Painter rolling fresh paint onto an interior wall of a Perth home

Painting Estimating Perth

Interior and exterior painting areas, coat specifications, coverage rates and labour hours calculated directly from your plans. Accurate Perth painting estimates for residential and commercial jobs.

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18+ years experience
First estimate free
24hr turnaround
No lock-in contract

Labour Hours Drive the Price

Painting is a trade where labour is the dominant cost, and labour hours are driven by surface area, number of coats, surface preparation and paint application method. Pricing off a rough m2 figure without accounting for coat specifications, cut-in work around doors and windows, or primer requirements on new plaster will give you a number that does not hold up on site.

We estimate painting for Perth residential new builds, commercial fitouts and renovation projects. Wall, ceiling and trim areas by room, exterior surfaces by elevation, coating specifications and labour hours, all calculated from your plans.

Roller, tray, cutting-in brush, sanding block and open paint tins laid out on a drop sheet

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What We Cover in a Painting Estimate

Element	How We Measure	Notes
Internal walls	m2 by room, perimeter x height less openings	Door and window reveals measured separately
Internal ceilings	m2 by room area	Coffered ceilings measured by surface
Skirting and architraves	LM by room perimeter	Cut-in allowance separate from roller area
Doors and frames	Item count by door type and size	One, two or three coat specification
Exterior walls	m2 by elevation less openings	Masonry vs timber vs FC sheet, different coverage
Fascia, barge and eaves	LM fascia, m2 eaves by overhang width	Timber or aluminium, different prep rates
Roof sheets (if painted)	m2 by roof pitch and plan area	Colourbond vs unpainted iron, different prep
Coat specification	Primer coats, undercoat, mid-coat, top coats	Coverage rate by product type applied

Painting estimate elements for a typical Perth residential build or renovation. Commercial painting adds specialist coatings, epoxy and fire-rated systems.

What Is in a Painting Estimate?

A Perth painting estimate covers interior wall and ceiling areas by room, exterior surface areas by elevation, linear metres of trim and architectural timber, coat specifications for each surface, and labour hours based on application method and surface type. The coverage rate for a primer on fresh plaster is different from a second top coat on a smooth wall, a flat rate per m2 ignores that difference.

Where the Hours Actually Go

Roller work is the fast part. A painter can cover a big open wall quickly, and that is the number most people have in their head when they price a job off a square metre rate.

The hours disappear everywhere else. Cutting in around cornice, skirting, architraves, window reveals and switch plates is slow, careful work that does not scale with room size.

The Lines We Price Separately

Cut-in linear metres, measured apart from roller area
Door and window reveals by count and coat specification
Skirting, architrave and cornice by linear metre
Masking, drop sheets and daily setup or pack down
Filling, sanding and spot priming on patched surfaces
Access allowances for stairwells, voids and high ceilings
Colour changes between rooms, which cost a cut and a wash out
Touch up and defect rectification at practical completion

Painter cutting in a clean line with a brush where the wall meets the ceiling cornice — Cut-in work is measured in linear metres and paid for in hours. It is the line most flat rate per square metre quotes quietly ignore.

Roller area

Net of openings

Cut-in and trim

Priced as its own line

24hr

Turnaround

Residential jobs

Free

First job

No lock-in contract

Rendered brick home mid repaint with trestles, a plank and drop sheets set up along the wall

Preparation Is Where the Money Goes

On a repaint, the paint is the cheap part. Washing down, scraping, filling, sanding, masking and priming can take longer than every coat that follows it.

That is why two quotes on the same house can be thousands apart and both look reasonable. One has priced the preparation the surface actually needs and the other has priced a coat of paint over the top of it.

We measure preparation as its own scope so you can see it, price it and defend it. If the substrate is unknown, it goes in as a clearly marked allowance rather than getting buried in a rate.

Interior Painting for New Builds and Renovations

New build painting on a double-brick house typically involves a sealer coat on the plaster, two top coats on walls and ceilings, and two to three coats on trims and doors. The coat count matters because each coat is a pass across the whole area, it is not a small addition to the first coat.

Renovation painting adds preparation time, filling, sanding, washing and masking existing surfaces. That preparation can represent 30-40% of the total labour on a renovation job that looks simple on a plan.

Areas by room

Net of openings

Trims and architraves

By profile and coat spec

Coats

Coat sequence specified

Coverage rate applied

24hr

Turnaround

Residential new builds

Exterior Painting in the Perth Climate

Perth's climate is hard on exterior coatings. Hot dry summers, high UV and coastal salt air through the western suburbs put every paint system under real stress. A single coat of low-quality exterior paint will not last. A good exterior painting estimate specifies the coating system and applies coverage rates that reflect real-world re-coat intervals.

Masonry render: sealer plus two top coats as a minimum for new render
Weatherboard and timber cladding: prep, prime, undercoat and top coat
FC sheet (fibre cement): moisture exclusion primer essential before topcoat
Fascia and barge: oil-based or premium acrylic, re-coat every 3-5 years in coastal areas
Steel and metalwork: two-pack epoxy or zinc primer before topcoat
Colourbond roof restoration: clean, etch prime and two top coats

01
Plans and Specification In
Floor plans and elevations for area calculation. Paint specification if available, or we price to current Perth standard.
02
Areas Measured
Internal rooms measured by surface type. External elevations measured by area and material.
03
Coat Specification Applied
Coat sequence and coverage rates applied to each surface. Trim and cut-in items calculated separately from roller area.
04
Labour Hours Calculated
Labour hours derived from area and coat count, adjusted for application method, access and preparation requirements.
05
Estimate Delivered
Priced document by room and elevation, with coat specifications noted. Ready for direct pricing or subcontractor comparison.

Common Questions

Straight answers on how we price painting estimating in Perth. If yours is not here, send your plans and just ask.

Internal walls are measured by room, perimeter multiplied by ceiling height, less openings. Ceilings are floor area. Trims and architraves are measured in linear metres. External areas are measured by elevation. Each surface area is then multiplied by the number of coats specified and divided by the product coverage rate to give a total litres figure.

Yes. Paint material costs are included at current Perth supply prices for the specified product. If a specific brand or product is not specified, we price to a mid-grade current WA market product.

Yes. Commercial painting estimates include two-pack epoxy floor coatings, intumescent fire-protection coatings, anti-graffiti systems and other specialist applications. Each system has its own surface preparation requirements and coverage rate.

Colour selection does not change the labour or material quantities significantly, it affects paint cost where premium or dark colours require more pigment. We include a note on any colour that would attract a price premium.

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