A fresh coat of paint has the ability to completely transform a home. Not only does paint increase visual appeal, but it can also raise the value of your home and help you hide its imperfections. Whether you’re looking to have your interior or exterior painted, it’s important to invest in a professional painter. Hiring a professional painter in Toronto will ensure your job is done right the first time. They have all the necessary tools for the job, can help you with picking the perfect paint colour and can also repair any damages to your walls.

You can hire a professional team of painters to paint a bedroom, the main floor of your house, your deck, or even your kitchen cabinets. There are many factors that can impact the cost of your painting project. Some of these factors include the size of the room to be painted, the time frame to complete the project, and what type of paint will be used. In this cost guide, we have compiled 3,320 verified reviews from Toronto homeowners. From these reviews, we were able to determine cost estimates to complete interior, exterior and full house painting projects. Use this cost guide to help you get a rough idea of how much your next project will cost. You can compare this number to the quotes HomeStars painting pros give you.

Cost to Complete Different Painting Projects in Toronto:

LocationAverage Cost*Lowest Reported*Highest Reported*
Interior$3,010$100$32,000
Exterior$3,745$100$49,000
Full House Painting$14,283$1,000$50,000

Costs as of October 2020*

Factors Impacting Painting Costs in Toronto

Size and Location of the Room

  • Before you start any painting job, you must decide on which areas in particular need to be painted. Make a list of all these areas as a reference for the painter. Include all the desired areas in the list, no matter how small or trivial you may think they are. For example, if you are getting a bedroom painted, make sure you also note the trim if you want them painted, especially if in a different colour from the rest of the room.
  • Based on the size of the room and location (interior or exterior), a painter will be able to give you a quote.
  • In Toronto, it may cost you up to $50,000 to complete a full house painting which includes interior and exterior parts of the house.

Amount of Paint

  • To calculate how much paint is needed for your project, a painter will need to measure the area to be painted. They will measure the wall height, the parameter of the room and the width and length of the ceiling. They will also factor in the material of your walls as this can impact how much paint you will need. For example, a textured wall may require more paint as compared to a smooth surface.
  • It’s important to have enough paint or it may result in an incomplete job. Once your painter has the measurements, they can purchase the paint on your behalf. The cost of paint is added to the final invoice. To complete an interior painting job it may cost you $3,010 on average, excluding the cost of the paint. Examples of interior painting jobs include all walls, stairs, basements, kitchen cabinets, hallways and bedrooms.

Textured and Popcorn Ceiling

  • A popcorn or textured ceiling can be found in houses built during the period of 1930 to 1990 in Toronto. Popcorn ceilings are now considered to be outdated, so many Toronto homeowners opt to remove or conceal them.
  • It’s very difficult to clean popcorn ceilings and textured walls. Water damage also causes these types of the ceiling to peel off or come loose. You can replace the textured walls with the same design or have a smooth ceiling. Based on the width of the ceiling and other measurements, a professional painter can help you repaint the textured areas.

Wall and Room Preparation

  • Any sized painting project requires a good amount of prep work. Any damaged areas on the wall will need to be fixed as a part of the prep work. Furniture needs to be moved and carpets should be rolled up to avoid any paint stains.
  • A team of qualified painters can help you with the prep work. Based on the damages and amount of furniture that needs to be moved, it can take around 2-6 hours to complete the preparations. If there is major damage related to internal wiring or an old leaking pipe, you might need to call a plumber or an electrician for help. These are considered as additional or overhead preparation costs for any paint job.
  • Make sure you ask any painters you are considering to hire to include preparation costs in their quote.

Season

  • If you are painting the exterior of your house, front porch or backyard fence, we recommend you complete the job in spring or summer. These two seasons have perfect conditions to paint any exterior parts of your home. While interior painting can be done at any time during the year, you may be able to save a bit of money by completing your project in the fall or winter.
  • During the fall and winter seasons, painters usually get fewer clients. Lower demand can be beneficial as you can negotiate a lower price.
  • The best way to go about it is by making a ‘paint plan’ with a local painting service provider. You can develop a timeline and budget to paint the interior and exterior of your home without compromising the quality of the job.

The Painter’s Profile

  • Experience: An experienced painter can complete a paint job with minimum chances of damages and within the set timeline. They may charge you more than a novice painter but you can be assured that the job will be done well.
  • Speed: The size of the wall and the experience of the painter determines the speed of a job. Whether it’s a flat surface wall, wood or plaster, it might take an average painter an hour to paint 100 to 120 square feet of area. Also, if you are planning to get 2 coats of paint, consider the time it may take the wall to dry. Based on your requirements, a painter will be able to give you an estimated timeline to complete the job.
  • Labour: Based on the scale of your paint project you may require a team of 2 to 5 painters to complete the job. If you hire an independent painter, they will hire additional painters and add their labour costs to your final bill. These costs can be based on an hourly rate or cost per job. If you hire a company, the cost of labour is included in their fees. We highly recommend you clarify the labour costs with your painter before starting the project.

Types and Quantity of the Paint

  • To paint an average room you might require at least two gallons of paint. Based on the type of paint it may cost you anywhere from $15 to $300 for a gallon of paint. As per your preferences, you can choose a flat, matte, eggshell or satin paint.
  • There are three types of finishes in paint: flat, semi-gloss and high-gloss. You will also have to consider the costs for primer and pre-primed paint.
  • Based on the surface you want to paint, a painter can help you choose a specific type of finishing and primer.

Why Hire a Professional Painter?

Preparation

  • No matter your project, all painting jobs require proper preparation done before starting. A team of professional painters will determine the preparation factors and help you with the process.
  • The first steps in any preparation include removing furniture, cables and wires, curtains and protecting light fixtures if you are painting interiors. For exteriors, consider removing any patio furniture, cover the outside light fixtures, your plants and decorations in the garden.
  • For any splatter prevention, painters will cover the ground and other open areas of your house with tight covers. They will also clean any accidental splatters on your floors.
  • Finally, preparing the wall for paint is very important to fix any imperfections like cracks and holes. A painter can identify and repair these damages by using a special compound and putty knife. They will smooth the walls with sandpaper to have a smooth surface while painting.

Professional Service

  • Experienced and knowledgeable painters will give you professional service. They will provide you with cost estimates based on your requirements, bring all the painting tools and supplies, help you with all the prep work, finish the work on time and also help you choose and buy the paint.

Minimum Damage

  • Any type of home improvement project may cause damages. It’s important to hire the right painters for your painting project as they are aware of possible damages and can work by avoiding them. They can help you fix any pre-existing damages as well. Many painters have special damage covers. We recommend you talk with your painter about their damage repair policy before hiring them.

Supplies

  • You will require a variety of tools and supplies to finish a paint job. Based on your project, paint and prep-work requirements, you may need different types of tools and supplies. Instead of spending endless hours of research on the right tools or spending heavy amounts of money on unnecessary tools, we recommend you hire a professional painter who has all the tools.
  • These painting tools include paint rollers, paint roller extension poles, drop cloths, paint brushes, sandpaper, paint tray, putty knife and painters’ tape to name a few. A professional painter has all these tools and can also help you buy the right quantity and quality of paint.

You highly invest in a house painting job as it’s one of the major home improvement projects. Considering the time, money and efforts it requires, you don’t paint your house every year. That’s why it’s important to get the job done successfully and as per your requirements on the first go. You can hire a team of professionals painters in Toronto to complete your paint job successfully.

Before hiring a painter, you can check their Star Score, verification badge and their reviews by other homeowners to make an informed hiring decision. On HomeStars you can browse through a list of local painters or ask for a custom quote by completing the form of a requirement.