How Long Does It Take To Paint A Room (Quickly & Easily)

Your room’s walls look cracky, fady, or you have some plans to create a different interior.

Then the question which triggers in your mind is,“How long does it take to paint a room?”

There’s no denying that painting a room can be a daunting task. It’s messy, tedious, time-consuming, and expensive too. One solution to the problem is to hire a professional painter.

As per the Forbes article, a professional painter’s average cost of painting a bedroom is 800 to 1200 dollars.

If you’re a DIY enthusiast and looking to save some money, you’ll want to plan this project and know how long it will take.

Well, this time varies on many things. It depends on the tools and materials you are using, the size of your room you are about to paint, and the type of paint used in the project.

And the time it takes to prep the surfaces correctly, apply primer and paint.

When you read the steps in this article , you will get an estimate how long does it takes to paint a room.

So let’s start with the size of the room you want to paint.

Size of the room to be painted 

This calculation will assist you in estimating the size of your room and the amount of paint required.

You have planned a weekend to paint your room, and you want to do it as soon as possible.

Well, painting time for your room will depend on the painting application method used. Brushing, rolling, or spraying are the three main ways of painting. And the best way to paint interior house walls is by brushing or rolling.

The size of your room will also give a reasonable estimate for the quantity of primer and paint to be used. If you are confused about how much it costs to paint a room yourself, the calculation below might help you.

Step 1: Wall Area: Measure the width of each wall and add it together. Multiply the total by the room height.

Step 2: Find the doors and windows’ area (length x breadth). Subtract it from the step 1 wall area.

Step 3: For Ceiling Area: Measure and multiply the length and breadth of the ceiling and add to the area found in Step 2.

This way, you will get the square footage of your entire room. You may need one gallon for every 400 sq. ft.

You can refer to the paint calculator for the amount of paint required for your room.

If you plan to paint the interior walls of your room only and not the ceiling, then the painting time will be reduced accordingly.

How to paint a room : Steps by Steps Process

Your room looks dull, so you want to paint it with your choice of color. You don’t know how long does it take to paint a room. Then don’t worry. We have detailed steps below to help you understand how you can paint quickly and efficiently to save you time and money.

Make a plan  

Before you begin painting your space, you should make a painting plan.

Plan the day you want to paint your room so that you have a couple of hours free to do this DIY project.

You may choose which walls to paint and whether or not to paint your ceiling.

As there are different types of paints available in the market. You can select a paint color for painting your room.

You can apply the 60-30-10 rule to your color scheme for a balanced color palette.

 The neutral shade will take 60 percent of the room’s area, 30 percent will be secondary bolder, and the remaining 10 percent will be the boldest color.

Next, choose the right color finish for your room as it plays an important element in giving it a nice look. 

There are five types of color finishes available. They are flat, matte, eggshell, semi-gloss, and high-gloss.

Select the color finish as per your room’s requirements.

What do you need to paint a room?

You have already made a plan, and you want to start painting your room.

So you would like to know what you all need to paint your room.

It’s usually a good idea to have all of your equipment and materials in one location. 

And you can grab it when needed.

You might require good tools to give your room a good finish and texture like a professional.

Always consider getting good quality tools for your project to save you time and effort on tedious tasks.

These are the things you need to paint a room:

• Paint
• Primer
• Angled paint Brush
• Rollers
• Paint Trays 
• Paint Tray liners
• Stirring Sticks
• Paint roller extension Pole
• Drop cloths
• Sanding sponge
• Screw driver ( to  remove plates and fixtures)
• Spackle 
• Putty Knife( for wall repair and fixes)
• Painter tape
• Ladder
• Garbage Bag
• Empty Can 
• Hand Gloves

Tip: 

A large roller with a diameter of 12 to 18 inches will speed up the process.

Move your furnishing from room 

Even though you are very cautious, there is a chance of some drips and splatters from the painting. So move all your furniture to the center of your room. And it is advisable to cover all your furniture with plastic sheets.

You can even cover your carpet with a canvas drop cloth. You can have a long runner of canvas cloth and put it down where you are painting.

If your floor is hard, you can use rosin paper as an alternative to canvas or plastic sheets. Both will be slippery for vinyl, wood, and tile flooring.

It will roughly take 30 minutes to move all your furnishings from the room.

Cover all plates, switches and fixtures 

Remove all your cover plates or switches from the walls. It will make your painting work look more professional. Unscrew all the cover plates and cover all the outlets with masking tape.

Next, remove all the nails and curtain hardware from the wall.

If anything is harder to remove and reinstall, It is better to cover that with masking tape.

Inspect and fill the hole or cracks  

 Inspect your room’s walls for any mildew or water damage. If any such damage is present on your wall, first fix it.

 Since we have removed everything from the wall, now you can see if any cracks or holes are there due to hanging any decor.

Now apply spackle to all the cracks and holes and level them up.

They will get dry within 10 minutes of application..

This step will typically take 10 minutes to inspect the wall and fill the cracks if there is no major filling.

Prep your wall

Next, you have to do the sanding on the walls.

Sanding will help to clear your wall of any kind of dirt, dust, or grease and will also smooth your surface for painting.

If you do the sanding on your wall, it will give a high-quality final look to the paint.

Either you can use a sanding sponge or use a pole sander to do it quickly.It will take 15 -20 minutes to do the sanding for an average room.

