Contrary to what people think, painting is much more than just splashing colors on the wall. To master the technique of painting thoroughly, a lot of skillets and especially, time, have to be put into consideration. So, you might wonder how long to paint a room?
If that is the question you keep agonizing over, then keep on reading! We will show you presumably calculations on how long painting takes on average.
Things To Put Into Consideration Before Painting A Room
Answer these questions for yourself to gain a general background of your project, therefore thoroughly estimate the amount of time taken.
What Is The Size Of The Room You Intend To Paint?
The size of the room will somewhat determine how long you will need to put colors on them. And also, what you want to paint inside the place is particularly important.
In this article, we will assume that you intend to paint a bedroom with an average size of 11′ x 12′. Based on this standard, it will be easier for us to decide on the following criteria.
What Is The Room’s Current Condition?
Is the room being emptied already, or is it furnished? If it is furnished, please take your time to move the furniture to a safe zone as you don’t want them to impede the painting project.
If you work alone and moving out the furniture costs you more energy than paint, try to cover the furniture thoroughly with newspaper, plastic wrap as paint colors can cause potential damage.
If the room is already emptied, make sure there is no obstacle to prevent you from getting into the corner or reaching to a higher level, for example.
Is Your Painting Design Simple Or Complex?
Ask yourself how you want to transform your room, a simple monotonous bedroom with plain walls, or a great outlet with your unique patterns?
In case your painting requires more than just putting colors on the walls, it definitely takes more time than assumed otherwise.
See Also: How to Paint Easy Wall Painting Designs?
How Many People Will Do The Painting?
You know what they say about “All for one and one for all,” right?
If by chance you have companies to solve the painting problem, it would certainly take less time compared to working alone. On the other hand, if individual work is what you prefer, take all the time you need to do the painting.
Are Your Tools In The Best Shapes?
Painting tools are indispensable, and there’s nothing you can do without them. You might have had all of the painting tools in your eyesight, color-paint, tape, roller, brushes, buckets, trays, but the question is, are they still functioning well as they used to be?
You do not want your roller to be sticky while rolling the wall, or your paint got clotted in the middle of your work.
The smoother your tools operate, the more time you save.
How Long To Paint A Room? – Steps And Time Consumed
Prep Work
The final result strongly depends on the first step. Once you start planting a tree, you can’t go back and fix the root. The same thing goes for painting as the prep work is extremely vital. Make sure your prep work is done carefully and correctly.
First, make sure you empty your room and leave no furniture behind. And as we have said in the first part, in case you are a loner who does not fancy the idea of moving stuff, push them all into the center of the room. Get a decent drop cloth or a big waterproof plastic sheet and carefully cover the furniture.
Last but not least, the floor also needs to be hidden too. If you do not want to see paint splattered everywhere, remember to hide them well. You may spend 20-30 minutes on this process
Secondly, scrutinize the whole room to find any holes in the ceiling, walls, pinholes. Are they visible enough to be seen from afar or likely unnoticeable?
It does not matter what you find; make sure there is no significant drywall. In case there is any hole filling that needs execution, it may take up to 30 minutes for the mud work, otherwise, 10 minutes is maximum for the step.
Thirdly, you must wipe down all the trim work, and all dust must be removed to ensure the tape functions properly. This will cost you no more than 5 minutes.
Last but not least, choose a comfortable dark outfit, set up your brushes, roller, paint tray ready and ensure they are in an impeccable condition. Make sure you know what to do with them. Fifteen minutes is all you need to set yourself ready.
To conclude, it takes presumably one and a quarter hours to finish the prep work.
Prime the Walls
Use the painting tape and tape it to the edges of the room’ corners. A putty knife is our recommendation to seal the application firmly.
One excellent tip to save you time is to use high-quality painter tape such as Frogtape to minimize the potential of paint leaking. You do not want to waste your time cleaning this mess.
On average, we would say that taping costs roughly 45 minutes to one hour. Otherwise, if you feel confident with your painting skills, then skip taping and move on to the next steps.
The next step is sanding. The walls need to be silky smooth to allow the paint to glide on effortlessly, creating a beautiful even canvas.
There are many ways to handle the sanding parts as there are a variety of tools you can choose depending on your preference. A sanding pole will perform faster than a sanding sponge, for instance.
It usually takes you 20 to 30 minutes to sand the area.
Priming the wall precisely includes cutting in the ceiling and trim.
To paint ceilings and efficiently, cutting in the domes is required. You will need some specific skills to achieve sharp lines staying in the corner. First and second coats are estimated to take up to 60 and 40 minutes, respectively.
Trim cutting takes less time due to the fact the trim has already been taped off. Ensure that you don’t miss the switches or the corners while brushing around. This process should last for half an hour only for a standard bedroom.
To speed up this process, use a specific brush for cutting, or as we call the angled brush. The texture of this brush allows you and the paint to slide into corners and paint with high precision.
In conclusion, you might need up to 4 hours to prime the walls. Like we said, the beginning is crucial, so please, take your time and prepare everything with caution before rolling and painting.
Paint the Walls
Painting is nevertheless the most simple step in this whole process once you have everything set. Mix up your paint and start doing the business!
Remember, uncontrollably painting will waste you time. You need to sort out a painting technique to save time and acquire most out of the color. Try to make long, smooth-rolling strokes to avoid streaks and brush marks.
To maintain your work quality, stop every five paint-takes, and revise your work. Can you detect any streaks or missed spots? If so, rollover them again to smoothen the whole canvas.
Rolling and brushing can take up to 40 minutes for one coat, and in case more layers need to be applied, the same amount of time is required. One hundred twenty minutes is our calculated estimation.
Read More: How to Paint a Room with Paint Sprayer
Clean Up and Touch Up
And you are done with a colorful new room; however, the job isn’t over yet. It’s time to gently remove the painting tape, uncover the cloth for the furniture to breathe (make sure the splatters have dried out beforehand) and bring everything back to where it was.
Clean brushes with appropriate methods depending on the paint’s characteristics. Bear in mind that brushes are vulnerable if you are too hard on them.
Gently run them under the water or better, dip them into the water/required solvent and let those furry friends stay in the water for half an hour to set them free from paint.
Once the bristles are soaked, rinse and dry them with a rag. Preserve them well in plastic wrap to maintain their longevity.
Clean up your room again to remove all the dust and debris and voila, your painting project is completed!
Cleaning and touching up may cost no more than 30 minutes. We understand how tired you may have been, so it’s time to clean up fast and have a break.
Conclusion
How much time does it take to paint a room? – A question can only be answered by your actions regarding all the points we make in this article. After calculating and inspecting thoroughly, we declare that it should take 8 hours for a bedroom painting project.
Painting is challenging; no one can deny that; however, it is not impossible. After reading our article on how long to paint a room, with our detailed steps and the estimated amount of time, we hope your painted room, fast or slow, turns out beautiful just like you wish for.
Peter Levick
ArchitectI am a licensed architect who is passionate about all things home improvement industries, I have been doing DIY painting projects and have developed lots of experience around home improvement over the 10 years.
