How much does it cost to paint a house?
By J. James Painting Contractors. Updated . 6 min read.
Short answer
On the Sunshine Coast, a standard full interior repaint costs about $8,000 to $14,000 for a 3-bedroom house and $10,000 to $18,000 for a 4-bedroom. Outside, a rendered house sits around $7,000 to $14,000 and a weatherboard house around $10,000 to $25,000. Those figures come from our own instant estimate. They include GST and they're rounded to the nearest $100.
They're guide ranges to budget with. We set the firm price after a free site visit. Below you'll find what sits inside each number, what pushes it up, and how to get a price you can actually budget on.
Quick answer: Sunshine Coast ranges for a standard repaint
For a standard repaint on the Sunshine Coast, the whole-house ranges in this table run from $1,500 for eaves, fascias and gutters on their own up to $25,000 for a weatherboard exterior. The table shows our standard repaint ranges for a single-storey house in good condition.
| Job | Guide range |
|---|---|
| Interior walls only, 3 bedrooms | $4,500 to $7,500 |
| Interior walls only, 4 bedrooms | $6,000 to $9,500 |
| Full interior (walls, ceilings, trims), 3 bedrooms | $8,000 to $14,000 |
| Full interior, 4 bedrooms | $10,000 to $18,000 |
| Exterior, rendered house | $7,000 to $14,000 |
| Exterior, weatherboard house | $10,000 to $25,000 |
| Eaves, fascias and gutters only | $1,500 to $4,500 |
The ranges are wide because two 3-bedroom houses can be miles apart. One's tidy with plain walls. The other has dents, peeling trims and a stairwell. So our estimate never gives a single number. It gives three finish tiers, each a low to high range. A visit to the house is what turns the range into one price.
Interior costs by house size: a 3-bedroom full repaint is $8,000 to $14,000
Interior painting costs go up with the number of bedrooms, because more bedrooms means more wall, more ceiling and more doors. Here's how our standard tier splits it for 3 and 4 bedroom houses.
| Scope | 3 bedrooms | 4 bedrooms |
|---|---|---|
| Walls only | $4,500 to $7,500 | $6,000 to $9,500 |
| Ceilings only | $2,900 to $3,900 | $3,700 to $5,100 |
| Full repaint (walls, ceilings, trims) | $8,000 to $14,000 | $10,000 to $18,000 |
Ceilings are priced at $22 to $30 a square metre. Our estimate works that off about 40 square metres of floor per bedroom plus 10, so 130 square metres for a 3-bed and 170 for a 4-bed. Doing every door, frame and skirting in the house is about $2,500 to $6,000 in our estimate.
On walls we use Dulux Wash&Wear and Taubmans Endeavour, with semi-gloss on doors, frames and skirtings. An empty house paints faster and costs less. For room-by-room prices, see our interior painting cost guide or the interior house painters page.
Exterior costs by wall type: render usually sits below weatherboard
Exterior painting costs depend first on what the walls are made of. A rendered house has the lower range in our estimate. Weatherboard has the higher and wider one. These are standard repaint figures for a single-storey house in good condition.
| Wall type | Guide range |
|---|---|
| Render | $7,000 to $14,000 |
| Cladding | $9,000 to $20,000 |
| Weatherboard | $10,000 to $25,000 |
| Mixed or general full exterior | $9,000 to $22,000 |
| Eaves, fascias and gutters on their own | $1,500 to $4,500 |
Our default exterior systems are Dulux Weathershield and Taubmans All Weather. Coast-facing and canal-front walls usually get a sealer pass first. Most full exteriors take five to ten working days, and access is the biggest variable. Weather matters too. Dulux's Weathershield page says not to paint on very cold or humid days, or when rain's forecast.
There's more detail in our exterior house painting cost guide. If you're weighing up whether it needs doing yet, read how long exterior paint lasts, or see how we handle exterior house painting.
Second storeys, roof edges and eaves above a ladder are work for a painter with proper access gear. If you're pricing a DIY job, stop at what you can reach safely from the ground.
What pushes the price up: condition, storeys, dark colours and high ceilings
After size and wall type, a few things move a house painting price a lot. Here's how each one shifts the range in our estimate.
- Condition. A house in average shape adds about 15%. A poor one adds 25% to 40% for the extra prep.
- Two storeys. Height and access add 20% to 40%.
- Dark colours. They take extra coats, so they add 15% to 30%.
- High ceilings and stairwells. These add 20% to 35% inside.
