Like the front door of your home, garage doors provide a barrier separating the indoors from the outdoors. At the same time, both doors can be the finishing touches to a beautiful home exterior. We've gone ahead and researched the cost to paint a garage door, both on your own and hiring professionals, and other common questions you may have about the project.
Painting a garage door can run anywhere from $100 up to $700. The cost per square foot is generally between $1 and $3. Generally, the price range is determined by the cost of professional labor, paint, and size of the garage door you are painting. Of course, a larger door will require more paint and be more expensive, just as painting the door on your own is cheaper than hiring someone else to do it.
Painting your garage door can be a weekend project to add your own personal touch to your home. If you don't feel like taking the time to do it yourself or aren't confident in your painting skills, you can hire a professional to finish the project in a few hours. Whether you want to do the project yourself or hire professionals, we encourage you to continue reading as we will break down the project's cost and answer other common questions you might have.
Cost Factor Breakdown
Painting a garage door can be a project you can do yourself or hire professionals to do for you. The project ranges from a cheap weekend activity to a more expensive professional project. Here we will break down the different costs associated with painting a garage door.
Labor
Choosing to paint your garage door on your own brings the labor cost down to $0. The only investment with this route is your own time, however, not everyone will want to do it themselves. Basic labor is all you need when hiring a professional, not really a professional painter. You should expect to pay for around four hours of work. The cost depends on the contractor but should fall between $100 and $300. Remember that unfavorable site conditions can make the project take longer and cost more.
Included in the labor will be removing old paint, putting on two coats of paint, and sometimes the required materials. The cost will be higher if the contractor is acquiring the materials for you and bringing them with them. Labor costs also include the planning and cleanup of the project. There are optional costs, such as power washing the door before painting or using the washer afterward to help clean up. Hiring someone to do this will cost between $15 and $30.
Materials
If you decide to paint your garage door yourself, you'll have to get all of your materials together yourself too. Typically you'll need paint, brushes or rollers, tape, and cleanup supplies. The paint will usually run between $100 and $200 for a five-gallon tub of proper exterior paint. It will take a gallon of paint per 250 square feet, and the price per gallon of exterior paint runs between $38 and $54.
Remember that painting a lighter color over darker colors may cause more coats to be required, and other kinds of paint like wood-lookalikes will be more expensive and require more preparation. Paints come in flat colors, semi-gloss and glossy, and wood and brick lookalikes. All of them are priced differently, and you'll need to decide what look you want before budgeting out the project.
Brushes, rollers, tape, and paper can be all be bought for under $10. You'll need these to help make cleanup easier and actually apply the paint. The tape will keep you from getting paint on your house trim. Make sure to lay down a paint tarp as well to avoid getting paint on your driveway. If the paint does get on your driveway, it may require a pressure washer to get off if it sets in.
What kind of paint do you use on a garage door?
The best choice for paint is latex/acrylic exterior house paint. Make sure you choose a higher quality paint so it will last as long as possible. You can purchase a paint-and-primer in one, with a 15-year warranty. Latex/acrylic paint stands up to outdoor conditions well and lasts longer than other paints that can fade due to weathering. This is especially a great choice of paint if you're going for colors instead of flat white, as it will keep looking good longer.
Latex paint will work on any material garage door as long as you use the correct primers. For the most part, garage doors are made of metal. Make sure you either sand and/or scrape the existing paint to rough it up or completely scrape it off before applying a new coat of paint as well.
Can you paint an aluminum garage door?
You absolutely can paint aluminum garage doors. Aluminum is a common material used for exterior doors like garage doors and storm doors. Exterior acrylic paint works best on aluminum doors and will leave a smooth finish when done properly.
Most aluminum garage doors will come painted already. If you moved into your home and have this kind of door, it is surely painted already too. If you want to change up the color or the paint simply needs to be redone, you can absolutely repaint it, whether on your own or by hiring professionals to do it. The key to success is to remove any of the chipped paint, use a good primer, and apply at least one solid coat of paint to get the look you want.
Do you need to prime a garage door before painting?
There are cases when a primer is necessary to paint a garage door. If you paint over a latex/acrylic layer with oil-based paint, you will have to use a primer. Otherwise, primer isn't absolutely necessary but will make the painting process smoother and provide better bonding.
Many exterior paints come will either come with a manufacturer primer or have one mixed in. Others don't require a primer to be used. Choosing an oil-based primer will allow you to use nearly any topcoat of paint, while a latex/acrylic primer means you'll need to use a latex/acrylic paint.
How much paint do you need for a two-car garage door?
A typical two-car garage door is 16 feet wide and between 7 and 8 feet tall. Assuming it is 8 feet tall, the garage door will have a front surface area of 128 square feet. Normally, a gallon of paint will cover between 250 and 400 square feet, so a single coat of paint only takes about half a gallon. A full gallon of exterior paint will allow you to put on more than two coats of paint for a normal two-car garage door and finish with leftovers.
Exterior paint will come in all kinds of sizes ranging from one pint to five gallons. When you're buying it, make sure to get more paint than you expect to need so you can apply extra coats if necessary and patch up any cracked spots later on. Always buy more than the exact amount of paint the project needs.
A single car garage door will be about 56 square feet, and as previously said, a two-car garage door will be about 128 square feet. To save money with either, you can avoid purchasing a five-gallon tub of paint. One quart of paint will allow you to get two coats of paint onto a single car garage, while two quarts should do the same for a two-car garage. Remember to buy more than you need, and a good rule of thumb is to double it. A full gallon will be plenty for a two-car or single-car garage door.
In Closing
The cost to paint a garage door can range quite a bit, from $100 to $700. The size of the door, choice of paint, and whether or not you hire laborers to paint the door will have the biggest impact on the overall price point. Regardless of your choices, a new coat of paint on your garage door can be the finishing touch to the exterior of your home.
For some more ideas for livening up the exterior of your home, check out our articles:
How To Paint A Front Door Without Removing It? [5 Steps]
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