of application; pour the paint into a smaller, hand-held container. When pausing or stopping, shoot a little of the aforementioned PAM in the can. It floats atop the paint and acts as an air barrier.

• Cleaning brushes and the like is much, much easier if you add a bit of fabric softener to the cleaning pail.

• If you wear glasses, cover them with a bit of cling-wrap. Presto: no spotting.

And so on.

Further, are you sure you want to use "flat"? Satin or semi-gloss usually gives a better look. And do your figures include the ceiling? In almost all cases, the ceiling should be white. In fact, there is a special blend called, believe it or not, "Ceiling Paint." Look for it.