Whether to paint it yourself comes down to scope, height, wall condition and your time. Paint it yourself when the job is a room or two, the walls are in fair shape, the colour change is modest and you have the weekends to spare. Hire a painter when the job is a whole floor or house, involves stairwells, high ceilings or the exterior, needs real wall repair or a big colour change, or when your time is worth more than the money you'd save.
You can also split the job: paint the bedrooms yourself and hire out the hard parts. Here's how to decide, room by room.
What the job involves, whoever does it
Painting a room well is the same seven steps for a pro or for you, from planning and prep through two coats. They are laid out in How long an interior repaint takes, room by room.
Paint makers recommend at least two coats. One paint maker estimates two to three days for one room, counting drying time. Latex paint takes 2 to 3 weeks to fully cure, so go easy on fresh walls for a while.
How much paint: paint makers' data sheets list about 350–450 sq ft per gallon (about 33–42 m² per 3.79 L can). Here is a worked example. A 12 × 12 ft bedroom with 8 ft ceilings has about 384 sq ft (about 36 m²) of wall. Two coats is about 770 sq ft (about 71 m²), so buy two gallons, plus more for the ceiling and trim.
The decision, factor by factor
| Factor | Leans DIY | Leans hiring |
|---|---|---|
| Scope | One or two rooms | A whole floor, the whole house, or the exterior |
| Height | Standard 8 ft (2.4 m) walls | Stairwells, vaulted ceilings, a second storey outside |
| Wall condition | A few nail holes | Cracks, peeling paint, water stains, glossy surfaces that need sanding |
| Colour change | Close to the current colour | Dark to light, or a bold new colour that may need primer |
| Detail | Flat wall areas | Lots of trim and doors, murals, specialty finishes |
| Your time | Free weekends, and you enjoy the work | You'd rather not give up weeks of evenings |
| Living in it | One room out of use is fine | The household can't live in a work zone for weeks |
If most of your answers fall in the left column, a weekend and a trip to the paint store will do it. If several fall on the right, get quotes.
What DIY really costs
- Supplies: paint and primer, brushes, rollers and covers, a tray, painter's tape, drop cloths, spackle, caulk, sandpaper, and a ladder or extension pole. Ask at the paint store for a list sized to your rooms.
- Height: work from a ladder only where you can set it level and stable; hire out anything you can't reach that way.
- Time: two to three days per room, by one paint maker's estimate. That becomes weeks for a house.
- Prep you can't skip: paint makers' data sheets say to scrape and sand peeling paint to a sound surface and to sand glossy surfaces dull before painting. If your home is older, its paint may contain lead. Read Health Canada's advice on lead-based paint before anyone scrapes or sands. New paint can only hold as well as the surface under it.
- Redo risk: lap marks, paint bleeding under tape, and drips on floors. Fixing them costs another weekend.
What hiring really costs
Prices vary with your home, the scope and the condition of the walls, so the only honest number is a written quote. When you compare quotes, compare like with like. Each quote should state:
- Which surfaces (walls, ceilings, trim, doors) and which rooms
- The prep included (repairs, sanding, priming)
- The paint product and sheen, and the number of coats
- Who moves the furniture, and who cleans up
- Start and finish dates
- The payment schedule
Keep the deposit small, and pay the balance after you have walked through the finished work.
Before you hire
For the questions to ask any painter, use the checklist in Checking a house painter before you hire.
The middle path
You don't have to choose all or nothing. Some ways to split the work:
- DIY the easy rooms, hire the hard ones. Paint the bedrooms yourself. Get a quote for the stairwell, the high ceilings and the trim.
- Hire for the colour decision. Choosing colours is where many projects stall. A painter who offers colour consultation can help you settle on a colour before anyone picks up a roller.
- Ask for a partial quote. Ask whether a painter will quote only the rooms you don't want to do.
When DIY is the right call
Be honest with yourself. If it's a spare bedroom in a colour close to the old one, the walls are sound and you like the work, paint it yourself. You'll save money and the result will be fine. The cases where hiring pays off are the ones above: height, scale, damaged walls, big colour changes, and fine detail work.
Get a quote to compare
Natik Painting is a family-owned residential painter established in 1978, led today by Tony and Natalie, serving Mississauga, Toronto and the GTA. Natik does interior and exterior painting, custom murals, sophisticated finishes and colour consultation. A quote is free, so you can price the hard rooms and still paint the easy ones yourself.
Call 416.409.4476 or email sales@natikpainting.ca.
Sources
- Benjamin Moore, "How to Paint a Room in 7 Steps" (steps, two coats, two to three days per room): https://www.benjaminmoore.com/en-us/interior-exterior-paints-stains/how-to-advice/interiors/paint-rooms
- Benjamin Moore, Regal Select Interior Paint, Eggshell (coverage 400–450 sq ft per gallon, recoat): https://www.benjaminmoore.com/en-us/product/regal-select-waterborne-interior-paint-eggshell-1-gallon/N549
- Benjamin Moore, "How to Make Paint Dry Faster" (cure time): https://www.benjaminmoore.com/en-us/interior-exterior-paints-stains/how-to-advice/painting-101/make-paint-dry-faster
- Sherwin-Williams, Duration Home Interior Latex Satin, product data sheet 101.68A (coverage 350–400 sq ft per gallon, surface preparation): https://www.paintdocs.com/docs/webPDF.jsp?SITEID=STORECAT&prodno=650096589&doctype=PDS&lang=E
- Health Canada, Lead-based paint (homes built before 1960 probably contain it; exteriors of homes built 1960–1990 may; don't sand or heat-strip it): https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/services/home-safety/lead-based-paint.html
- Natik Painting company facts: https://natikpainting.ca (read 2026-09-30)