What is a coverage rate?
A coverage rate refers to the amount of surface area that a product can effectively cover. You should be able to find the coverage rate on the paint can or on the manufacturer's website. The coverage rate is sqft/gallon or lnft/gallon.
This will allow PaintScout to automatically calculate the number of gallons needed depending on the room's dimensions and the surface's number of coats.
Walls, Trim, and Ceilings
When considering coverage rates for these surfaces, it's like asking, "How many square feet or linear feet can I cover with one can of paint using just one coat?" That's the figure you should enter as your coverage rate.
Example
A room that is 12 x 15 x 8 feet. How many gallons of paint are needed for 1 coat?
Surface | Dimensions | Coverage Rate | Gallons |
Walls | 432 sqft | 400 sqft/gal | 1.08 |
Baseboards | 54 lnft | 650 lnft/gal | 0.17 |
Ceilings | 180 sqft | 400 sqft/gal | 0.45 |
Items
In PaintScout, the coverage rate for item-based rates (such as doors, windows, etc.) is measured in gallons per item. This calculation is based on estimating how much product from a gallon of paint would be used for a single item.
Let's break it down using a standard window frame as an example. Ask yourself, "How many window frames can I paint with one can of paint, applying just one coat?"
Next, you'll calculate this by dividing 1 by the number you came up with. For instance, if you can paint 20 window frames with one coat using one gallon of paint, your coverage rate would be:
1 / 20 = 0.05 gal/item
The calculation to figure out the total number of gallons is:
# items x Coverage rate x # coats
Example
You are painting 18 window frames in the living room, 2 coats. How many gallons of paint will you need?
Using the coverage rate calculated above, you can easily find your number of gallons!
18 window frames x 0.05 coverage x 2 coats = 1.8 gallons of paint
Things to keep in mind
When entering your coverage rates, input them for one coat of paint. PaintScout automatically considers the number of coats when calculating the total gallons needed.
The materials calculated on the work order may slightly exceed your actual requirements since it doesn't initially factor in spaces like doors and windows. This aligns with the PCA rules of measurement.
A helpful guideline is to order slightly less product than calculated on the work order (around 60-70%). It's always more convenient to buy additional paint if needed rather than ending up with excess!
For any questions, get in touch with our Support Team 👩💻