Use painter’s tape to produce sharper lines on the edge and eliminate unintentional drilling in other areas of the room. 

Place the tape on the baseboard and push it with a putty knife to prevent paint from leaking within the tape. It will serve as a protective coating for the trimmings.

You can do taping for an average room in 20 minutes.

Apply primer on your wall 

Most DIYers avoid using primers; they want to skip this step.

They feel it will be double the work as the brush strokes and roller rolls are the same as a paint coat. 

If you have patched your walls with spackle or putty, it’s a good idea to prime the walls.

Your room walls might have stains, so if you plan to apply paint directly over them, it will take more color as we also have to cover stains.

It will also be cost-effective since primer is less expensive than paint.

A better primer will give a smooth and clean base to your room, and the final look of your paint will be professional.

When you bring your primer, first stir it from the bottom and then use it as it has been lying in the store for a long time.

You have to put some primer in the paint tray and use an angled paint brush to apply it to the edges of the wall.

Once you have applied the edges, you can now switch to a paint roller and paint the rest of the wall.

Tip:

You can consider having a handy Paint pail for doing the edges of the wall . You can easily dip your 2.5” brush in it and hold it with its handle. This will also hold your paint brush through a magnet . As paint can is heavy to hold and this is lighter than can  and user friendly also.

The drying time for the primer is one to four hours on average. However, it depends on the type of primer, room temperature, and humidity in the room.

Nowadays, primer gets dry within 30 minutes and you can add a coat of paint over it.

If you touch the wall after applying primer, you will feel it has not come off. Then it is ready for applying the first coat of paint or second coat of primer.

Apply paint in your room 

Before applying the paint, stir your paint with a stirring stick.

If you use more than one gallon of paint, you can combine all the paint into one big container. This process is called boxing paint. It is crucial when painting on large walls so that there is no variation in color.

If you want to apply light colors on trims  of windows, baseboard and ceiling  and dark  colors in your room. First apply light colors and then dark colors.

Tip:

You can speed up your cutting time by using a high-quality 2.5″ angled brush. This brush will hold more paint than a 2″ angled brush.

Next you have to cut in and trim the ceiling and baseboard  before you start rolling paint over your walls.

Since we have already taped the trim, it is easier to do the edges of the wall.

It will take somewhere between 30-40 minutes to do the edges of the wall.

When you are about to paint the walls,change your tray liner .

Pour one or two inches of paint into the tray .

Take your roller and dip it in the paint tray  and drip excess paint from the roller .Then cover the wall  by making up and down movement .

In this way , make sure to paint the entire wall of the room evenly.

Rolling paint will take 50-60 minutes on all the walls of an average room.

This step will take  about three hours  of time to paint the whole room .Time  extension also depends on the break interval taken in between.

Tips for Painting a Room : 

• Use a paint bucket and bucket grid to apply more paint in less time.
• Avoid cheap rollers as they will not hold much paint and spread properly on the wall.
• Permanently remove the fiber from the roller sleeves before using them. You can use lint remover to remove the thread.
• Do not forget to dampen the roller before using it.
• Use an angular trim brush for the room’s corners and ceiling trim.
• Don’t forget to buy an extension pole for easier access to the higher portions of the walls.

Have proper ventilation

As soon as you start painting , fumes of the painting  will mix with the air .

Paint fumes will be there in the room for a few days after painting .

Therefore , you should  properly ventilate your room while painting so that the odor of paint will lessen.

Even paint has harmful chemicals which  can lead to serious health issues .

So open all your windows, doors for proper ventilation .And even you can use venting tools and equipment for ventilation in your room.

You have to wait for 24 hours and then you can shift into the newly painted room.

If you want to  reduce this waiting time ,then you can choose paints with no VOC ( Volatile Organic compound) or low VOC .

How long will it take me to get clean?

After painting ,clean all your tools such as  scrapers and paint tray immediately to prevent paint drying  on them.

You can clean your paint brushes and roller cover before they dry .

Use dishwashing liquid  and water  to  remove paint .

You are almost done with painting, but don’t forget to include this cleaning time also in your project . You may need 30 minutes to do the cleaning part.

Wait for drying

Drying time of paint depends on the  temperature and humidity of the room as well as the type of paint used in the project .

Do you apply a single coat or multiple coats of paint in your room? So how long does it take paint to dry on walls  will depend on the number of coatings of paint .

After applying the first coat lets paint dry .Latex paint will take 1-2 hours time for drying whereas oil based paints take more time to dry.

At last , it is time to wait for final drying .Allow your paint to dry overnight.

If you want a smooth and better finish , let your paint dry completely.

Wrap up: How Long Does It Take To Paint A Room

Painting a room by yourself is not that tough. You can easily paint it in a single day  if you have the right tools and materials. 

But this time may vary as per the prep work needed for the wall, how many times the primer and paint coat is applied, the drying time of paint, and the cleaning time of the room.

This article will assist you if you’re wondering how long does  it takes to paint a room.

I know it’s a little bit more complicated than that, but there are some great shortcuts you can use to make your painting go faster.

Always use high-quality paint and quality rollers for a smooth finish on the wall.

The average time mentioned in the above steps is based on the time taken by an average homeowner.

So professional painters might take half the time taken by a homeowner.

FAQ-How long does it Take to paint a room