Understanding your result
The headline is the number of days on the job, and the sub-line gives the finish date. The three figures show the working days, the days lost to recoat waits and the finish date.
The table shows the hours, the hours per painter, the working days, the waits with the overnight gap they are compared with, the weather days, the total, and the start, finish and calendar days. The calendar days count weekends and are what the customer experiences; the working days are what the crew bills.
The hours come from the estimating calculators. The production rate calculator gives labour hours by task; the drying and recoat calculator gives the wait for your conditions; the project planner orders the rooms; and the bid builder prices the same hours.
How we calculate this
The overnight-gap rule reflects how crews actually work: a short wait is spent going home, a long one is spent idle unless there is other work. The waits field is for the waits that hold the whole job; a crew that can paint the trim while the walls dry should count fewer. The working week skips Saturday and Sunday on a Monday-to-Friday schedule, Sunday on a six-day week and nothing on a seven-day one.
The production rates guide explains where the hours come from, and the drying guide explains why alkyds and cold weather lengthen schedules. The bid guide covers how a schedule goes into a contract.
The assumptions behind the numbers
| Assumption | Default | Where it comes from |
|---|---|---|
| Productive hours | 7 per day | An 8-hour day less setup, breaks and cleanup |
| Recoat wait | 4 h | Latex wall paint data sheets at 77 °F |
| Waits holding the job | 1 | One second coat everywhere at once |
| Working week | Monday to Friday | Common residential schedule |
| Weather days | 0 | Add for exterior work |
Assumptions last reviewed October 8, 2026.
The calculator does not know about public holidays, partial days, or a crew that arrives at noon on day one. It does not split a crew between jobs. Treat the finish date as the plan, and add contingency before promising it.
Two worked examples
A house interior with a crew of two
75 labour hours, two painters, 7 productive hours a day, one 4-hour latex wait, Monday-to-Friday, starting Monday, October 12, 2026.
- Per painter: 37.5 h; working days: ⌈37.5 ÷ 7⌉ = 6
- The 4-hour wait fits in the 17-hour overnight gap: no extra days
- 6 days, finishing Monday, October 19, 2026 (8 calendar days)
Starting on Saturday, October 17, instead, the job begins on Monday the 19th and finishes on Monday, October 26.
One painter, alkyd trim, a six-day week
The same 75 hours, one painter, two 24-hour waits that hold the job, two weather days, Monday to Saturday.
- Working days: ⌈75 ÷ 7⌉ = 11
- Wait days: 2 × ⌈(24 − 17) ÷ 24⌉ = 2; weather 2
- 15 days, finishing Wednesday, October 28, 2026
A seven-day week with two painters and no waits would finish on Saturday, October 17.
Where to find your inputs
Hours. From the production rate or painting time calculators, including prep.
Painters and hours per day. The crew you will actually have, and the hours they paint.
Waits and their length. From the drying calculator; count only the waits nobody can work through.
Weather days. One or two per week outside.
Week and start. Your working days and the first day on site.
Common mistakes
- Using 8 hours as productive time. Setup and cleanup take an hour.
- Ignoring long recoat waits. Alkyd trim adds days.
- Doubling the crew to halve the waits. Waits do not shrink with people.
- No contingency outside. Weather always takes a day.
- Promising the calculated date. Promise it plus a margin.
- Forgetting the weekend in the customer’s calendar. Calendar days are what they count.
Questions people ask
- How long will a painting job take?
- Labour hours divided by the crew and the productive hours per day, plus any waits and weather. 75 hours for two painters at 7 hours a day is 6 working days; starting on Monday, October 12, 2026, on a Monday-to-Friday week it finishes on Monday, October 19.
- Do recoat waits add days?
- Only if they are longer than the overnight gap and the crew has nothing else to do. A 4-hour latex wait fits inside the 17 hours between one 7-hour day and the next; a 24-hour alkyd wait adds a day each time it holds the whole job.
- How many productive hours are there in a working day?
- Usually about 7 in an 8-hour day, after setup, breaks and cleanup. On small jobs with long drives it can be 5 or 6. Use your own figure.
- Should I add weather days?
- For exterior work, yes. Paint needs dry weather above the minimum temperature, no rain for about a day after, and no dew in the evening. One or two contingency days per week of exterior work is a common allowance.
- Does a bigger crew always finish faster?
- For the labour, yes, but not for the waits. Doubling the crew halves the working days and leaves the recoat waits where they were, which is why the last day of a well-staffed job is often spent waiting for paint to dry.
- Can I start on a weekend?
- The calculator moves a weekend start to the next working day of the week you chose, so a Saturday start on a Monday-to-Friday week begins on Monday.