Paint calculator

In September 2026, makers' price lists put a gallon of interior emulsion at Rs 1,515 to Rs 2,860 for economy grades, Rs 3,660 to Rs 5,050 for standard plastic emulsion and Rs 5,400 to Rs 10,270 for premium washable, stain-resistant and silk finishes. Weather coat for outside walls costs Rs 3,530 to Rs 9,315 a gallon, gloss enamel Rs 4,270 to Rs 6,948, and a 20 kg bag of wall putty Rs 3,480 to Rs 7,400. The Pakistan Bureau of Statistics' survey for August 2026 found synthetic enamel at Rs 5,459 a gallon on average across 35 cities: Rs 5,817 in Lahore, Rs 5,757 in Karachi and Rs 5,796 in Islamabad, from Rs 4,099 in Quetta to Rs 6,500 in Vehari. Prices move with the grade, the size of the tin and the region, since makers price Sindh apart from the rest of the country, and they revise their lists several times a year.

It depends on the grade. Economy emulsion, sold in the 3.64 litre gallon, costs Rs 1,515 to Rs 2,860, about Rs 2,370 for a typical tin. Standard plastic emulsion costs Rs 3,660 to Rs 5,050, and premium washable, stain-resistant or silk emulsion Rs 5,400 to Rs 10,270, mostly in 4 litre tins. By the litre that is Rs 416 to Rs 786 for economy grades against Rs 1,350 to Rs 2,568 for premium ones. A drum of four gallons costs Rs 5,995 to Rs 10,975 in economy grades and Rs 21,270 to Rs 38,455 in premium ones, a little less a litre. These are list prices for September 2026: type the price your shop quotes into the calculator for the cost of your rooms.

A builder's published rate card for September 2026 puts labour alone at Rs 25 to Rs 40 a sq ft of wall for new plaster inside, which takes a coat of sealer, two coats of putty rubbed smooth and two coats of emulsion. A repaint of sound walls with two coats costs about Rs 15 to Rs 25, patchy walls that need scraping and a coat of putty Rs 30 to Rs 40, and outside walls with sealer and two coats of weather coat Rs 25 to Rs 40. Painters also work by the day: the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics put a painter's day at Rs 1,744 on average across 34 cities in August 2026, Rs 2,227 in Lahore, Rs 1,912 in Karachi and Rs 2,299 in Islamabad. The calculator counts the materials only.

Measure the walls. A 12 × 14 ft room 10 ft high has 520 sq ft of wall, 483 after taking off a door and a window, and 168 sq ft of ceiling. Two coats of emulsion on those 651 sq ft take about 13.7 litres with 5% for waste: 1 drum, the same as 4 gallons. The walls alone take about 10.1 litres, 3 gallons. Add each room to the calculator for your own sizes.

About 1 litre of emulsion for every 100 sq ft of wall for each coat, at the practical rate the calculator uses. Two coats on 100 sq ft take 2.1 litres with waste, and a 3.64 litre gallon covers about 364 sq ft a coat, 182 sq ft at two coats. Weather coat on rough outside walls takes about 1.2 litres per 100 sq ft a coat and enamel about 0.9. Tins state more, 10 to 16 m² a litre for emulsion (about 390 to 630 sq ft a gallon), but that is on a smooth, sealed surface.

Measure the rooms if you can. For a first figure: a 10 marla double-storey house has about 3,300 sq ft covered, and the walls and ceilings inside a house come to about 2.5 to 3 times the covered area, 8,250 to 9,900 sq ft here. Two coats of emulsion on that take about 175 to 210 litres, which is 48 to 57 gallons, with about 85 to 105 litres of primer under it. The outside walls, in weather coat, come on top.

Two coats of putty go under emulsion. The calculator allows 0.05 kg a sq ft for each coat, 0.1 kg for both, so a 20 kg bag does about 190 sq ft of new plaster with waste, and a 12 × 14 ft room with its ceiling takes about 68 kg, 4 bags. That is enough to fill new plaster. Putty tins state 4 to 7 m² a kg a coat, about 45 to 75 sq ft, which is what a smooth, sound wall takes, so set your putty's own figure in the calculator if your walls are smooth.

Most paint here comes in a 3.64 litre gallon, four quarters of 0.91 litres, and a drum of four gallons, 14.56 litres. Premium ranges often come in 1, 4 and 16 litre tins instead, so read the litres on the tin. It is not the 4.55 litre imperial gallon, nor the 3.785 litre US gallon. Wall putty is sold by weight, in 5 kg and 20 kg packs.

Two coats of emulsion on new walls and for most repaints. Add a third for a deep colour, or for a light colour going over a dark one. One coat is enough only to freshen the same colour on sound paint. Each coat is a full layer, so two coats take twice the paint of one, and each should dry for the time on the tin, usually a few hours, before the next.

On new plaster, yes: one coat of wall sealer seals the plaster so the putty and paint dry evenly instead of soaking in, and it goes on before the putty. Over sound old paint you can usually leave it out, once the walls are washed and sanded. One coat covers about 100 sq ft a litre, so the 12 × 14 ft room with its ceiling takes about 6.8 litres, 2 gallons.

Usually not. Putty for inside walls is not made to stand rain and sun, so outside walls get a coat of exterior wall sealer and then two coats of weather coat. Where an outside wall needs filling, use a putty or texture coat sold for outside use. The calculator leaves putty out for weather coat and enamel.