Measure the paintable area
Price walls by their net area, the part you'll actually paint. Start with the wall perimeter. Multiply it by the wall height and the number of stories, add the triangles at the gable ends, then take off a share for windows and doors.
Measure a detached garage or shop on its own. It's usually one story with its own trim, and the homeowner may or may not want it done. Price it as its own line so they can choose.
Leave out what you won't paint: a stone skirt, a brick front, a wall behind a fence you can't reach. Use your own share for windows and doors. A house with a wall of glass needs a bigger deduction than a ranch with small windows.
Work out the paint
Gallons are area times coats, divided by the coverage per gallon. Coverage comes from the product's data sheet, and it varies from one product to the next:
- Sherwin-Williams SuperPaint Exterior Satin: 350 to 400 sq ft per gallon
- Sherwin-Williams Duration Exterior Satin: 250 to 300 sq ft per gallon
- Benjamin Moore Aura Exterior Flat: 250 to 350 sq ft per gallon
Data sheets state coverage at a set film thickness. Rough and porous walls take more, so use the low end of the range, or your own numbers from past jobs. Add primer separately for bare wood, patched stucco and any spot you scrape down to the substrate.
Estimate crew hours
Labor is where most painting bids go wrong. Time your crew on a few jobs and write down the square feet of wall they finish per crew hour. Count prep, masking, cutting in and cleanup, not only rolling and spraying.
Use loaded labor cost: wages plus payroll taxes, workers' comp and insurance. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports a median wage of $23.75 an hour for painters in May 2025, before those costs.
Set a price per square foot
Add material and labor to get direct cost per square foot. Then divide by the share of the price you keep after overhead and profit.
With these example inputs the rate lands on $2.50, the one-story wall rate Measured Bid uses as a sample. Taller walls take longer to reach, so the sample rates step up to $3.00 for two stories and $3.75 for three or more.
Check the rate against the calendar. At the example pace, the sample house is about 21 crew hours, so a crew of 2 is on site for a little over two days. If that doesn't match what your crew takes on a house this size, fix the production number before you trust the rate.
Adjust for surface and prep
The same wall area takes different time depending on what it's made of and what shape the old paint is in. Put both in as percents on the wall price, set from jobs you've timed.
| Adjustment | Option | Sample |
|---|---|---|
| Wall type | Stucco | +0% |
| Wall type | Wood or siding | +15% |
| Wall type | Mix | +10% |
| Paint condition | Faded but intact | +0% |
| Paint condition | Some peeling | +10% |
| Paint condition | Lots of peeling | +30% |
Stack them. A one-story wood house with some peeling, at the sample rates, comes to $2.50 × 1.15 × 1.1 = $3.16 per square foot. Heavy prep is where a flat per-square-foot price loses the most money, so ask the homeowner about peeling before you quote, and look for yourself before you sign.
Price trim, fascia and eaves
Trim, fascia and eaves take more time per foot than open wall. You can price them by the foot, or as a share of the wall price. Measured Bid uses a share: the sample adds 20% of the wall price when the homeowner wants trim, fascia and eaves done.
Doors, garage doors and shutters are easier to price by the piece. Give them their own lines so the homeowner can see what's included.
Walk the house before you sign
An estimate from a measurement gets you close. The walk-around catches what changes the prep. Look for soft or rotted trim, failing caulk, chalky paint that rubs off on your hand, mildew on the shady side and plants pressed against the walls. Each one adds time, and some add a line of their own.
Take a photo of each side of the house for the file. When the job starts, your crew knows what you priced, and you have a record if the scope comes up later.
Homes built before 1978
Worked example
Here is the sample house as a one-story stucco repaint with the old paint faded but intact, trim included, at the sample rates.
Sierra Painting Co.
(916) 555-0100
Exterior painting estimate
No. 1042
- Stories
- 1 story
- Wall type
- Stucco
- Paint condition
- Faded but intact
| Item | Qty | Rate | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|
| Exterior walls | 1,574 sq ft | $2.50 / sq ft | $3,935.00 |
| Trim, fascia and eaves | 20% of $3,935.00 | $787.00 |
The lines add up to $4,722.00, above the sample minimum of $2,500.00. In Measured Bid the homeowner sees a range instead of one number. For this house that's $4,000 to $5,450, and your team sees the line items.
Write the bid
A clear written bid heads off most arguments at the end of a job. Put these on every exterior painting estimate:
- Surfaces included, and surfaces left out
- Prep steps: wash, scrape, sand, caulk and spot prime
- Product line and sheen for body and trim, and the number of coats
- Colors, or when the owner will pick them
- How you'll protect plants, windows and fixtures
- Lead-safe practices on homes built before 1978
- Warranty, how long the price is good for, and payment terms