- Furniture moving. A flat $300 to $1,000 if we shift it for you.
These stack. Take a weatherboard exterior in good condition, standard tier. Single storey, it's $10,000 to $25,000. Make it two storeys and it's $12,000 to $35,000. Tick the boxes that fit your place in the instant estimate and you'll see your own range.
Budget, standard or premium: standard means proper prep and two coats
Our standard repaint tier means proper prep and two coats, and it's the base every other figure in this guide is built on. The budget refresh is a quick freshen up of walls and trims. It runs about 80% to 92% of standard. The premium repaint means higher prep and a premium finish, and it suits difficult colours. It runs about 118% to 140% of standard.
| Tier | What it covers | Guide range |
|---|---|---|
| Budget refresh | Quick refresh, walls and trims | $6,400 to $12,900 |
| Standard repaint | Proper prep and two coats | $8,000 to $14,000 |
| Premium repaint | Higher prep, premium finish, difficult colours | $9,400 to $19,600 |
Two coats isn't us padding the job. Dulux's own instructions for Wash&Wear Low Sheen say to apply two coats and let the first dry completely before the second. Drying takes time between coats as well. Dulux lists a 2 hour re-coat time for Weathershield Low Sheen, and that's based on 25 degrees and 50% humidity. When you compare quotes, check how many coats each one includes.
Getting a firm quote: start with the estimate, finish with a site visit
A firm painting quote comes from someone looking at the actual walls. Here's the order we suggest.
- Run the free online estimate so you know the ballpark before anyone visits.
- For an interior, send room photos and rough sizes. We can usually quote from that, and a site visit locks it in.
- For an exterior, book the free site visit. We quote after seeing the house so the number is the real one.
- Check the painter's licence. In Queensland, work valued over $3,300 needs a QBCC licence, and the QBCC says it's your job to check.
- Compare what's included: which surfaces, how much prep, how many coats and which paint.
Most of our quotes come back inside a business day. We've painted Sunshine Coast houses since 1985 and hold QBCC licence 1281728. Colour help with sample pots is included on interiors. We work right across the Coast, from Caloundra to Noosa and up to Maleny. Check the suburbs we cover.
Common questions
Questions people ask
What's the average cost of a painter per day or per hour?
We haven't found a reliable Sunshine Coast day or hourly rate we'd put our name to, so we won't guess one. Our instant estimate works on the whole job instead, by size, wall type, condition and finish tier. For budgeting, a job price is the number that matters, and the firm one comes after a free site visit.
How much does it cost to paint a Queenslander house?
A lot of the homes we work on in Maleny, Noosa and the Buderim hinterland are weatherboard Queenslanders. A single-storey weatherboard exterior sits around $10,000 to $25,000 in our standard tier. Two storeys add 20% to 40%. For heritage homes, see how our high end project painters work.
How much does it cost to paint the inside of a 1000 square foot house?
1,000 square feet is about 93 square metres. That's close to the 90 square metres our estimate assumes for a 2-bedroom home. A full interior repaint of that size, walls, ceilings and trims, runs about $6,000 to $10,000 in our standard tier, including GST. Ceilings alone come to roughly $2,000 to $2,700.
What is a fair price for painting a room?
Painting the walls of one room comes to about $500 to $1,200 in our instant estimate, including GST. Our form doesn't ask how big the room is, so that one range covers a small bedroom through to a standard one. Dark colours or a high ceiling push it higher. A single room usually takes us a day or two.
Does a house painter need a licence in Queensland?
Yes, once the job is valued over $3,300. That's the QBCC threshold for building work, and painting and decorating is a licensed trade class that covers surface prep as well as the paint itself. The QBCC puts the onus on you to check, using its online licensee register. Ours is QBCC licence 1281728.
How long does it take to paint a whole house?
A whole-house interior runs about five to ten working days for us, and so does a full exterior. Access is the biggest variable outside. A two-storey on a slope takes longer than a single-storey with clear ground around it. Weather plays a part too. Dulux says not to apply Weathershield on very humid days or when rain's forecast.
Where to next
Keep reading
Sources
- When you need a licence, Queensland Building and Construction Commission. Accessed 4 October 2026.
- Painting and decorating licence, Queensland Building and Construction Commission. Accessed 4 October 2026.
- Find a licensed contractor, Queensland Building and Construction Commission. Accessed 4 October 2026.
- Wash&Wear Low Sheen, Dulux Australia. Accessed 4 October 2026.
- Weathershield Low Sheen, Dulux Australia. Accessed 4 October 2026.