House Painting Questions, Answered

Exterior painting starts from around $3,000 for a small single-storey home and runs up to roughly $20,000 for large or difficult properties. The spread is driven by surface area, current condition, cladding type, number of storeys and how many coats the substrate needs. Preparation — not paint — is usually the largest single line in an honest exterior quote.

Interior work typically runs $2,000 to $18,000 depending on how many rooms, ceiling heights, whether trim and doors are included, and how much filling and sanding the walls need first. A single room refresh sits at the bottom; a full repaint of an occupied home including ceilings, trim, doors and wardrobes sits near the top.

A standard residential roof runs $1,500–$5,000, including moss and lichen treatment, a full wash, priming and two topcoats. Metal and concrete tile both start from $1,500. Larger, steeper or badly deteriorated roofs price higher — up to around $9,000 — because the preparation stage grows faster than the painting stage does.

Deck coating typically runs $800 to $4,000 depending on deck area, current condition and whether the boards need stripping, sanding or replacement before coating. A deck that has been left bare for several years costs more to prepare than to coat. Regular recoating on a maintained deck is one of the cheapest jobs on the house.

Fence painting generally runs $600 to $3,500 based on length, height, how many faces are being coated and the condition of the timber. Spraying a long new fence is quick; brushing an old paling fence with gaps and rough grain is not. Confirm at quoting whether one side or both sides are included — it doubles the surface area.

Commercial projects run $5,000 to $40,000, reflecting scale, access equipment, and the fact that much of the work happens outside trading hours. Body corporate and rental portfolio work is quoted the same way. The scheduling constraint — working around tenants, customers or staff — often affects the price as much as the square metreage does.

The surfaces in scope and the surfaces excluded, the preparation method for each, the product system and number of coats, colour allowance, access equipment, protection and masking, repairs to be carried out before coating, clean-up, and the workmanship warranty. A quote that says only "paint exterior, two coats" leaves every meaningful variable unpriced.

Almost always preparation and coats. One painter has allowed to wash, scrape, sand, fill, spot-prime and apply two full topcoats; another has allowed a wash and two coats over whatever is there. Both are "painting the house". Only one of them is still looking good in year six, and the gap in the numbers is the gap in the work.

Only alongside a stated preparation standard. Per-m² rates ignore substrate condition, which is the dominant cost on any repaint. A sound, previously well-maintained wall and a chalking, cracked, peeling one have identical area and completely different labour. Compare total fixed prices with defined prep, and use rates only as a sanity check.

A deposit of 20–30% is normal to secure the booking and cover materials, with the balance on completion or against agreed stages for larger jobs. The terms are in your quotation before work starts. On exterior work it is reasonable to hold final payment until you have walked the job in daylight and agreed the finish.

A professionally applied exterior system typically lasts 7–12 years here, depending on the product, the preparation underneath it and how exposed the elevation is. Timber weatherboards often need attention sooner, in the 5–8 year range. North and west elevations that take the most UV will always fade and chalk before the sheltered sides do.

It needs a system specified for that exposure, and it needs washing between repaints. Salt deposits sit on the surface, hold moisture against the coating and drive breakdown far faster than UV alone. On coastal homes we recommend premium systems and periodic freshwater washing — that maintenance step extends coating life more than any product upgrade.

Wash to remove chalk, mould and salt; scrape and sand back all flaking and failed coating; repair or replace rotten boards and re-fix loose ones; punch and fill nail holes; caulk moving joints; spot-prime every bare area and all new timber. Only then does topcoat go on. Skipping the repair stage means painting over the problem.

They get repaired or replaced before coating — paint does not consolidate soft timber, and coating over rot seals moisture in rather than out. Where rot is found, we document it, quote the carpentry as a variation and carry on once approved. Finding it during prep is normal on older Auckland homes; ignoring it is not.

Cracks need diagnosing before coating. Fine surface crazing can be filled and coated with a flexible system. Cracks that are straight, stepped, or opening at junctions can indicate movement or a moisture path behind the cladding, and painting over those hides a problem that keeps growing. We will tell you which category yours falls into before quoting a coat.

It is a one-way decision — once painted, brick needs repainting permanently, because stripping it back is impractical. It transforms the appearance of dated brick and is very popular for that reason. The technical requirements are that the brick is sound, dry and clean, and that the system chosen allows the wall to keep breathing.

