Disclaimer

Estimates, not quotes

The calculators work out figures from the values you enter plus the labelled default assumptions on each page. They are arithmetic, not predictions. Treat every result as a well-explained estimate and check it against your own documents, quotes, labels or measurements before acting on it.

Not professional advice

Painting touches money, safety and building rules. A paint quantity can be short, a cost estimate can be far from a real quote, and a drying time can be wrong for your conditions. The calculators and guides are not a substitute for a painting contractor’s assessment of your building, for the technical and safety data sheets of the products you use, or for the regulations that apply where you live.

Lead paint. Homes built in the US before 1978 may contain lead-based paint. Sanding, scraping, heat-stripping or demolishing painted surfaces can create hazardous lead dust. Contractors working on these homes must follow the US EPA’s Renovation, Repair and Painting (RRP) rule. This site does not give lead-safe work procedures; follow the EPA’s guidance and, where required, hire a certified firm.

Asbestos. Textured “popcorn” ceilings and some other textures applied before the 1980s may contain asbestos. Have such material tested before sanding, scraping or otherwise disturbing it.

Working at height and with sprayers. Ladders, scaffolding and roofs are dangerous, and airless sprayers can inject paint through skin. Follow the equipment makers’ instructions and the applicable safety rules.

Specific limits of this site’s calculators

Coverage defaults are typical figures for a product class. Your product’s label or technical data sheet may give a different figure, and texture, porosity and application method change real coverage further. Enter your own figure wherever the calculator offers the field, and round up when in doubt.

Drying, recoat and cure times are estimates from typical data-sheet times and a rule of thumb for temperature and humidity. They are not a guarantee that a film is ready. Follow the product’s own data sheet, and wait longer if conditions are cold, damp or still.

Cost figures are national ranges from published surveys, and production rates are estimates for steady work in fair conditions. They are useful for planning and for checking a quote, not for setting a price or a budget on their own. Get written quotes for real work.

The manufacturers’ data sheets for the products you use, and your local building and safety rules, always take precedence over our defaults. The methodology page lists where each default comes from.

Sources and updates

Default figures come from public sources named on each calculator’s assumption table and on the methodology page, with the date they were last checked. We update them when sources change and at least once a year, but a default may be out of date on the day you use it. Your own figures are always better than ours.

Advertising

Advertisements on the site are served by Google AdSense and are labelled as advertisements. We do not choose or endorse the products advertised, and an advertisement’s appearance next to a calculator does not mean the calculator was built with that product in mind.

Errors

If a calculator or a guide is wrong, we want to know. Write to contact@paintscalculator.com or use the contact form; error reports are checked first. Our editorial policy explains how corrections are made and recorded.