How Much Does it Cost to Paint a House?
In many cases homeowners approach us for help in deciding whether or not to continue painting their house or to replace the 
siding. Inevitably one of the first questions is: “How Much Does a Paint job Cost for a home?” As with any home improvement project the cost of painting a home is subject to many factors, but this article should help you get a general idea of how much it might cost to paint your home.
By far the most accurate way to know what painting your house costs is to request a painting estimate. However, if you’re not quite ready for that, or you live outside our service region keep reading!
Cost of Painting By House Type and Project Complexity
The table below shows average and approximate painting costs for various size houses and various amounts of prep work, accessibility and levels of project complexity.
Prep Work: The term prep work or preparation work refers to the amount of work needed to prepare the surface of what you are painting to be painted again. This could include scraping, sanding, caulking, priming, repair/replacing boards, chemically stripping, use of heat gun and of course following the EPA standards for lead paint removal (If applicable). These approximations can vary based on the items listed above in the section “Factors Influencing the Cost of a Paint job in Massachusetts.”
| Amount of Prep Work*/ Complexity of Project | |||
Low-Prep / Basic Job | Mid-Prep / Average Job | High-Prep / Complex Job | |
Small | $2,000 – $4,000 | $3,000 – $6,000 | $5,000 – $12,000+* |
Medium | $3,000 – $7,000 | $5,000 – $10,000 | $9,000 – $18,000+* |
Large | $6,000 – $12,000 | $5,000 – $18,000 | $16,000 -$30,000+* |
Extra Large | $10,000 – $30,000 | $15,000 – $45,000 | $25,000 – $70-000+* |
*If the prep work is particularly difficult the cost could even exceed these numbers in which case it may be less expensive to just replace the siding. See the cost of siding replacement.
Influences on the Cost of a Paint Job
The following are all questions a reputable painting contractor must use to determine the cost of painting your home.
These are head and shoulders the top 2 factors influencing the cost of house painting:
- Surface area and square footage being painted
- Amount of surface preparation needed (scraping, sanding, priming, caulking, washing)
The following are other factors that will be considered:
- Type of product being used (latex paint, semi-transparent, solid stain etc.)
- Height of house
- Amount of surfaces (complexity)
- Substrate being painted (wood, masonry, aluminum siding, etc.)
- Need for replacement of rotted wood
- Ease of access (It can be very difficult to paint houses in densely populated areas)
- Removal and reinstallation of fixtures (storm windows, awnings, lights, etc.)
- Type of staging required
- Need for extra equipment such as a hydraulic lift
- Applicable taxes
- Regional Overhead (in some states the cost to run a business is much higher and will affect the cost of new siding)
Clearly, given the amount of influential factors listed above it is tough to come up with a “ballpark” or “guesstimate.” It’s impossible to get too specific; however, the painting pricing information listed below should help.
If you live within our service region of Eastern New England:
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