SolverOrg

Coating takeoff

Know the paint volume before you buy containers.

Measure walls, deduct openings, optionally include the ceiling, then enter coverage from the selected paint product. Primer is optional and calculated separately.

Measurements

Paint worksheet

Coverage, coats, container sizes, and prices are your product inputs. The engine never assumes a universal coverage rate.

Measurement unit
Rectangular room walls
Ceiling

Openings are deducted from walls only, then the selected ceiling is added.

Opening deductions

Total opening area cannot exceed wall area.

Paint product

Enter the product label’s coverage in ft² per US gal. Container count is rounded up using the selected size; mixed sizes are not optimized.

USD
Optional primer

Primer coverage and container size are separate product inputs.

Starting estimate is ready.

Project takeoff

Engine result

Paint to purchase

2 containers

Rounded upward using the selected paint container size.

Based on a 12 ft × 10 ft room with 8 ft walls, one opening, and two paint coats.

Gross paintable area
352 ft²
Opening deductions
−21 ft²
Net paintable area
331 ft²
Paint requirement (2 coats)
1.89 US gal
Paint purchasing quantity
2 containers

Show your work

  1. Sum the rectangular wall surfaces.

    32.701870080000006 m² wall area= 32.7 m²

  2. Deduct entered openings from wall area only.

    32.701870080000006 m² − 1.9509638400000002 m² openings = 30.750906240000006 m²= 30.75 m²

  3. No ceiling area was selected.

    30.750906240000006 m² + 0 m² ceiling = 30.750906240000006 m²= 30.75 m²

  4. Multiply net paintable area by the selected paint coat count.

    30.750906240000006 m² × 2 coats = 61.50181248000001 m² coat-adjusted area= 61.5 m²

  5. Divide coat-adjusted area by the user-entered paint coverage.

    61.50181248000001 m² ÷ 8589.835361488904 m²/m³ = 0.007159836002880002 m³= 0.01 m³

  6. Round upward using the selected paint container size.

    round up 0.007159836002880002 m³ ÷ 0.003785411784 m³ = 2 containers= 2 containers

Assumptions & warnings

  • Paint coverage: 350 ft² per US gal
  • Paint coats: 2
  • info: Coverage, porosity, texture, application method, color change, product type, and manufacturer instructions can affect actual material needed. This worksheet uses only the coverage values you enter.
  • info: Paint purchasing quantity was rounded upward to whole selected containers.
Technical details, sources & version
  • SI and customary length, area, and volume unit definitionsexact definition

    Dimensions normalize to metres, areas to square metres, and coating volumes to cubic metres before display conversion.

  • Rectangular area relationshipmathematical relationship

    Each wall, ceiling, and opening is calculated from two normalized dimensions.

  • User-entered door and window deductionsuser configurable assumption

    Openings are limited to the applicable wall area and are not deducted from a selected ceiling.

  • User-selected ceiling inclusionuser configurable assumption
  • User-configured coating coat countuser configurable assumption
  • User-entered paint coveragemanufacturer specification

    Coverage is product-specific; no universal coverage rate is assumed.

  • User-entered paint container sizemanufacturer specification

    The calculator uses only the selected container size and does not optimize mixed container combinations.

  • User-entered paint container priceuser configurable assumption

    Optional cost is based on whole selected containers and no live pricing is used.

  • User-entered primer coveragemanufacturer specification

    Primer is optional and separately configured from paint.

  • User-entered primer container sizemanufacturer specification
  • User-entered primer container priceuser configurable assumption
  • Whole-container purchasing round-upmathematical relationship

    The required coating volume is rounded upward to a whole count of the selected container size to avoid under-ordering.

Normalized net paintable area: 30.75 m²

Paint requirement: 7.16 L

paint-calculator · v1.0.0 · released 2026-08-13

Owner: SolverOrg maintainers · Reviewed 2026-08-13

Method

The engine sums rectangular wall surfaces, deducts openings from walls, optionally adds the ceiling, multiplies net area by user-selected coats, divides by user-entered product coverage, then rounds selected container sizes upward. Primer is a separately configured optional coating.

Worked example

A 12 ft by 10 ft room with 8 ft walls has 352 ft² of wall area. Deducting one 3 ft by 7 ft opening leaves 331 ft². At two coats and 350 ft² per US gallon, the required paint volume is 1.89 US gal before container round-up.

Coverage is product-specific

Use the coverage printed for your selected coating. Surface porosity, texture, application method, color changes, product type, and manufacturer instructions can change actual coverage. This is a planning takeoff, not a product recommendation.

Related tool

Drywall Calculator uses the same kind of room, ceiling, and opening measurements for a sheet-material takeoff.