Cost & Pricing
What Painting Costs in the Portland Metro
Exterior house painting costs
| Project | Typical Portland range | What pushes it higher |
|---|---|---|
| 1-story ranch or bungalow, about 1,200 sq ft | $3,500 to $6,500 | Heavy siding repair, multiple colors, lead paint |
| 2-story home, 2,000 to 2,500 sq ft | $5,500 to $10,000 | Cedar siding restoration, accent trim, pre-1978 age |
| 2-story Craftsman with detailed trim | $8,000 to $14,000 | Window restoration, three or more colors, eaves and brackets |
| 3-story or oversized home, 3,000+ sq ft | $10,000 to $20,000+ | Lift or scaffold work, dormers, extensive prep |
Per square foot of floor area, those ranges work out to about $2.90 to $5.40 for a one-story home and $2.20 to $5.00 for a two-story home. Painters measure wall area, not floor area, so treat that as a rough check rather than a way to compare two bids.
What the job involves and the questions to ask: exterior house painting in Portland.
Interior painting costs
| Project | Typical Portland range |
|---|---|
| Single bedroom or office, walls only | $300 to $800 |
| Living room with vaulted ceiling | $600 to $1,400 |
| Kitchen or bathroom, walls only | $400 to $1,000 |
| Three to four rooms, similar finish | $1,500 to $3,500 |
| Whole interior, 2,000 sq ft home | $3,500 to $8,000 |
| Trim and doors only, whole house | $1,500 to $3,500 |
For a whole interior with ceilings, trim and doors, the range works out to about $1.75 to $4.00 per square foot of floor area.
What the job involves and the questions to ask: interior painting in Portland.
Cabinet painting costs
| Project | Typical Portland range |
|---|---|
| Kitchen cabinets, 25 to 40 doors and fronts | $3,000 to $6,000 |
| Larger kitchen, custom inset doors, or shop-sprayed doors | $6,000 to $8,000 |
What the job involves and the questions to ask: cabinet painting in Portland.
Decks, fences and commercial work
The site does not publish ranges for these, because it has no figure it can stand behind. What it can say is how estimates are built. Decks are priced by the square foot and fences by the linear foot or the panel, with each side of a fence counted separately; railings, spindles and stairs should be a separate line. Commercial work is priced by surface and by schedule, and after-hours work to keep a business open costs more.
See deck and fence staining and commercial painting for what each estimate should list.
Get a range for your house
The calculator uses the same tables. Add your square footage and it applies the per-square-foot range the way the cost guide's house-size table does.
Three-story or oversized homes: leave this blank and pick the 3-story row instead.
Typical Portland-metro range
$5,500 to $10,000
The cost guide's range for a 2-story home, 2,000 to 2,500 sq ft.
Toward the high end: cedar siding restoration, accent trim, pre-1978 age.
An editorial estimate from the published method, not a quote and not a survey of quotes. An on-site estimate is the real number.
Request a Free EstimateWhat moves a painting estimate
House age and lead paint
Paid work that disturbs paint on a home built before 1978 has to follow lead-safe work practices: containment, HEPA cleanup, no open dry-sanding. In Oregon the painting company also needs a CCB Lead-Based Paint Renovation license. The cost guide puts the setup at about $800 to $2,500 on an exterior repaint.
Lead-safe painting →Surface condition
Peeling, mildew, chalk and soft trim all add prep before any paint goes on. On a weathered Portland exterior, prep is often the line that separates two estimates.
What paint problems mean →Stories and access
A second story means ladder work; a third story or a steep lot often means scaffold or a lift. That is why the exterior table steps up by house type rather than only by size.
Trim, colors and detail
Each extra color is another round of cutting in. Craftsman brackets, eaves and divided-light windows take far longer than flat siding.
Paint product
Premium product lines cost more per gallon and are usually worth it on south and west walls. An estimate should name the product line, not just "premium paint".
How long exterior paint lasts →Season
Exterior work is booked into a short dry season, late May through September. Interior and cabinet work can be scheduled any time of year.
Best time to paint an exterior →Comparing two estimates
Two painting estimates thousands of dollars apart are usually pricing different jobs. Line them up on the same items: which surfaces get washed, scraped and primed; the product line and the number of coats; which carpentry is included; lead-safe setup on a pre-1978 house; and the warranty. In Oregon a residential contract over $2,000 has to be in writing and carry the contractor's CCB license number.
Painting cost FAQs
How much does it cost to paint a house exterior in Portland?
Most metro exteriors fall between $5,000 to $10,000. By house type, the cost guide puts a one-story home of about 1,200 sq ft at $3,500 to $6,500, a two-story home of 2,000 to 2,500 sq ft at $5,500 to $10,000, a detailed two-story Craftsman at $8,000 to $14,000, and a three-story or oversized home from $10,000 to $20,000+.
What does interior painting cost per room?
A single bedroom or office is usually $300 to $800 for the walls. A living room with a vaulted ceiling runs $600 to $1,400, a kitchen or bathroom $400 to $1,000, and a whole 2,000 sq ft interior with ceilings, trim and doors $3,500 to $8,000.
What does cabinet painting cost?
A typical kitchen with 25 to 40 doors and drawer fronts runs $3,000 to $6,000 for professional refinishing. Larger kitchens, custom inset doors, or doors taken off and sprayed in a shop push toward $6,000 to $8,000.
How are deck and fence staining priced?
Decks are usually priced per square foot and fences per linear foot or per panel, with each side of a fence counted separately. Railings, spindles and stairs take far longer than open boards, so ask for them as a separate line. This site does not publish a range for staining because it has no figure it can stand behind.
Are these prices quotes?
No. They are editorial estimates of typical metro pricing for a licensed painter doing standard prep, published in the cost guide and explained on the methodology page. A painter’s on-site estimate, which prices your walls, your prep and your access, is the real number.
Related
- CostHow the ranges are madeWhat the figures are, what they assume, and their limits.
- GuideCabinet painting vs. replacementWhen refinishing makes sense and when it does not.
- GuidePainting a pre-1978 homeLead-safe rules and what they add to a job.
- Paint problemCommon paint problemsThe causes behind peeling, blistering, mildew and chalky paint.
Turn a Range Into an Estimate
The ranges here are a starting point. A free on-site estimate prices your walls, your prep and your access.