The Cost to Paint the Exterior of a House

Revealing All Costs For Exterior House Painting

The national average size of an American home is just under 2,500 square feet. The average cost to paint the exterior of a house is $3 to $7 per square foot. People who live in a traditional single-family home can expect to pay $5,000 to $15,000 to paint their entire home. 

Paint Quote & Pricing From Professional Painters

When a sizeable exterior house painting project is imminent, most initially consider how much exterior house painting costs. We have priced thousands of painting projects and are professional exterior painters with nearly two decades of experience. We will help you to estimate and understand all aspects of the cost of your next house painting project. 

Here is a list of the most significant factors professional painters consider when pricing a job.

1. The Square Footage of the Home
2. How Many Stories Will Be Painted
3. The Amount of Prep Work Required
4. The Quality of Paint Used
5. Total Paint Coats

Home Trim Painting Costs Based on Surface

Consider which areas of the home need repainting, as different surfaces will impact the total exterior painting cost. 

Additional exterior home features, such as gutters, downspouts, and trim, cost $1 to $7 per square or linear foot to paint. Meanwhile, companies charge slightly more to paint or stain wooden decks or porches, at $2 to $9 per square foot for multi-coat systems. 

Trim located higher on the home, such as the eaves, gables, fascia, and soffits, is harder to reach and typically more expensive to paint. 

When pricing doors, windows, or shutters for painting, expect a fixed price rather than a square footage rate. 

Exterior Window, Door, & Shutter Painting Costs

The number of windows and doors on your home’s exterior will also affect the service cost. Depending on the style, exterior door painting ranges from $18 to $225 per door for labor, with smaller flat-paneled doors less expensive and multi-pane French doors on the higher end.

Painting the outside of a window largely depends on its height, condition, and the type of window. The price range for exterior window painting starts at $28 labor cost for small, lower-level window casings, topping out at $190 for old-style windows with several grids. Windows that need reglazing could cost more.

The cost to paint exterior shutters also varies based on whether they are vinyl or wood, their height, and how they are attached to the home. If the shutters must be removed and rehung, there is an additional charge for the added labor and for new clips or screws.

Cost to Paint Exterior Home Siding

Various exterior construction materials require different paints, which affects a project’s budget when painting the exterior of a home. Some surfaces require extensive preparation or additional materials to achieve lasting results.

It requires hand brushing rather than spraying when the siding is older wood with multiple layers of peeling paint. Spraying exterior siding costs 40 to 98 cents per square foot, while hand brushing can cost three times more.

The cost to paint porous surfaces such as brick and stucco is higher than for wood or aluminum siding, as these surfaces typically require multiple coats of paint and often require priming. 

Commercial brick, concrete, and stucco exterior painting applications often require an elastomeric coating, which can increase material costs. 

House Painting Cost by Story

Painters will need additional equipment, such as tall ladders and aerial support systems, for work over 50ft. The higher the exterior painters have to climb up your house, the more money you can expect to spend on exterior painting services.

The following is a breakdown of what homeowners can expect to pay for expert house painters, based on vertical standards.

Diagram Here:

• Single-story home: $1,100 to $8,200 
• Double-story home: $4,500 to $14,000 
• Triple-story home: $6,000 to $18,000

Exterior House Painting National Average Cost

The most straightforward way to predict the exterior painting costs is to consider the home’s dimensions. According to sources, the average price for an exterior painting project ranges from $1,800 to $13,000.

Here’s a breakdown of that range for common home categories:

• Tiny Homes (800 square feet): $1,500 to $4,200
• Micro Efficiency Homes (1,000 square feet): $1,900 to $4,700 
• Small Family Homes (1,400 square feet): $3,100 to $6,100
• Three-Bedroom Homes (1,500 to 1,900 square feet): $4,200 to $7,900
• Average Family Homes (2,000 to 2,800 square feet): $4,800 to $10,200 
• Large Houses (3,000 square feet and up): $5,700 to $24,000

The higher price includes painting all siding, trim, doors, and windows.

Square Foot vs. Production Rate Pricing

Remember that you cannot accurately price a painting project by square footage, but it’s a quick way to provide a general price estimate. Accurately pricing any painting service requires a trained eye with experience and knowledge to understand the needs of the client.

We use production rates in our painting proposals to estimate man-hours for each surface or item we count and measure. Production rates are the best way to maintain profitability for a painting company.

How to Save on Current & Future Exterior Painting

If you are looking to reduce the cost of painting your home’s exterior, there are a few ways to secure a lower rate.

Reducing prep work through routine maintenance is the primary way to minimize future repaint costs. When you see paint peeling or mold growth, have these issues taken care of before they worsen.

The time a professional spends preparing the surfaces for painting will increase the money you’ll have to pay. Painted surfaces in better condition will require fewer preparation hours than neglected surfaces. 

