How Much Paint for a 12x14 Room?
Paint needed
2.25 gallons
A 12 by 14 room with eight foot walls, one door, two windows, two coats.
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How that number is worked out
These are the figures this page was built with and every line the calculator produces from them. Change anything above and all of it moves.
- Room perimeter, add all walls52 ft
- Wall height8 ft
- Doors1
- Windows2
- Coats2
- Coverage per gallon350 sq ft
Paint needed2.25 gallons
| Gross wall area | 416 sq ft |
|---|---|
| Less doors and windows | -51 sq ft |
| Net wall area | 365 sq ft |
| Area over 2 coats | 730 sq ft |
| Gallons, exact | 2.09 |
| Buy | 3 gallonsor 1 five gallon pail |
The material list this produces
| Paint, gallons | 3 |
|---|---|
| Primer, gallons (if bare or color change) | 2 |
| Painter's tape, rolls | 1 |
Coats compared
Coats is the input people get wrong, usually by hoping. Same room, one coat to three.
| Coats | Paint needed |
|---|---|
| 1 coat | 1.25 gallons |
| 2 coats | 2.25 gallons |
| 3 coats | 3.25 gallons |
What else matters here
Just over two gallons, which is the worst possible answer. Two gallons leaves you a few square feet short on the last wall, and three gallons means paying for a third that will mostly sit in the basement.
Two gallons plus a quart is the right buy, and boxing them together matters more here than on a smaller room. Pour all of it into a five gallon bucket, stir, and work out of that, so any variation between containers is spread across every wall instead of landing on one.
A room this size is also where a five gallon pail starts to make sense on price. Five gallons usually costs less than four gallons bought singly, and if the trim, the hallway or another bedroom is getting the same color, the pail wins outright.
What this calculator assumes
- A door is taken as 21 sq ft and a window as 15 sq ft. Deducting them matters on a small room and barely moves a big one.
- 350 sq ft per gallon is the usual figure on a smooth primed wall. Bare drywall, textured walls and deep color changes all drink more, so drop it to 300 if any of those apply.
- Ceilings and trim are not included. Run the ceiling as its own area.
Questions people ask
How much paint for a 12x14 room?
About 2.09 gallons for two coats on eight foot walls, so two gallons plus a quart.
What does boxing paint mean?
Pouring every container of the same color into one large bucket and stirring, so that any slight difference between mixes is spread evenly over the whole job rather than showing on one wall.
Is a 5 gallon pail cheaper than single gallons?
Almost always, usually by enough to beat four gallons bought separately. It only pays if you can use the volume, so it suits doing several rooms in one color.
The paint calculator takes any dimensions you like and hands back the same list.