Solve backwards
How many ceilings will my paint cover?
- 2 galThe example worked below
- Ceiling Paint CalculatorEvery figure is its own
You have
How much ceiling paint?
That is 2 gal(7.6 L). Worked by the Ceiling Paint Calculator at the settings below.
The settings it uses
- Number of coats
- 2
- Spread rate
- 400 ft²/gal
What it will do
400 sq ft of ceiling
37.2 m²
One room. Enough for a room about 20 × 20 ft.
Or several. About 2 rooms of the size the Ceiling Paint Calculator opens on: a room about 12.6 × 12.6 ft.
Check it forwards
- Ceiling area
- 400 sq ft
- It asks for
- 2 gal
- You have
- 2 gal
The Ceiling Paint Calculator asks for 2 gal at that size.
If you had more, or less
Around your amount
Each worked by the Ceiling Paint Calculator at the same settings.
Half
1 gal
200 sq ft
a room about 14.1 × 14.1 ft
Yours
2 gal
400 sq ft
a room about 20 × 20 ft
Half as much again
3 gal
600 sq ft
a room about 24.5 × 24.5 ft
Double
4 gal
800 sq ft
a room about 28.3 × 28.3 ft
Common amounts
What each amount of ceiling paint covers
The sizes it is usually sold in, each worked by the Ceiling Paint Calculator at the settings above.
| You have | It covers | As one room | Average rooms |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 gal(3.8 L) | 200 sq ft(18.6 m²) | a room about 14.1 × 14.1 ft | 1 |
| 2 gal(7.6 L) | 400 sq ft(37.2 m²) | a room about 20 × 20 ft | 2 |
| 5 gal(18.9 L) | 1,000 sq ft(92.9 m²) | a room about 32 × 32 ft | 6 |
Overhead work spends paint the ceiling never sees
The figure here is paint that reaches the ceiling. Rolling overhead flicks more onto the floor and loads more into the roller than wall work does, and nothing is added for that, for the tray or for touching up. Keep back a little of what you have, and the room it paints is a touch smaller than the one shown.
Two coats of white is the usual finish
One coat of the same white over a sound white ceiling can be enough, and one coat doubles the area here. A water-stained ceiling needs a stain-blocking primer first rather than a third coat of paint, and new plaster needs a thinned mist coat — both separate products that do not come out of the paint you are counting.
Sloping ceilings and beams are bigger than the floor
The room is read from a flat ceiling, whose area is the floor beneath it. A ceiling that follows a roof slope is larger than the floor under it, and deep beams, coving and the tops of cornices add surface a floor measurement leaves out — so the same paint covers a smaller room of that kind than the square shown here.
How the answer is worked
Nothing here is a second formula. The Ceiling Paint Calculator runs forwards — a size in, a quantity out — and this page grows its own starting room in proportion until the quantity it asks for is what you have. Where it rounds up to whole containers, the answer is the largest size before the next one would be needed.
Where the calculator adds an allowance for cuts or breakage when you order, the same allowance comes off here, because it is the same calculator: a stack you already own finishes less than its face value. Where it adds none, neither does this page — the settings beside the answer say which.
Ceiling Paint Calculator
runs it forwardsWork out the litres or gallons of paint a ceiling takes from its area, the number of coats and the spread rate on the tin.
Work out what to buy insteadSolve backwards
Other things you might already have
How much wall will my paint cover?
Wall paint, worked by the Paint Calculator.
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How much fence will my stain cover?
Fence stain, worked by the Wood Fence Stain Calculator.
How big a patio will my paver sealer cover?
Paver sealer, worked by the Paver Sealer Calculator.
Solve backwards
Start from what is already in the yard
Paint, sheets, rolls, bags and pieces, each read the other way by the calculator that orders it.
The calculator's own figures
Nothing is estimated twice: the page runs the same calculator you would order with.
The largest size that fits
Where a calculator rounds up to whole containers, the answer stops before the next one.
Both unit systems
Gallons and litres, square feet and square metres, side by side.
Frequently asked questions
- How much ceiling does 2 gal of ceiling paint cover?
- At the Ceiling Paint Calculator's own settings, 400 sq ft (37.2 m²) — a room about 20 × 20 ft. That is about 2 rooms of the size the calculator opens on: a room about 12.6 × 12.6 ft. Every figure follows the settings, which you can change in the calculator.
- How much ceiling does 5 L of ceiling paint cover?
- At the Ceiling Paint Calculator's own settings, 25 m² (269 sq ft) — a room about 5 × 5 m. That is about 1 room of the size the calculator opens on: a room about 3.9 × 3.9 m. Every figure follows the settings, which you can change in the calculator.
- How much ceiling does a gallon of ceiling paint cover?
- North American ceiling paints are commonly rated at about 300 to 450 square feet per US gallon for one coat, 7.4 to 11 m² per litre, and many UK and European matt emulsions state up to 13 to 17 m² per litre. At two coats that is half the ceiling. Use the rate on your tin.
- Why does a textured ceiling take more paint?
- A textured or artexed surface has more surface than its footprint and absorbs more on the first coat, so the rated coverage — measured on a smooth, sealed surface — overstates how far a tin goes. Before disturbing an old textured coating, have it tested: some applied before 2000 contain asbestos.
- Do I need a primer before painting a ceiling?
- Not over a sound, previously painted ceiling of a similar colour. Water marks need a stain-blocking primer, because paint alone lets the stain bleed back through, and new plaster needs a mist coat. Both are separate products, so they do not reduce the ceiling your paint covers.