Often yes, and where it is needed it is a genuine line item rather than an upsell. Working at height safely on a repaint — which involves scraping and sanding, not just rolling — usually requires a stable platform. A quote for a two-storey exterior with no access allowance is either using someone else’s scaffold or planning to cut corners.

Elapsed time depends more on weather windows and drying between coats than on painting hours. Preparation usually takes longer than coating, and a house needing significant repair work will spend more days looking untouched than painted. We give an indicative programme with the quote and update it when Auckland weather moves it.

An exterior repaint is one of the more reliable presentation investments, because it removes the "this needs work" reaction at the gate. If budget is limited, prioritise the elevations buyers see from the street and the front door, and fix visible rot rather than coating over it — buyers’ building inspectors look specifically for fresh paint over unrepaired timber.

Straightforward rooms move quickly once preparation is done; the variables are filling and sanding, the number of coats needed for a colour change, and drying time between them. Dark-to-light changes need more coats than like-for-like refreshes. If a whole house is being painted while occupied, we sequence rooms so you always have usable living space.

Yes, in most cases. We work room by room, protect floors and furniture, and use low-odour products where available so rooms return to use quickly. Plan for furniture to be moved into the centre of rooms and for at least one space to be out of action at a time. Tell us up front about allergies, asthma or a home office.

If they need it, yes — masking, protection and access are already set up, so the marginal cost is far lower than a return visit. Fresh walls under a tired, yellowed ceiling is one of the most common disappointments after a repaint. Ceilings also show water staining that walls do not, which is worth investigating before coating.

It should say either way, because it materially changes the number. Trim and joinery are slow, detailed work — far more labour per square metre than walls — and enamel or waterborne enamel systems need proper preparation to adhere. If the quote is silent, assume it is excluded and ask for it to be priced separately.

No — mould has to be killed and removed first, and the cause has to be identified, or it will come back through the new paint within a season. In Auckland the cause is usually ventilation, an unvented extraction fan, or moisture entering from outside. Painting is the last step of that fix, never the whole fix.

Generally yes. Painting over paper can work if it is firmly adhered and the surface is flat, but any loose seam, bubble or textured pattern telegraphs through and lifts later — usually after the paint has sealed moisture into the paste. Removal plus stopping costs more up front and produces a wall that stays flat.

Minor filling of nail holes and small dings is normally part of preparation. Larger repairs — cracked stopping at joints, damaged corners, holes, or re-stopping a whole wall — are separate work and should be quoted as such. Ask for the threshold, so it is clear what counts as preparation and what counts as repair.

Yes. New board needs a sealer coat to even out absorbency between paper face and stopping compound, otherwise the joints flash through the finish under side light. Repainting is about adhesion to an existing coating and dealing with what is already on the wall. Same room, different problem — and a different product schedule.

Two full topcoats over a properly prepared and primed surface is the standard for both interior and exterior work. Bare, repaired or highly absorbent areas need spot-priming first, and strong colour changes can need three. A quote offering one coat is a refresh, not a repaint — it will look acceptable briefly and wear unevenly.

Not on every square metre, but on every bare, repaired, stained or incompatible area. Primer is what makes the topcoat stick and stops the substrate pulling colour or moisture through. Skipping spot-priming is invisible on handover day and shows up as patchy sheen and early flaking on the areas that needed it most.

Auckland surfaces carry mould spores, salt, chalked coating and general grime, and paint will not bond through any of them. Washing removes the layer that would otherwise sit between old and new coating. It is also the stage that reveals what the surface is really like — most repair items on an exterior job are identified during the wash.

They suit different jobs. Spraying gives a very even film on large or profiled surfaces — fences, roofs, ceilings, new work — and is much faster. Brush and roller work better on detailed repaints, in occupied houses and where overspray risk is high. Good painters use both. What matters is film thickness achieved, not the tool.

Homes painted before the late 1970s can carry lead-based coatings under later layers, and sanding or scraping them creates hazardous dust. It changes how preparation is done — containment, controlled removal and dust management — and is a genuine health issue for occupants, especially children. Raise the age of the house at quoting so it is planned for.

It means we are trained and certified to apply Dulux premium systems to the manufacturer’s specification, which gives you access to extended product warranties that are not available on uncertified application. Practically, it also means the system — primer, undercoat, topcoat — is specified as a system rather than assembled from whatever is on the shelf.

Yes — waterborne systems including waterborne enamels have largely replaced solvent-based products for interior work, with far lower odour and faster return to use. They are the default now rather than a special request. If anyone in the house has asthma or chemical sensitivity, tell us at quoting so the system is chosen with that in mind.

