How Much Does a Painter Cost?

In Australia, the average cost to paint a house can vary widely. Many factors need to be considered including the design of the house, type of paint, interior design and raw materials.

The cost of a painting project can range from $2,500 for a small house to $20,000 for a three bedroom home.

What is the Standard Hourly Rate for a Painter?

The hourly rate you can expect to pay for a painter in Australia is generally in the range between $35 to $45. This is based on an 8 hour work day. The hourly rate you pay can have a significant bearing on the overall cost of the painting project.

Choosing a painter by their hourly rate is only favourable if the painter can complete the project quickly.

Average Costs for Different Types of Painting

Two different houses with the same surface area can vary considerably in cost to paint.

When quoting you for your job, painters will consider several factors including:

• the preparation work
• the surface required to paint
• any sloping areas
• the height of the building
• even the total number of windows.

Here are the most common types of painting projects.

Exterior house painting

Homeowners are motivated to paint the exterior of their homes for many reasons.

A fresh coat of paint improves the appearance of the home, and it adds value to a house.

Because of the wide range of projects, most professional painters will inspect the area they are painting before giving you a quote.

The average cost to paint a square metre of a brick exterior is $15 to $45.

Exterior weatherboard and timber painting projects will cost you an average of $12 to $60 per square metre.

Using the estimates above, the cost to paint a three-bedroom brick exterior home will be between $5,000 to $8,000.

However, painting a standard two storey timber or weatherboard family house can cost $8,000 to $20,000.

You can expect to pay up to $45,000 to paint the exterior of larger, more intricate homes.

Interior house painting

Many factors are considered by professional painters when providing a quotation for interior painting, including:

• the cost of moving furniture
• the raw materials for walls and ceilings
• number of windows
• preparation work
• the height of ceilings
• doors
• reading nooks
• feature walls
• decorative painting
• among others

You should ask for a breakdown of the cost otherwise you risk being left with unpainted rooms.

Professional painters will quote you  $18 to $30 per square metre for painting interior surfaces.

$18 per square metre could be for a simple room with a low ceiling, one window and one door.

More challenging projects with multiple colours, decorative features, high ceilings, dirty wall, a lot of prep work or holes that need filling might cost you $30 per square metre

The cost to paint the interior of a three bedroom home with plasterboard walls generally ranges between $5,000 and $8,000. As a guide, the cost to paint one room would be around $400 to $600. The cost, per room, to paint multiple rooms is generally lower as the painter is able to paint one area as the other is drying.

Roof painting

Roof paint is specialised and highly dependent on the slope of the roof and the type of roof surface. The cost to paint a three bedroom home with a terracotta, tile or metal roof can range from $2,800 to $4,500.

The condition of the roof is an important factor when determining how much preparation work is required.

Fence painting

Fence painting is much the same as exterior painting. The cost to paint a fence ranges from $15 to $45 for brick and $15 to $60 for timber or weatherboard.

Brick fences are more weather resistant than wood or weatherboard and require a lot more preparation.

You can expect to pay more if you need to replace broken or rotten boards before painting can begin.

Decorative painting

Decorative painting is also a specialist skill. The cost will depend on the individual painter. Many factors are involved in pricing a decorative painting project:

• the intricacy of the design
• how many colours are required