What quantities does an exterior repaint job need?

It depends on the measurements, so this page asks for yours. At the size it opens on — Length of wall painted, all round 34 m · Height painted, ground to eaves 5 m · Gable walls painted to the apex 2 · Gable width, each 7.5 m · Gable's rise from the eaves to its peak 2.5 m · Windows in the painted walls 10 · Window width, average 1.2 m · Window height, average 1.2 m · Outside doors in the painted walls 2 · Timber windows painted 10 · Painted girth of a window, per length of outline 0.25 m · Doors painted 2 · Fascias and bargeboards painted 37 m · Fascia and soffit girth painted 0.45 m · Bare patches to spot-prime 3 m² · Railings and gates painted 6 m — the lines come to: Primer (spot prime) on bare timber, metal and filler, 1.89–2.18 L; Woodwork undercoat and gloss (trim enamel): doors, windows, sills, fascias, soffits and bargeboards, 6.72–7.72 L; Masonry or siding paint on the walls and gables, 47.3–54.4 L; Metal paint on the railings, gates and balustrades, 0.96 L; Skip (dumpster) or bags for the scrapings and masking, 0.34 m³. In imperial units — Length of wall painted, all round 110 ft · Height painted, ground to eaves 16.5 ft · Gable walls painted to the apex 2 · Gable width, each 25 ft · Gable's rise from the eaves to its peak 8 ft · Windows in the painted walls 10 · Window width, average 4 ft · Window height, average 4 ft · Outside doors in the painted walls 2 · Timber windows painted 10 · Painted girth of a window, per length of outline 9.75 in · Doors painted 2 · Fascias and bargeboards painted 120 ft · Fascia and soffit girth painted 18 in · Bare patches to spot-prime 32 sq ft · Railings and gates painted 19.5 ft — they come to: Primer (spot prime) on bare timber, metal and filler, 0.5–0.57 gallons; Woodwork undercoat and gloss (trim enamel): doors, windows, sills, fascias, soffits and bargeboards, 1.82–2.09 gal; Masonry or siding paint on the walls and gables, 12.5–14.4 gallons; Metal paint on the railings, gates and balustrades, 0.26 gal; Skip (dumpster) or bags for the scrapings and masking, 0.44 yd³.

What does an exterior repaint quote often leave out?

The reading names every line of the job that nothing on the quote reads as — any of the 5 lines the takeoff measures. The takeoff also lists 7 things it does not measure, shown under the reading, and each is worth asking about: a scope missing from a quote tends to become a cost after work has started.

Can I paste the quote exactly as it came?

Yes — from an email, a PDF or a spreadsheet, one item to a line. Amounts of money are taken out before anything is read, headings and totals are skipped, and each line is shown with what it was read as, so a misreading is one correction. Quantities in the other unit system are converted and the conversion is shown; a count of boxes is never compared with a count of tiles.

Does this check the price as well?

No. It reads quantities, never prices, and this site publishes none: an installed price moves with the market, the season, the access and the specification, so a figure for what the work ought to cost would give you confidence in a number nobody can defend. A quantity against your own measurements is checkable, and every figure here links to the calculator that produced it.

Quote check

Check an exterior repaint quote

Paste the quote you were given and enter your measurements. Every line is read against the job: what the quote leaves out, what it adds, which quantities sit outside the computed range, and what to ask. Quantities only — never prices.

5Lines the job needs
16Measurements
QuestionsNever a verdict

Timber-framed house under construction with ladders, sawhorses and lumber

How the quote is read

Each line of an exterior repaint quote is matched to the line of the job it names, or marked as something the Exterior repaint of a house takeoff does not measure — labour, removal, hire, fees, or anything else. Work the takeoff lists as part of the job but gives no quantity for is read as that work, not as something the quote adds.

The job’s own figures come from 16 measurements — length of wall painted, all round, height painted, ground to eaves, gable walls painted to the apex, gable width, each, gable's rise from the eaves to its peak, windows in the painted walls, window width, average, window height, average, outside doors in the painted walls, timber windows painted, painted girth of a window, per length of outline, doors painted, fascias and bargeboards painted, fascia and soffit girth painted, bare patches to spot-prime, railings and gates painted — run through the same calculators as the takeoff, so the two give the same figure for the same job.

