Paint House Exterior Costs

The cost of painting the exterior of a home will be based on the size of the home, your location (for local labor and painting rates), style of home, siding or exterior materials, and other details. A fresh coat of paint can go a long way in improving your home’s curb appeal, resale value, and even your own appreciation of the exterior.

Exterior house painting costs are made up of about 25%-30% materials costs and 70%-75% labor costs. The type of paint that you choose will affect the cost of materials, as some gallons of paint are as little as $15-$20 and some can cost upwards of $75 or more.

Professional exterior painting: 1,500 square foot two-story home.

Other considerations and costs

• If you or the painter needs to use the landfill for disposal of materials, you may be charged a fee for this service. Some professional painters will include this fee in their services.
• If you are also painting shutters, trim, or other detailed pieces, you will probably pay more for the labor. You can figure on spending an additional $60-$80 per shutter.
• Doors are usually not included in painting estimates. If you also want entry doors painted, add $100 for each door to the cost estimate.
• If there are any structural repairs or replacements that need to be addressed prior to painting, you will need to add in the cost of materials for this and the additional hourly labor.
• Homes that have unique designs or architectural details will take more time and therefore incur bigger labor costs with professional painting.
• If you have vinyl or aluminum siding, you can expect to pay an additional 10 to 20 percent of the overall cost because special paint is required.
• Consider pressure washing before you paint, which is something that you can do for less than $100 in most cases. If you let someone else do it, expect to pay about $350 for the service. This will guarantee that the surface is prepped and will have the best chances of holding onto the paint.

DIY considerations

• If you are doing the work yourself, you will spend an additional $100-$500 on materials, such as paintbrushes, rollers, tarps or drop cloths, paint trays, sprayer rentals, and ladders or scaffolding (can also be rented or borrowed if you know anyone who has them). However, you won’t be spending an average of $2,000 on labor, so you are still saving money.

References

• Craftsman Estimator Costbook, complete series year 2019.
• Latest prices found on Home Depot and other vendor Web sites.
• Literature review of DIY Web sites.