Most interior rooms take one to two days. A full exterior usually takes three to five days, depending on weather. Here is how the time breaks down.
How long does it take to paint a house inside?
Most rooms take one to two days each with prep and two coats. A one bedroom apartment is often done within a few days, and a full row house takes longer. How many days depends on the repairs, the trim and the ceiling height more than on floor area.
For the painting alone, HomeGuide lists a bedroom at 4 to 5 hours, a bathroom at 2 to 3 hours, a kitchen at 4 to 5 hours and a living room at 5 to 7 hours, plus 1 to 2 hours for trim and baseboards.
How long does it take to paint the exterior?
A full exterior usually takes three to five days, depending on weather. A trim, cornice and window job on a row house can be shorter. Staging, lead-safe set-up and rain days all add time.
How long should I wait between coats?
Follow the recoat time on the can. For most water-based wall paints that is a few hours. Oil-based and enamel paints need much longer, often overnight. Cool, damp rooms slow everything down, so a basement or a closed-up apartment in winter needs more time between coats.
How long before furniture can go back?
You can usually put furniture back the next day, kept an inch or two off the walls. The paint is dry to the touch within hours but still soft. Wait longer before you lean heavy pieces against a wall or hang pictures.
How soon can I shower after the bathroom is painted?
Wait at least a full day before you shower, and longer if the room has no fan or window. Steam on fresh paint causes drips and streaks called surfactant leaching. If you have only one bathroom, tell us and we plan the job around it.
How long before I can wash or scrub new paint?
Wait until the paint has cured, which takes about two to four weeks for most water-based paints. Check the can for the exact time. Until then, dab marks with a damp cloth and do not scrub.
Can I stay in the house while it is painted?
Yes. Most people stay in the home during interior painting. The work goes room by room, so you keep somewhere to sleep and a working kitchen and bathroom. In a studio or small apartment it is tighter, and some people prefer to be away for a day or two.
The exception is lead-safe work in a pre-1978 home. People and pets are kept out of the work area until it is cleaned.
How long does interior paint last?
No published figure exists for how long interior paint lasts, because it depends on the room. Low-traffic rooms and ceilings can look good for many years. Halls, kitchens, baths and children's rooms need repainting sooner. HomeGuide's general repaint interval for paint is every 5 to 10 years.
How long does exterior paint last?
An exterior paint job usually lasts 5 to 10 years, by the national figure, with a full spread of 3 to 20 years depending on the surface.
| Surface | Published lifespan of paint |
|---|---|
| Wood siding | 3 to 7 years |
| Vinyl siding | 5 to 10 years |
| Aluminum siding | 5 to 10 years |
| Stucco | 5 to 7 years |
| Brick, acrylic latex | 3 to 5 years |
South and west walls, sills and anything near the harbor wear out first.
How often should I repaint the outside of the house?
Repaint the outside when the paint starts to chalk, crack or open at the joints, not on a fixed date. For wood trim and siding in Brooklyn, look closely every year and plan on spot repairs between full repaints. A window sill touched up in time saves the sill.
What slows a paint job down in Brooklyn?
- Co-op and condo work hours and elevator bookings.
- Carrying everything up a walk-up.
- Parking and unloading.
- Plaster repairs that need time to dry before paint.
- Rain, for outside work.
Call or text (917) 746-3274 to get a schedule for your job.