How Much Does It Cost to Paint a 2000 Sq. Ft. House in Australia?

When homeowners ask me how much it costs to paint a 2,000 sq ft house in Australia, my first question is – how many rooms in totals? And will I be painting ceilings, trims, and other surfaces? I like to give them a realistic price range based on my over 10 years of experience as a professional painter in Sydney.

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So for a 2,000 sq ft home, you can expect roughly 4 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, an open kitchen/dining/living space, plus maybe a study or theatre room – so approximately 6-7 rooms total. Not taking ceilings or trim painting into account, just walls, that would then scale up to $5,250 – $8,750 for interior paint. Exterior painting cost range from $2,750 to $8,370.

Of course if the inside rooms are exceptionally large, with 10 foot high ceilings, the price could potentially double. Or it may increase a smaller amount if there are less bedrooms than typical. Ultimately there’s a wide gamut when it comes to painting costs, but generally in the $8,000 – $16,000 range for a moderately sized 4 bedroom, 2,000 sq ft house including all interior and exterior walls.

Key Cost Factors for Painting an Aussie Home

Here are the key factors that impact the cost to paint the interior of a 2000 sq ft house in Australia, from my 10+ years of experience:

Prep Work

The prep work is one of the biggest determiners of the overall house painting cost. It may not seem glamorous, but good prep work makes all the difference for a smooth and quality paint job. This includes:

Caulking and Filling Holes – Any cracks or holes in the walls need to be properly sealed so they don’t show through the new paint. This can take substantial time for an older home.
Plaster Repairs – If there are areas of cracking or damaged plaster, these need to mended. More complex than just spackling holes.
Sanding and Smoothing – Once fillers have dried, the surfaces need to be sanded down flush with the walls. This ensures optimal adhesion for the new paint.

As a veteran painter, I can’t stress enough how vital prep work is. Rush through this step, and you’ll likely see flaws under the new paint or have it chip/peel quickly. Do it right, and your paint job will look flawless and last for years.

Furniture Clearing

Furniture removal adds time. If the home is already furnished, all furniture will need to be removed from the rooms before painting gets underway. Depending on the amount of items, this can take my crew anywhere from a few hours to most of a day to complete.

Clearing furniture isn’t strictly a cost add-on, but it does impact the time required to complete the job. I always account for this in my quotes to set accurate expectations on job length.

Colour Change Considerations

Changing from dark to light colour requires additonal coats. When making a significant color change, particularly from a darker shade to a much lighter one, it can require multiple coats of paint to fully cover and conceal the previous colour.

The starker the colour change, the more likely I’ll have to apply an additional one or two coats to achieve full and even coverage in the new hue. My quotes take this labour time into account to avoid any surprise additions down the road.

Number of Rooms and Colours

More Rooms/Colors = More Overall Cost

If you’re looking to paint multiple rooms different colours, this amplifies both the material needs as well as overall project time versus painting all rooms a uniform scheme.

With every room/colour change, we have to mask and prep the various areas carefully, then apply the specific shades precisely. All this adds layers of complexity versus an ‘all one color’ approach.

As your painter I’m happy to accommodate any colour scheme you desire, but know that more variety equates to more cost. I try to plan accordingly so we stay on time and on budget.

Existing Paint Quality

Prepping low-quality existing paint takes longer. If the home’s existing paint coverage is low quality or aging, I’ll need to factor in more intensive prep and potentially extra finish coats to make sure the new paint looks exceptional.

Covering over old, damaged paint often requires additional smoothing/sanding, stain-blocking primers, and paint coats to completely hide imperfections so the fresh paint looks fantastic.

My Recommendation

Leave prep work to the pros. Properly prepping surfaces is critical for paint job success, but also surprisingly complex. Rather than tackling this yourself to save a few dollars, leave it to professional painters. We have the skills and tools to prep perfectly in a fraction of the time and effort. Done right, your new paint will look beautiful for years!

How Much Paint Do I Need to Paint a 2000 Square-foot House?

When estimating paint requirements for interior wall surfaces in a 2000 sq ft Australian home, you’ll want to have around 85-100 litres of quality paint on hand. This accounts for:

The typical wall space square meterage in a home of that size (around 600-800 sq m with 8 foot ceilings, possibly more)
An assumption of standard neutral wall colors that won’t require extensive extra coats
Allowance for 2 full coats of coverage across all interior wall surfaces

Now if you’ve got rooms with higher ceilings, darker paint colours selected, textured surfaces that soak up more paint, or walls that need multiple coats and touch-ups – add an extra 25-50 litres to that estimate just to be safe.

The last thing you want is to run short halfway through painting a house! Starting out with 85-100 litres for walls ensures you’ll have ample coverage as you go.

How Long Does It Take To Paint the Inside of a 2000 Square Foot House?

When taking on a full interior paint job in a home of that size, I’d block off 1-2 weeks total for my 2-men crew.

Now I know that sounds like a long stretch, but a home over 2000 sq ft likely has a good 600-800 sq metres of combined wall space! That’s a lot more surface area than a standard 2 bedroom.

We’d need at least 2-3 days upfront just for prep. That’s filling holes, sanding, masking trims – getting every wall ready to take fresh paint. Rushing this step risks flaws under the new colour.

The painting itself would be another full week of work days for two coat coverage on all walls.

For a complete 2000 sq ft interior paint transformation including ceilings, trims, doors, and windows plan for 2-3 weeks total.

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