Reading an exterior repaint quote

On a repaint the preparation is the larger part of the work, and the part hardest to see once the last coat is on. Worth asking what each quote means by it: whether the walls are washed with a biocide first, how hollow render is dealt with, whether failed paint on the joinery is scraped and sanded or stripped to bare wood, whether loose putty is renewed, and how much rotten timber is allowed for before an extra is charged, whether by the length, by the piece or as a provisional sum.

The products and the coats are worth having in writing by name: the masonry paint and the woodwork paint, the primer and undercoat on bare wood, and whether two top coats go on everywhere or only where the colour changes. So is the way up the walls, a scaffold, a tower or ladders, which changes how the high work is reached; and whether the lead test on old paint, sheeting the paths and planting, and taking down and putting back what is fixed to the walls are part of the figure. If a quote paints the gutters, downpipes or shutters as well, those sit outside the lines here.

Three steps

Give your measurements. The page opens on a typical job so it has something to show.
Paste the quote's lines as they came, or add them one at a time. Leave the prices in — they are taken out, never read.
Read the report: what is left out, what is added, what sits outside the range, and one list of questions to send.

Your measurements

Length of wall painted, all roundftHeight painted, ground to eavesftGable walls painted to the apexGable width, eachftGable's rise from the eaves to its peakftWindows in the painted wallsWindow width, averageftWindow height, averageftOutside doors in the painted wallsTimber windows paintedPainted girth of a window, per length of outlineinDoors paintedFascias and bargeboards paintedftFascia and soffit girth paintedinBare patches to spot-primesq ftRailings and gates paintedft

How to take each of these, and what each one feeds, is under the same field on the exterior repaint of a house takeoff.

Worked from. Length of wall painted, all round 110 ft · Height painted, ground to eaves 16.5 ft · Gable walls painted to the apex 2 · Gable width, each 25 ft · Gable's rise from the eaves to its peak 8 ft · Windows in the painted walls 10 · Window width, average 4 ft · Window height, average 4 ft · Outside doors in the painted walls 2 · Timber windows painted 10 · Painted girth of a window, per length of outline 9.75 in · Doors painted 2 · Fascias and bargeboards painted 120 ft · Fascia and soffit girth painted 18 in · Bare patches to spot-prime 32 sq ft · Railings and gates painted 19.5 ftLength of wall painted, all round 34 m · Height painted, ground to eaves 5 m · Gable walls painted to the apex 2 · Gable width, each 7.5 m · Gable's rise from the eaves to its peak 2.5 m · Windows in the painted walls 10 · Window width, average 1.2 m · Window height, average 1.2 m · Outside doors in the painted walls 2 · Timber windows painted 10 · Painted girth of a window, per length of outline 0.25 m · Doors painted 2 · Fascias and bargeboards painted 37 m · Fascia and soffit girth painted 0.45 m · Bare patches to spot-prime 3 m² · Railings and gates painted 6 m

What the job needs

For these measurements, by the site’s calculators.

Primer (spot prime) on bare timber, metal and filler0.5–0.57 gallons
Woodwork undercoat and gloss (trim enamel): doors, windows, sills, fascias, soffits and bargeboards1.82–2.09 gal
Masonry or siding paint on the walls and gables12.5–14.4 gallons
Metal paint on the railings, gates and balustrades0.26 gal
Skip (dumpster) or bags for the scrapings and maskingat least 0.44 yd³

Primer (spot prime) on bare timber, metal and filler1.89–2.18 L
Woodwork undercoat and gloss (trim enamel): doors, windows, sills, fascias, soffits and bargeboards6.72–7.72 L
Masonry or siding paint on the walls and gables47.3–54.4 L
Metal paint on the railings, gates and balustrades0.96 L
Skip (dumpster) or bags for the scrapings and maskingat least 0.34 m³

Your quote

The exterior repaint quote you were given

Paste from an email, or open or drop a PDF, Excel, CSV or text file, or a photo of the quote. Amounts of money are taken out before anything is read — this page compares quantities, never prices.

