How Long Does It Take to Paint a Room in Your Home?

Photo by David Pisnoy

Originally Posted On: https://stephenjamespainting.com/how-long-does-it-take-to-paint-a-room-in-your-home/

You’re looking around your new home and thinking, “Canary yellow was a bad choice for the living room.” Time to repaint, right?

But painting isn’t your strong suit. The task is daunting and you can’t have the project take forever. You still need to live in this space!

How long does it take to paint a room? Not as long as you might think. Though you may decide to hire a pro depending on your ability level.

While there isn’t a hard science on how long it takes to paint a room, there are pretty good estimates. Most estimates of a 12′ x 12′ room assume it will take 5-6 hours total.

However, it might take longer to paint a bedroom with windows and closets than it would take to paint a finished basement with no fixtures.

A lot of factors figure into how long painting a room takes in total. Prep work, cutting in, painting the main walls, and clean up all impact the project time.

Painting with a partner changes the total project time, too. Though this depends on you buying enough tools and your experience levels.

In general, it takes a professional painter about half as long as it takes someone to doing it on their own.

Before you start painting a room, it’s important to prep for the whole project. You first need to assess the whole space you are painting, starting with the largest main wall sections you’ll be painting.

What type of paint is currently on the wall? Is the current color dark or light? Is the wall textured?

Dark colors might need an independent primer whereas a lighter color can be covered with an all-in-one paint. If the wall is textured, you might need special tools to paint evenly.

You need to prep the room to be painted, too. This means moving furniture, laying drop cloth, and covering baseboards and trim.

Remember that all of this prep time adds to the project time.

While it might only take a few hours to paint, if it takes the same time to prepare, your total project time doubled.

Based on your prep work, you want to be sure to purchase the right tools. In addition to rollers and trays, a few good brushes are important if you need to do a lot of cutting in.

Do you need to sand anything down first? Is there a chance you’ll get paint on the windows? Sanding pads, paper, clean rags, and scrapers might be needed too.

And, of course, buy the paint. Make sure you buy the right color and style!

Be sure to ask yourself: If there are any specialized tools you need, will it be easier to learn how to use them or will it be more cost-effective to hire a pro?

How long does it take to paint a room? It totally depends! If you’re an experienced painter, a large room might take an afternoon. If you’re a newbie, an average bedroom could take a couple of days. While the average time is around 5 hours, be sure to figure in your prep time.

Remember that a professional will be able to paint twice as fast. So if you want to save time and trouble, Stephen James Painting is ready to give you a free quote and answer all your painting questions.