Estimating guide · Painting
How to estimate a painting job
Painting estimates are production-rate work: surfaces, condition, coats, and detail items decide hours. Price the prep honestly or donate the difference.
A repeatable process
Measure net paintable area
Wall and ceiling area minus significant openings. Measure trim in lineal feet and count doors — both sides.
Grade the surface condition
Previously painted, patched, stained, or bare surfaces carry different prep time and primer decisions. Write the condition into the scope.
Decide coats and products
Primer plus two finish coats is a common interior baseline. Product coverage rates come from the label; 400 sq ft per gallon is a common smooth-surface rating.
Estimate labor by task
Prep, masking, cutting, rolling, and trim work run at different rates. Hours per task beat a single square-foot rate.
State exclusions in writing
Hazardous coatings, major repairs, and move-out logistics belong in the exclusions or as explicit scope lines.
Where painting estimates go wrong
Square-foot-only pricing
Identical areas with different conditions can be double the labor.
Trim and doors folded into wall price
Measured trim and door counts change hours materially.
Primer decided on site
A missed primer decision is a material trip and a labor day.
Certified benchmark · 2026-08-21
In 520 certified profile-mode generations across 26 supported Instant assemblies on Windows (profile/AOT) and an Android API 36 emulator, supported jobs became editable estimates in a median of 0.028 seconds (rounded); the measured 95th percentile was 48.008 milliseconds (approximately 0.048 seconds), with 0 generative-AI provider calls.
- median, supported jobs
- 0.028 sec
- certified generations
- 520
- supported assemblies
- 26
- failures · 0 AI provider calls
- 0
Certified supported jobs only. Editable output; contractor pricing and field verification remain in control. Full methodology and results
See it run on your own jobs
The private Drevanto beta is the real, editable product — not a website demo. Apply, and we will follow up by email.