Nothing you paste or open leaves this device.

or one the job needs:

The reading

What the quote says, against the job

Exterior repaint · Length of wall painted, all round 110 ft · Height painted, ground to eaves 16.5 ft · Gable walls painted to the apex 2 · Gable width, each 25 ft · Gable's rise from the eaves to its peak 8 ft · Windows in the painted walls 10 · Window width, average 4 ft · Window height, average 4 ft · Outside doors in the painted walls 2 · Timber windows painted 10 · Painted girth of a window, per length of outline 9.75 in · Doors painted 2 · Fascias and bargeboards painted 120 ft · Fascia and soffit girth painted 18 in · Bare patches to spot-prime 32 sq ft · Railings and gates painted 19.5 ftLength of wall painted, all round 34 m · Height painted, ground to eaves 5 m · Gable walls painted to the apex 2 · Gable width, each 7.5 m · Gable's rise from the eaves to its peak 2.5 m · Windows in the painted walls 10 · Window width, average 1.2 m · Window height, average 1.2 m · Outside doors in the painted walls 2 · Timber windows painted 10 · Painted girth of a window, per length of outline 0.25 m · Doors painted 2 · Fascias and bargeboards painted 37 m · Fascia and soffit girth painted 0.45 m · Bare patches to spot-prime 3 m² · Railings and gates painted 6 m

What it leaves out
Every line the job needs that nothing on the quote reads as, with the quantity your measurements produce.
What it adds
Lines this job's takeoff does not measure — labour, removal, hire, fees, anything else — each named for what it is.
What sits outside the range
Quantities above or below the computed range, by how much, in the quote's unit or converted and shown.
What to ask
One list of questions, in the quote's order, ready to copy and send. Questions, never a verdict.

Paste the quote above, or add its lines one at a time. The reading appears here as each line is read.

Outside what this takeoff measures

Nothing in the reading measures these. Whether the quote covers each is worth asking in its own right: a scope missing from a quote tends to become a cost after work has started. Why each is left out is on the takeoff.

Replace a sill, frame, door, fascia board, bargeboard or length of trim too far gone to splice
Re-render a wall, or patch it beyond the hollow areas tapped out
Roofline replacement
The lead test's method and its result, and the lead abatement itself where the test finds lead
Paint on the gutters, downpipes (downspouts) and hoppers, cast iron or not, and on shutters, the porch ceiling, the chimney stack, the roof, fences, sheds, decks and paths
Reglazing
The colour itself, and any permission a new colour needs where the house is listed, where the area's planning rules control it, or where a homeowners' association sets the colours

The reference

Every line the reading looks for

For Length of wall painted, all round 110 ft · Height painted, ground to eaves 16.5 ft · Gable walls painted to the apex 2 · Gable width, each 25 ft · Gable's rise from the eaves to its peak 8 ft · Windows in the painted walls 10 · Window width, average 4 ft · Window height, average 4 ft · Outside doors in the painted walls 2 · Timber windows painted 10 · Painted girth of a window, per length of outline 9.75 in · Doors painted 2 · Fascias and bargeboards painted 120 ft · Fascia and soffit girth painted 18 in · Bare patches to spot-prime 32 sq ft · Railings and gates painted 19.5 ftLength of wall painted, all round 34 m · Height painted, ground to eaves 5 m · Gable walls painted to the apex 2 · Gable width, each 7.5 m · Gable's rise from the eaves to its peak 2.5 m · Windows in the painted walls 10 · Window width, average 1.2 m · Window height, average 1.2 m · Outside doors in the painted walls 2 · Timber windows painted 10 · Painted girth of a window, per length of outline 0.25 m · Doors painted 2 · Fascias and bargeboards painted 37 m · Fascia and soffit girth painted 0.45 m · Bare patches to spot-prime 3 m² · Railings and gates painted 6 m. Each is the calculator linked under it, run with those measurements; a range is that calculator at both ends of one choice, not a margin for error.

