What's the true cost of giving your home a fresh splash of colour? As a professional house painter in Sydney with over 10 years of experience transforming Australian homes, I've sprayed, rolled, and brushed every surface imaginable.
I've also fielded plenty of raised eyebrows when quoting prices. Painting sticker shock is real! But quality paint jobs don't just happen with a few cans from the hardware store and a free weekend. Protecting your big investment and creating the sophisticated designer interiors or eye-catching curb appeal you deserve takes skill, materials, and time.
I'm lifting the curtain to walk you through real-world pricing so you can set realistic budgets, understand exactly what goes into estimate breakdowns, and avoid undervaluing our trade. Read on as we dig into the nuances of the cost of painting a house so you know exactly what to expect.
Average Costs for Interior Home Painting
The average cost to paint the interior of a home in Australia ranges from $2,500 to $7,500, with most jobs costing $4,500 to $5,500. This estimate is based on a standard 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom single story house between 1500 to 2000 sq ft. Here’s a breakdown of what’s included:
- Prep work – $800 to $1,600. Includes minor drywall repairs, caulking, cleaning, drop cloth installation, etc.
- Ceiling painting – $400 to $1,200. Price may increase for high or vaulted ceilings.
- Wall painting - $1,200 to $3,000. The cost increases with more wall space, especially if it is done in multiple colours.
- Trim painting – $500 to $1,200. Trim includes doors, baseboards, crown moulding, etc.
- Materials/supplies – About $500 to $1,500 depending on paint type and necessary supplies.
As you can see, labour is a significant portion of interior painting costs. The more rooms and wall space, the more prep work, priming, cutting in, rolling, and touch-ups are required. Special finishes like textures or faux treatments also increase cost.
Average Costs for Exterior Home Painting
Exterior paint jobs range from $3,000 to $9,000, with the average home costing $5,500 to $8,000. Contributing size and detailing factors include:
- Number of stories
- Amount of prep work needed
- Siding type - wood, stucco, brick
- Trim - facia, soffits, eaves
- Extras - gutters, gates, outbuildings
Here’s a typical price breakdown for a single-story 2000 sq ft home:
- Prep/Wash - $800 to $1,500
- Siding painting - $1,200 to $2,500
- Trim painting - $800 to $1,600
- Materials - $500 to $1,500
Prep work is crucial for exterior painting to ensure proper adhesion and durability. This involves pressure washing, scraping loose paint, patching holes, sanding, minor wood repairs/replacement, masking off unpainted areas, etc. Additional stories, decorative trim, and specialty finishes add more labour time and materials.
What Impacts the Cost of Professional Painting?
Now that you know average price ranges, let’s look at the specific variables that affect interior and exterior painting costs:
Location - Living costs in Sydney will be higher than in rural regions. Additional travel fees may apply for painters coming from outside local areas.
House Size – Both interior and exterior painting costs go up the larger the home and more wall space/surfaces there are to cover.
Accessibility - Difficult-to-reach areas boost prep, equipment, and labour time needs for tasks like exterior pressure washing, installing scaffolding or lifts, navigating attics and crawlspaces, etc.
Paint Type - Budget paints can start at $20/gallon, whereas premium brands run $50+/gallon. More durable exterior grades and special finishes add more in materials.
Coatings - The standard is two coats of paint. Adding primers, sealers, or extra coat(s) increases the time/materials investment.
Scope of Work – Interior costs increase for garages, closets, and pantries. Exteriors increase for outbuildings, fences, retaining walls, etc. Factoring these spaces at the start prevents budget surprises down the road.
When comparing bids, be sure quotes align in scope so you’re making an apples-to-apples comparison. Get a detailed breakdown of what is and isn’t covered to avoid added charges after the fact.
How Long Does It Take for a Painter to Paint a House?
Another pricing factor is the time investment a paint job requires, which goes back to the size of your home, scope, and desired process/thoroughness.
- Interior only or entire home - Interior painting averages 1-2 painters taking 5-7 business days for a single-story 3-4 bedroom home. The entire home could take 10-14 days.
- Exterior only or with interiors – Exteriors average 3-5 days with 1-2 painters. Combining interior and exterior work extends the timeline accordingly.
- Process - Some painters focus on speed, doing 1-2 quick coats, while others prefer a slower, more meticulous prep and paint process that takes longer.
During initial walkthroughs, painters should provide a written production schedule outlining start/end dates, key milestones, crew size deployment, etc. Be upfront on your timing expectations and willingness to pay a rush charge for expedited requests.
How to Save on Professional Painting?
Here are some of my tips as a seasoned pro for getting quality painting work done at a competitive price:
- Get multiple bids - Prices can easily vary by $1000+ between companies. But also look carefully at what's covered so quotes fully align.
- Offer flexibility - Leaving job timing flexible when painters have availability between other jobs typically yields discounts vs requiring immediate rigid timelines.
- Supply your paint/materials - Providing your preferred brands and colours saves markup costs. Just confirm policies for job guarantees applying.
- Offer off-peak discounts - Slow season and weekday discounts are common - easily 10-25% off for flexibility.
- Do your prep work - Safely take on tasks like interior furniture moving, cleanup, drywall patching, etc
- Bundle interior and exterior work - Combining projects frequently earns 10-20%+ off versus spacing apart.
- Refer friends - Many painters offer new customers and referral discounts.
- Book soon - Prices go up 5-15% every year, making now an ideal time to get ahead of further inflation.
Incorporating some of these cost-saving tips allows you to manage project budgets without sacrificing workmanship.
As you can see, several factors determine project price and time investments for professional painters. While you can certainly take on interior and exterior painting yourself as a DIY project, the experience and efficiency of seasoned specialists makes hiring out well worth the cost.
