Understanding your result
The headline is the labour hours, and the sub-line is the crew days. The three figures show the base hours before the condition factor, the factor and the crew days.
The table goes task by task: walls, ceilings, trim, doors and windows with their quantities and coats, then the base hours, the condition factor, the labour total, the crew days and the hours per 100 square feet of walls and ceilings. That last figure is the one to compare with your other jobs and with the rates in the production rates guide.
This is the estimator’s tool; the hours feed the price. The bid builder turns labour hours into a price with materials, overhead and margin; the crew schedule calculator turns them into a finish date; the project planner orders them room by room; and the painting time calculator is the homeowner’s version with prep and recoat waits.
How we calculate this
The default rates are the site’s production rates, also used by the painting time calculator and listed on the production rates reference: 200 sq ft of wall and 180 of ceiling an hour per coat by roller with cutting in, 60 linear feet of trim, 45 minutes a door side and 45 minutes a window. They are typical figures for one experienced painter, consistent with published contractor estimating references, rounded; they are fields because yours are better. In metric, rates are per square metre and per metre and are converted.
The condition factors, 0.85, 1.0, 1.25 and 1.5, follow the practice of painting estimating guides, which scale the whole job rather than each task. The bid guide explains how the hours become a price.
The assumptions behind the numbers
| Assumption | Default | Where it comes from |
|---|---|---|
| Walls | 200 sq ft per hour per coat | Site rate consistent with RSMeans daily outputs and painting-contractor guidance, rounded |
| Ceilings | 180 sq ft per hour per coat | As above |
| Trim | 60 linear ft per hour per coat | As above |
| Doors | 0.75 h per side per coat | As above |
| Windows | 0.75 h each per coat | As above |
| Condition factors | 0.85 / 1.0 / 1.25 / 1.5 | Estimating-guide practice; site figures |
| Productive day | 7 h | An 8 h day less setup, breaks and cleanup |
Assumptions last reviewed October 8, 2026.
The calculator does not model prep, primer coats (enter them as an extra coat), stairwells and high work (use the difficult factor or slower rates), or the learning curve on the first room of a job. It does not price anything; that is the bid builder.
Two worked examples
A house interior, normal conditions
2,000 sq ft of walls, 800 of ceilings, 400 ft of trim, 8 doors, 6 windows, two coats, crew of two, 7 productive hours a day.
- Walls 20 h; ceilings 8.9 h; trim 13.3 h; doors 24 h; windows 9 h
- Labour: 75 h 13 min
- Crew days: 75.2 ÷ 2 ÷ 7 = 5.4
- Walls and ceilings: 1.03 hours per 100 sq ft
The doors take more time than the walls, which is normal and the reason door counts matter in a bid.
The same house, occupied, one painter, slower walls
Difficult conditions (× 1.25), one painter, wall rate 150 sq ft an hour.
- Walls 26.7 h; base 81.9 h
- Labour: 81.9 × 1.25 = 102 h 22 min
- Crew days: 14.6
Nearly three weeks for one person against just over a week for two, which is the arithmetic behind most crew-size decisions.
Where to find your inputs
Quantities. Wall and ceiling areas from the square footage calculator; trim from the trim calculator; doors and windows counted.
Coats. Two for a repaint with a colour change; add a coat for primer.
Conditions. Empty new build, furnished repaint, occupied and complex, or historic and detailed.
Rates. Your own timed figures, or the defaults to start.
Crew and day. Painters on the job and the hours they actually paint.
Common mistakes
- Using someone else’s rates. Time your own crew.
- Forgetting doors and windows. They are often a third of the hours.
- Counting an 8-hour day as 8 painting hours. Setup and cleanup take an hour.
- No condition factor. Occupied homes are slower, every time.
- Leaving prep out of the bid. These hours are painting only.
- One rate for brush and spray. Change the rates when the method changes.
Questions people ask
- What are typical painting production rates?
- For one experienced painter rolling with brush cutting-in, about 200 sq ft of wall an hour per coat, 180 of ceiling, 60 linear feet of trim, 45 minutes per door side and 45 minutes per window per coat. Spraying walls is about three times faster on the wall itself.
- How many hours does it take to paint a house interior?
- For 2,000 sq ft of walls, 800 of ceilings, 400 ft of trim, 8 doors and 6 windows at two coats, about 75 hours of painting under normal conditions, five and a half days for a crew of two. Prep and setup are on top.
- What is a condition factor?
- A multiplier for the things that slow every task, such as furniture, occupants, many colours, high or cut-up walls, detailed trim. Estimating guides use factors like 0.85 for an empty new build up to 1.5 for a difficult historic job.
- How do I find my own production rates?
- Time two or three jobs by task. Note the square feet of walls and the hours spent rolling and cutting in, the feet of trim and the hours on it, and so on. Divide. Your rates, entered here, make every later estimate more accurate than any table.
- What is hours per 100 sq ft?
- The labour for walls and ceilings divided by their area in hundreds of square feet, all coats included. It is the number painters compare across jobs; about 1 hour per 100 sq ft at two coats is typical for rolled interior work.
- Does this include prep?
- No. Production rates are painting time. Washing, filling, sanding, caulking, masking, setup and cleanup are estimated separately, as a line or a percentage; the painting time calculator includes a prep allowance.