Flatter finishes hide surface imperfection and suit ceilings and older wavy walls; higher sheen is more washable and more durable, which suits trim, doors, hallways and wet areas. The trade-off is unavoidable: the more washable the finish, the more it reveals what is underneath. On an older home that argues for careful preparation before choosing gloss.

Yes, and the practical advice is to test on the actual wall rather than choose from a chip. Auckland light is bright and colours read cooler and lighter outdoors than they do indoors. Paint large test patches on more than one elevation, look at them at morning and late afternoon, and check them against the roof and joinery you are keeping.

Moss and lichen treatment first, then a full wash to remove the killed growth and surface contamination, repairs to any rusted or cracked areas, priming, then two topcoats. On a standard home the coating stages typically run one to three days once preparation is complete. Skipping the treatment stage means coating over live growth that keeps working underneath.

Painting restores appearance and adds protective film to a roof that is structurally sound but tired. It cannot fix perforated rust, cracked tiles, failed flashings or a roof at the end of its service life — coating those simply hides them for a season. If a roofer has already flagged widespread deterioration, paint is money spent twice.

Oil penetrates and feeds the timber, weathers gradually and is easy to recoat, but needs doing often. Stain adds pigment and UV protection with a similar recoat pattern. Paint forms a film that lasts longer and hides timber variation, but when it eventually fails it peels and requires stripping rather than a simple recoat. Foot traffic decides more than looks.

Only with the neighbour’s agreement for access to their side — you cannot enter their property without permission, and the fence itself is usually jointly owned. Agree it in advance, including the colour, because a fence coated on one side only weathers differently front and back. Where access is refused, we coat your face and seal the top edge.

Treated timber usually needs a period to dry and release surface treatment chemicals before a coating will bond properly — coating too early is a common cause of early peeling. The right window depends on the product and the season. Do not leave it indefinitely either: bare timber greys and grain-raises, which then needs sanding before coating.

Yes, and it is common on Auckland homes where tiles are sound but the original surface has eroded and gone porous. Preparation is the whole job: treatment, wash, replacement of cracked tiles and re-bedding or re-pointing of ridge lines before any coating. A painted tile roof over failing ridge mortar looks new and still leaks.

They can, provided the slab is sound, dry and properly prepared — grinding or etching, not just sweeping. Moisture coming up through a slab is the usual cause of coating failure on garage and basement floors, so it is worth checking before committing. On an older slab, expect preparation and repair to be the larger part of the job.

The warmer, drier months from late spring through autumn give the most reliable conditions, but exterior painting happens year-round here — what matters is the individual weather window, not the season. Surfaces must be dry, temperatures within the product range, and no rain expected before the film has formed. We work to those conditions, not to a calendar.

It depends on how far the film has cured. Rain on a freshly applied coat can wash it, leave surface marking or cause patchy sheen, which is why painters watch forecasts closely and stop early rather than push a wall through. If a coat is affected, it is made good — that is a workmanship issue, not a homeowner cost.

Because dew leaves a film of moisture on the surface that prevents adhesion, and coating over it causes early failure. Painters wait for surfaces to dry, and stop in the late afternoon before dew forms again. In cooler months that shortens the usable painting day considerably — which is part of why winter exteriors take longer in elapsed time.

After the messy trades, before the final fit-off. Painting too early means damage from subsequent trades; painting too late means cutting in around fittings that could have been off the wall. The usual sequence is stopping, sealer and first coats, then flooring and fit-off, then final coat and touch-up once everything else is finished.

Yes — keep it sealed, labelled with the room and the date, and stored somewhere that does not freeze or bake. Also record the colour code and product name separately, because tins get thrown out. Be aware that touch-ups on an exterior a few years old rarely blend invisibly: the surrounding coating has weathered and the patch will read newer.

Painting work carries a workmanship warranty on the terms set out in your quotation, and manufacturer product warranties apply to the coating system itself — on certified application of premium systems that can extend well beyond a standard interval, with roof systems commonly carrying manufacturer cover of up to 15 years. Keep the quote and product documentation together.

Unaddressed moisture entering from behind the coating, water blasting the finished surface, coating failure caused by a substrate defect that was reported and declined, and — on exposed coastal homes — skipping the periodic washing the system assumes. Warranties cover coating performance, not the building faults underneath it, which is why prep reporting matters.