Primer (spot prime) on bare timber, metal and filler
0.5–0.57 gallons
Primer is bought by the can, and new board soaks up more of it than a painted wall. 0.5 net, 0.57 with 15% added.
Open the Paint Primer Calculator
Woodwork undercoat and gloss (trim enamel): doors, windows, sills, fascias, soffits and bargeboards
1.82–2.09 gal
Trim paint is bought by the tin, and brushing edges, mouldings and sashes loses more to the brush and the kettle than rolling a wall does. 1.82 net, 2.09 with 15% added.
Open the Woodwork Paint Calculator
Masonry or siding paint on the walls and gables
12.5–14.4 gallons
Paint is bought by the can, and rough or weathered cladding takes more than a smooth wall. 12.5 net, 14.4 with 15% added.
Open the Exterior Paint Calculator
Metal paint on the railings, gates and balustrades
0.26 gal
One figure, with the loss on open metalwork the material needs already inside it at 30%.
Open the Metalwork and Railing Paint Calculator
Skip (dumpster) or bags for the scrapings and masking
at least 0.44 yd³
The loose volume the waste takes up; the container quoted is at least this big, and a bigger one is a choice.
Open the Skip & Dumpster Size Calculator
Ground sheets, and tape round the windows and doors
6 items
Worked out, not compared with a quote
Dust sheets and tape together, which a quote prices as preparation rather than listing.
Open the Masking and Protection Materials Calculator

Primer (spot prime) on bare timber, metal and filler
1.89–2.18 L
Primer is bought by the can, and new board soaks up more of it than a painted wall. 1.89 net, 2.18 with 15% added.
Open the Paint Primer Calculator
Woodwork undercoat and gloss (trim enamel): doors, windows, sills, fascias, soffits and bargeboards
6.72–7.72 L
Trim paint is bought by the tin, and brushing edges, mouldings and sashes loses more to the brush and the kettle than rolling a wall does. 6.72 net, 7.72 with 15% added.
Open the Woodwork Paint Calculator
Masonry or siding paint on the walls and gables
47.3–54.4 L
Paint is bought by the can, and rough or weathered cladding takes more than a smooth wall. 47.3 net, 54.4 with 15% added.
Open the Exterior Paint Calculator
Metal paint on the railings, gates and balustrades
0.96 L
One figure, with the loss on open metalwork the material needs already inside it at 30%.
Open the Metalwork and Railing Paint Calculator
Skip (dumpster) or bags for the scrapings and masking
at least 0.34 m³
The loose volume the waste takes up; the container quoted is at least this big, and a bigger one is a choice.
Open the Skip & Dumpster Size Calculator
Ground sheets, and tape round the windows and doors
6 items
Worked out, not compared with a quote
Dust sheets and tape together, which a quote prices as preparation rather than listing.
Open the Masking and Protection Materials Calculator
Scaffold round the painted walls
170 m² of face
Worked out, not compared with a quote
The face the scaffold covers; a quote can price erecting, hire and striking as one sum, so one area is not held against it.
Open the Scaffold Face Area and Hire Quantity Calculator
Scaffold lifts up the gables
37.5 m² of face
Worked out, not compared with a quote
The face the scaffold covers; a quote can price erecting, hire and striking as one sum, so one area is not held against it.
Open the Scaffold Face Area and Hire Quantity Calculator

How the ranges are taken

Where the choice is cutting waste, the ends are the site’s own allowances: 5%, the tight buffer of a crew with a planned set-out, and 15%, the wider one a first-timer orders. Where the calculator decides between patterns or materials, the ends are the options it offers. Where it adds nothing for loss, the range runs from the net quantity to 15% over it.

A minimum — the fewest hangers a spacing allows, the least airflow a room needs — has no upper end. A single figure carries an allowance the material itself needs, such as a lap, and names it.

What a reading like this cannot see

It does not know your prices, your market, or what the work ought to cost.
It does not know the building — the access, the condition of what is there, or what has to happen first.
It cannot check a lump sum, because there is no quantity in one.
A line it reads as missing may be priced under another name. A quantity outside the range is not evidence of anything. Each is a reason to ask a question.
Two quotes are not comparable until their scopes are.
It is not advice, and it is no substitute for a second quote.

The full takeoff

Every quantity for this job, with its working

The Exterior repaint of a house takeoff runs the same calculators on the same measurements and shows what sits under each line here.

