How Much Paint Do I Need? How to Estimate Accurately for Your Project

Brief 

The first question of any painting project: how much paint do I need? Our expert decorator offers his tips for estimating before buying paint.

Insight

So you’ve decided on the colours for your room makeover, but now the big question: “how much paint do I need?”

Buy too little and you won’t be able to get the job finished. This can leave unwanted edges when painting a wall or door. It can also leave a colour mismatch. The same colour from a different batch may vary slightly and will be noticed, especially on a large wall.

So make sure you get your tape measure out, calculate your square meterage and use an online paint calculator to discover how much paint you will need.

How Much Paint do I Need to Paint a Room?

How much paint you’ll need to paint a room will vary from room to room, depending on how many walls you are painting and how many doors and windows are in the room. However, a very rough guide for the average size room is one litre per coat per wall. Most walls will need two coats so two litres per wall. Count the ceiling as a wall as it will be a similar size.

If a wall has a door and window half the amount for that wall. Typically 10 litres of emulsion will do two coats on four walls and the ceiling in a room and have some left over for touch ups.

For a quick estimate, pace out the size of the room — each step is roughly a metre. But if you are to measure a room it’s a better idea to use a measuring tape. Measure the length and height of each wall and deduct any areas such as windows and doors and use a paint calculator to get a more accurate calculation.