Ceiling Painting Plan

The ceiling

Room

Date

Length

Width

AREA

Coverage from the TIN

Coats

GALLONS

Perimeter to cut in

Product

Colour

Figures and rules

Ceiling paint coverage

about 350 sq ft/gal

Paint generally

300-400 sq ft/gal

Textured / popcorn

use the LOW end — it drinks paint

Gallons

area x coats / coverage

12 x 14 ceiling, 2 coats

0.96 gal — just under one

Deductions

NONE — a ceiling has nothing to deduct

⚠ Coats

TWO, unless repainting the same colour

Finish

FLAT — it hides imperfections

⚠ Water stain

fix the leak, then STAIN-BLOCKING primer

Pink-when-wet paint

so you can see where you have been

Doing it

• Leak found and fixed FIRST, if there is a stain
• Stain-blocking primer on any marks — not just more coats
• Bought for TWO coats
• Coverage read off the tin, low end if textured
• Flat finish chosen, not satin
• Floor and furniture covered — ceiling work drips on everything
• Perimeter cut in by brush before rolling
• Rolled in one direction, then across, while wet
• Working away from the window so raking light shows misses
• Second coat only after the tin's stated recoat time

The second coat is where people come up short

One coat is enough only over the same colour on a sound ceiling. A colour change, new plasterboard, a patch or anything being covered takes two — and buying for one is the commonest way to be short. The one-coat figure is shown separately so the difference is visible before you buy.

Flat is correct, not cheap

Flat scatters light instead of reflecting it, hiding the joints, patches and roller marks that a ceiling has more of than any wall. Satin looks sharper in the tin and shows every flaw once it is up, especially under raking light from a window.

Cutting in is most of the labour

The perimeter is brushed by hand before the roller starts, and on a small ceiling that edge is a large fraction of the work. It is not paint, so no calculator shows it — but it is what decides whether this is an hour or an afternoon.