Ensure you invest in quality primers or that your painters use them. Primers will seal the surface and create a good base coat for painting. Quality primers also reduce the amount of paint needed for a uniform finish.

It may be hard to see at first, but investing in high-quality exterior paint will save money over the long term, especially if you plan to live there for several years.

Exterior Painting Preparation Cost Factors

When you hire an exterior painting service, you may appreciate the value once you understand the process. Approximately 60% of the project labor occurs before the first coat of paint is applied. 

Preparation is critical to a durable exterior paint finish, but the total time required to prepare a home’s exterior largely depends on the project type. You can expect to pay $ 0.57 to $1.12 per square foot for experts to scrape, sand, or prime exterior surfaces. 

Professional house washing services typically cost $ 0.10 –$0.22 per square foot. Caulking per linear foot ranges from $.46 to $.88. Most painting contractors charge between $40 to $100 per hour, so it’s essential to factor all pre-painting preparations into your estimated painting cost. 

House Paint Color Affects Price

If you plan to use exterior paint colors that are significantly different from the original appearance, expect to pay more for the final coats. Significant color changes may also require coats of primer and specific paint products to complete the project, increasing costs by nearly 30%. 

Average Cost to Paint a House Exterior Yourself

Painting a home’s exterior is not a job for the inexperienced and could be very dangerous. However, if you’re ambitious enough to consider doing this as a DIY project, you’ll have to budget for all of the supplies you need to invest in to pull it off.  

You may need to rent or purchase a power washer, paint sprayer, ladder, paint, and brushes. If you are painting a multiple-story home, you’ll also need to rent or buy an extension ladder – and you should only use it while following proper safety protocols. Expect to spend between $300 and $1,000 on basic supplies. 

A gallon of paint can cost from $40 to $100. Historical paint shortages and recent reports, according to APC, show how tariffs have artificially inflated paint prices, which are not expected to return to normal. 

To estimate how many gallons of paint you’ll need, consider that a single gallon of paint can typically cover 200 to 450 square feet. The average-sized home, 2,500 square feet, will require 8-15 gallons for a single coat. 

If you plan to change your home’s color, you will need two coats of paint. You may need 50-120% more paint when painting brick or stucco.

Since the total sqft of the trim is sometimes hard to calculate, you can estimate 1.5 gallons of trim paint per 6 gallons of siding. Accent trim, separate door, and shutter colors will all be purchased as individual gallons of paint.

How Location Affects Painting Cost

The local cost of living will significantly impact how much you can expect to pay for a house painting project. Insurance rates, labor rates, workers’ compensation coverage, seasonality, and local material costs will also influence rates. 

The most expensive cities for home improvement are typically in places with a higher population density, including California, New York, Hawaii, and the Chicago area. Meanwhile, the most affordable cities for home improvement are in the Southeast and Midwest. 

However, over the past seven years, house painting costs have risen by over 20% in Raleigh, NC, as our city continues to grow and living costs rise.

House Painting Pricing from Homewyse & Others

Directories are not a reliable source for estimating your project’s cost. Predicted costs for exterior house painting on directory sites like Homewyse, Angie’s List, and HomeAdvisor are intentionally less than actual contractors’ prices. Furthermore, neither site has access to final bills, nor can they quantify the labor or the details of the work provided.

Directory sites are more interested in encouraging you to use their platform and monetizing your inquiry by charging multiple contractors for a chance at your business. The most effective way for home improvement directory sites to attract clients is to publish low prices in articles and on their websites. 

These lower prices create unrealistic expectations because they have no bearing on how the project is priced, and the advertised prices are often arbitrary. 

Why Painting Outside Costs More

As crucial as house painting is, some wonder why exterior painting costs more than interior painting. 

Exterior painting is often more labor-intensive and more involved. Surfaces must be pressure-washed, and repairs are often required before painting begins. 

Weather conditions, height, material amount, and type will also significantly affect the price. There is often more scraping and priming involved in exterior repaints, which also increases the cost. However, when you compare an interior project to an exterior under the same conditions, complete exterior painting will often cost less than custom full interior painting projects.

Increased Curb Appeal

Paying for a professional exterior painting service will protect your home, increase curb appeal, and enhance property value. Homeowners who plan to sell their houses will see a spike in value, with an estimated 55% return on investment. 

Non-professional paint jobs have the opposite effect on a home’s value. If paint is poorly applied, peeling, or faded, it will reduce a home’s overall value. 

Conclusion

An exterior painting project is an investment in your home’s future. A fresh coat of paint protects the house from the elements, increases its value, and puts a smile on your face when you can appreciate its renewed beauty and craftsmanship. 

For local service, contact our team today for a free quote and the most accurate cost estimate for exterior house painting.