How much exterior paint for a 30×24 ft 1-story house?
A 30×24 ft 1-story house with two gable ends has about 842 sq ft of paintable siding after doors, 8 windows and a garage door. Two coats at 300 sq ft per gallon take 5.6 gallons — buy 6 gallons. One coat takes about 3 gallons.
Change the numbers
The calculator below is pre-filled for this project. Adjust any value — including feet and inches — and the results update instantly.
Gables are measured across the house width. Trim, doors and shutters usually take a separate quart or gallon of trim paint.
Your results
Exterior paint to buy6 gallons
As packaged1 five-gallon bucket + 1 gallon
Paintable area842 sq ft
Exact paint (2 coats)5.61 gal
Walls + gables972 + 144 sq ft
Doors & windows subtracted274 sq ft
Primer, if needed (1 coat)3 gallons
Gallons by siding type (2 coats)
Coverage
Exact gallons
Buy
As packaged
400 sq ft/gal
4.2
5 gallons
1 × 5 gal
350 sq ft/gal
4.8
5 gallons
1 × 5 gal
300 sq ft/gal
5.6
6 gallons
1 × 5 gal + 1 × 1 gal
250 sq ft/gal
6.7
7 gallons
1 × 5 gal + 2 × 1 gal
Where the area comes from
Walls: 2 × (30 + 24) × 9 ft × 1 = 972 sq ft
Two gables at a 6/12 pitch: 144 sq ft
Openings subtracted: 274 sq ft
Measure your own house — porches, bump-outs and dormers change the total. Trim usually needs another 1–2 gallons of trim paint.
Common questions
How many gallons of paint for a 30x24 1-story house?
About 6 gallons for two coats on 842 sq ft of siding at 300 sq ft per gallon.
