Modern painting and its challenges
Modern house painting is quite a little different from the old based on some reasons. The introduction of special sand for plastering has not only reduced the paint consumption during painting, but it has also helped to increase the cohesion between the plastered walls and the modern water paints.
Though the water paint otherwise known as Emulsion paint had been in existence, it is believed that there had been significant changes to its quality to meet up with current changes in building projects. Unlike before, a lot of paint will be used for painting a building either because of the quality of the paint or the nature of the walls to be painted. But some changes and technics have made it possible to use less quantity of paint for painting projects.
The current prices of Emulsion paints
Notwithstanding the lesser quantity consumption, the current prices of paints are not encouraging. From a recent market survey, it revealed that the prices have doubled within the last five years. For instance, in 2013, a bucket of 4 liters emulsion paint can be purchased at a cost as low as N400 or N500. However, the same size of paint is now sold at N1000 per bucket. This implies all the sizes of paints sold today. The 20 liters bucket was selling at N2000 or N3000 in the year 2013, but currently, it is N5000 or N6000 per bucket.
Comparing Painting and tiling of walls
These changes in price have discouraged many builders from carrying out painting projects since the total cost of the painting project is almost like the plastering project. Besides aesthetics, there seems to be no tangible reason to pour out huge sum of money to paint walls that may still require repainting just a few years after. Based on this reason, some builders would prefer to use wall tiles on the building wall thereby boycotting the painting project and the expenses associated with it.
Ascertaining the Price of Paint based on Quantity
Based on the latest price increase, the current prices of emulsion paints can be specified according to the size of the container or bucket measured in liters. The most-selling and most-popular sizes are the 4 liters and 20 liters buckets. The prices of the 4 liters range from N1000 to N2000 per bucket depending on the quality of the paint. The prices of the 20 liters bucket range from N5000 o N8000 depending on its quality and brand name.
How to know the Quantity you need
Ascertaining the quantity of paint you will need for a particular area may be difficult if the individual has not previously carried out painting work. Some paints can fill-up an area faster than others though that does not imply that they are of superior quality. Some brands are very thick hence will need lots of water for dilution while some brands are less thick and will require less water for dilution.
The quantity to be used also depends on the preference of the builder. The more the paint is applied on the wall, the thicker the paint and the more aesthetic the wall would appear. So for better appearance and looks, enough paint will be applied on the walls so that some flaws can be covered. Therefore the quantity of paint to be used is up to the builder.
However, there is a simple way you can ascertain the approximate quantity of paint you may use for all the areas that need painting. That approach is to:
- Map out a specified or measured wall.
- Let the painter carry out the painting on that wall.
- Ensure the thickness and appearance meet up with the standard you wanted.
- Then check and calculate the quantity of paint used for that particular area.
- Use the ratio formula to ascertain the quantity the remaining walls would consume. For instance, if 4 liters was used for a wall measuring 10 feet by 10 feet, then every 10 feet by 10 feet in the whole building would take 4 liters of Emulsion paint. Partition the whole wall by that measurement, then you will get the answer you are looking for.
With the above method, you can get a close range of the number of paints you need for the whole building.
This will help you prevent waste of material or finance in your building projects.
