Your garage door is a vital part of your home and it provides your vehicles and other items in your house with the right protection. This is why you should always give it proper maintenance. Painting your garage door regularly helps to boost its life and aesthetic appeal.
If you feel like the painting of your garage door is worn out or faded, then it is probably the right time to get it repainted. Before going for this home improvement project, you need to have a clear understanding of how much you are going to spend.
Here, we will be covering everything related to the cost of painting a garage door.
The Cost of Painting a Garage Door
There are different factors that come into play when you want to paint your garage door. We will be taking a look at the different costs of painting a garage door based on these factors.
How Much Does It Cost to Paint a Garage Door Based on Door Type?
Yes, the type of garage door you have also has an effect on the cost of painting. Typically, a larger door will result in more money because you will need to use more cans or paint and more effort.
Also, the price will still depend on the state of your door as you may or may not incur repair costs and one coat of paint might be enough. Due to the fact that most garage doors come in uniform size, it is only ideal that most professional painters charge a flat fee depending on the type of garage door to be painted.
If you have a single-car garage door, then you can expect the price range to fall between $100 to $230. If you are looking to have a two-car garage door painted, then you will need to budget anything from $120 to $500. Finally, if the door to be painted is a three-car garage door, then you should be spending anywhere from $170 to $700.
How Much Does It Cost to Paint a Garage Door Per Square Foot?
The cost range to paint a garage door usually falls between $1 to $4 per square foot, but this price is subject to change based on other factors. The actual amount you are going to pay with be dependent on the cost of labor, the quality and type of paint you utilize, and also any extra preparational work that will need to be done before you start painting.
The labor cost can increase greatly if there are things like corrosion, rust, grime, or excess dirt on your garage door, which would increase the prep work and cleaning time.
If you want to save some money, you can decide to prep your garage door by yourself before calling a professional to have it painted. While doing this, ensure you take the right steps so that you don’t cause damage to your garage door.
Hiring A Pro Vs DIY Painting
You could try to eliminate the cost of labor when it comes to painting your garage door by opting to carry out the project by yourself. This in turn would end up saving you about $25 to $100 per hour, which is quite a lot.
But it is noteworthy that you would need to have the right skills and tools to do this job by yourself. You can DIY if you have a primer, paint, sprayer or roller, and appropriate cleaning supplies. Also, when calculating your cost, you need to take into consideration the fact that you would be paying for any equipment you don’t already have.
While doing it yourself comes with its advantages, you would also see that the project takes more time and is more tedious to complete. There could also be some flaws here and there.
Hiring a professional for your painting job is one of the best ways to ensure that the project is completed on time and also done properly. You could also take into consideration the cost of a commercial exterior painter if the project is for your business.
Breakdown Of the Cost of Painting a Garage Door
Painting your garage door can either be a cheap weekend activity or a luxurious home improvement project. The total cost of painting a garage door is divided between the cost of labor and the cost of materials, where the cost of hiring the painter takes up a significant portion of the total price. We will be looking at these factors in more detail.
1. Labor
If you decide to take on the task of painting your garage door by yourself, that would see that the labor cost is absolutely nothing. However, you will need to greatly invest a lot of your time and that is not something everyone would want to do.
When you hire a professional, you would not need more than basic labor. You will be looking to pay for about four to five hours of work. It is also important to note that if the conditions of the site and your garage door are not too favorable, then the project would cost more as it would take a longer time.
The average cost of labor falls somewhere between $100 and $300, but this is subject to change depending on the contractor you hire.
The labor done by the contractor would most likely include scraping out old paint and applying the required coats of paint. You could also have the professional acquire and bring the materials for you but with an additional price attached to it. You could also choose to hire a professional to power wash your garage door before the project begins, which should cost about $15 to $30.
2. Materials
If you choose to DIY, then you will need to acquire the materials needed by yourself. Most of the basic things you will need include cleaning supplies, tape, rollers or brushes, and the most important of them all, the paint.
You can get paper, tape, rollers, and brushes for under $10. These tools will make the painting and cleaning job a whole lot easier.
3. Paint
The type of paint you choose will definitely have an effect on the total cost. Paint is the most important material when you decide to carry out a paint job. If you have a wood or vinyl garage door, then you will need to utilize exterior latex paint, while you will be needing exterior acrylic paint if you have an aluminum garage door.
One gallon of exterior paint has a price range of about $38 to $54, and you will be needing one gallon of paint per 250 square feet. You need to know exactly how many coats of paint will be required to complete the project, keeping in mind that you will need more coats if you are painting a lighter color over a darker one.
Paints come in different colors and finishes, and they all have different prices. Before making your budget, you first need to decide on the look you hope to achieve.
Other Factors That Could Affect the Cost of Painting a Garage Door
There are some other factors that can impact the price of painting your garage door. These include;
- Inspection fees or permits: Painting your garage door, just like any other home improvement project will likely call for a permit. You will need to get a permit from the authorities if you are doing things like replacing garage doors and windows, installing air conditioners, adding new structures, or other things. Most times, you might not need a permit or inspection for a simple paint job. But it is important to visit your local authorities to be sure whether the painting of your garage would require a permit.
- Garage door repairs: It is only normal for you to have your garage door free of any damage before you start the painting to prevent chips and scratches on the new surface. Depending on the area of damage, the average cost to repair a garage door ranges anywhere from $80 to $700.
- Garage door maintenance: You could save yourself some money by doing regular maintenance on your garage door to avoid damages that would require major repairs or even changing the door entirely. Some of the easy maintenance activities you can carry out include lubrication of the pulleys and rollers, correcting an unbalanced door, looking out for signs of rust and wear, and always cleaning the tracks.
Conclusion
Most people often wonder whether it is worth the cost and effort to paint a garage door. It definitely is, because that new paint job preserves your garage’s aesthetics and also improves the overall outlook of your home.
The average cost of painting garage doors falls between the range of $100 to $700. But, before you go ahead to paint your garage door, it is important to note the different factors that can affect the cost like the choice of paint and size of the door.