Open the takeoff Every quote check

Base, allowance, order
Each line's quantity before and after its allowance, and what to buy.
Every allowance editable
Change a waste figure and the order follows, with its source named.
Into a project
Add the whole job to a workspace with your own prices.

Frequently asked questions

What quantities does an exterior repaint job need?: It depends on the measurements, so this page asks for yours. At the size it opens on — Length of wall painted, all round 34 m · Height painted, ground to eaves 5 m · Gable walls painted to the apex 2 · Gable width, each 7.5 m · Gable's rise from the eaves to its peak 2.5 m · Windows in the painted walls 10 · Window width, average 1.2 m · Window height, average 1.2 m · Outside doors in the painted walls 2 · Timber windows painted 10 · Painted girth of a window, per length of outline 0.25 m · Doors painted 2 · Fascias and bargeboards painted 37 m · Fascia and soffit girth painted 0.45 m · Bare patches to spot-prime 3 m² · Railings and gates painted 6 m — the lines come to: Primer (spot prime) on bare timber, metal and filler, 1.89–2.18 L; Woodwork undercoat and gloss (trim enamel): doors, windows, sills, fascias, soffits and bargeboards, 6.72–7.72 L; Masonry or siding paint on the walls and gables, 47.3–54.4 L; Metal paint on the railings, gates and balustrades, 0.96 L; Skip (dumpster) or bags for the scrapings and masking, 0.34 m³. In imperial units — Length of wall painted, all round 110 ft · Height painted, ground to eaves 16.5 ft · Gable walls painted to the apex 2 · Gable width, each 25 ft · Gable's rise from the eaves to its peak 8 ft · Windows in the painted walls 10 · Window width, average 4 ft · Window height, average 4 ft · Outside doors in the painted walls 2 · Timber windows painted 10 · Painted girth of a window, per length of outline 9.75 in · Doors painted 2 · Fascias and bargeboards painted 120 ft · Fascia and soffit girth painted 18 in · Bare patches to spot-prime 32 sq ft · Railings and gates painted 19.5 ft — they come to: Primer (spot prime) on bare timber, metal and filler, 0.5–0.57 gallons; Woodwork undercoat and gloss (trim enamel): doors, windows, sills, fascias, soffits and bargeboards, 1.82–2.09 gal; Masonry or siding paint on the walls and gables, 12.5–14.4 gallons; Metal paint on the railings, gates and balustrades, 0.26 gal; Skip (dumpster) or bags for the scrapings and masking, 0.44 yd³.
Which line on an exterior repaint quote varies the most?: The Primer (spot prime) on bare timber, metal and filler: 1.89–2.18 L for a job measured Length of wall painted, all round 34 m · Height painted, ground to eaves 5 m · Gable walls painted to the apex 2 · Gable width, each 7.5 m · Gable's rise from the eaves to its peak 2.5 m · Windows in the painted walls 10 · Window width, average 1.2 m · Window height, average 1.2 m · Outside doors in the painted walls 2 · Timber windows painted 10 · Painted girth of a window, per length of outline 0.25 m · Doors painted 2 · Fascias and bargeboards painted 37 m · Fascia and soffit girth painted 0.45 m · Bare patches to spot-prime 3 m² · Railings and gates painted 6 m, depending on how much is allowed for loss over the net figure, up to 15%.
What does an exterior repaint quote often leave out?: The reading names every line of the job that nothing on the quote reads as — any of the 5 lines the takeoff measures. The takeoff also lists 7 things it does not measure, shown under the reading, and each is worth asking about: a scope missing from a quote tends to become a cost after work has started.
Can I paste the quote exactly as it came?: Yes — from an email, a PDF or a spreadsheet, one item to a line. Amounts of money are taken out before anything is read, headings and totals are skipped, and each line is shown with what it was read as, so a misreading is one correction. Quantities in the other unit system are converted and the conversion is shown; a count of boxes is never compared with a count of tiles.
Does this check the price as well?: No. It reads quantities, never prices, and this site publishes none: an installed price moves with the market, the season, the access and the specification, so a figure for what the work ought to cost would give you confidence in a number nobody can defend. A quantity against your own measurements is checkable, and every figure here links to the calculator that produced it.