You’ve decided to repaint your home, exciting! But now comes the big question: how long does it take to paint a house? Whether you’re planning around a family event, trying to get a rental ready for new tenants, or just want to know when you’ll have your house back to normal, the timeline matters. Most Perth homes take between 3 and 7 days for a professional painting team. But that number changes a lot depending on your home’s size, condition, and whether you’re painting inside, outside, or both. In this guide, we break down exactly what to expect room by room and scenario by scenario so you can plan with confidence.
Quick Reference: House Painting Timelines (Perth)
Here’s a summary table for busy homeowners. Scroll down for the full breakdown of each scenario.
| Home Type | Interior Only | Exterior Only | Full Repaint (Both) |
| 1-bed apartment | 1–2 days | 1–2 days | 2–3 days |
| 2-bed house | 2–3 days | 2–3 days | 3–5 days |
| 3-bed single-storey | 3–5 days | 3–5 days | 5–8 days |
| 4-bed single-storey | 4–6 days | 4–6 days | 7–10 days |
| Double-storey home | 5–7 days | 6–9 days | 10–14 days |
| DIY (same home) | 2–3x longer | 2–3x longer | 2–4 weeks+ |
Note: Timelines assume a professional crew of 2 to 3 painters working standard 8-hour days. Weather, prep requirements, and number of coats may affect these figures.
How Long Does Interior Painting Take?
Interior painting is the more predictable of the two; it’s not affected by Perth’s weather, so timelines are easier to nail down. Here’s what a professional crew typically needs:
Single Room (Bedroom, Study or Living Room)
A single standard-sized room with walls and ceiling takes a professional team roughly half a day to one full day. That includes surface preparation (filling holes, sanding, priming where needed) and two coats of paint. If you have high ceilings, ornate cornices, or lots of trim detail, add a few hours.
Full Interior Repaint (3 to 4 Bedroom Perth Home)
This is the most common job we do across Bayswater, Morley and Maylands. A full interior repaint covering walls, ceilings, trims, doors and skirting boards typically takes 5 to 8 days for a 3 to 4 bedroom home. Here’s the general breakdown:
• Day 1–2: Surface prep, filling, sanding, sealing stains, protecting floors and furniture
• Day 3–5: First and second coat on walls and ceilings
• Day 6–7: Trims, doors, skirting boards and touch-ups
• Day 8: Final inspection, clean-up and handover
New Build vs Repaint: Does It Make a Difference?
Yes, significantly. A brand-new build often takes longer for the first coat because bare plaster and render are more porous and may require multiple primer coats. However, repaints of older homes with existing paint in poor condition can also take extra time if extensive patching is needed.
How Long Does Exterior Painting Take in Perth?
Exterior painting in Perth is a different beast. WA’s intense UV exposure means surfaces need more preparation, and our weather, while mostly great for painting, still needs to cooperate.
Single Storey Home Exterior
For a standard single-storey Perth home, expect 3 to 5 days for a professional crew. This typically covers:
• Pressure washing and cleaning the surface
• Scraping loose or peeling paint
• Filling cracks and gaps in render or timber
• Priming bare or damaged areas
• Two full coats of quality exterior paint
• Painting window frames, eaves and fascias
Double Storey Home Exterior
Double-storey homes take longer, typically 6 to 9 days, primarily because of the added time for scaffolding or elevated work platforms, the increased surface area, and the extra safety requirements. At Top Kat Painting, we’re fully equipped and insured for double-storey work across the Perth metro area.
How Does Perth Weather Affect Painting Time?
Perth’s summers (December to February) can actually slow down exterior jobs. When it’s over 35°C, paint can dry too quickly and cause application issues like brush marks or poor adhesion. We generally recommend exterior painting in autumn or spring for the best results, and that’s when our schedule fills up fast.
According to the Bureau of Meteorology, Perth averages around 8 hours of sunshine per day, which is great for drying times, but intense UV exposure means the right exterior paint system matters enormously for longevity.
Professional Painters vs DIY: The Real Time Difference
This is where most homeowners get a surprise. If you’re thinking of painting your own home to save money, the time investment is much larger than most people expect.
⚠️ Real Talk:
A job our team completes in 5 days typically takes a DIY homeowner 3 to 4 weekends, which is up to 6 weeks of disruption to your home and family life. And the finish quality and longevity rarely match a professional result.
Here’s why professionals are so much faster:
• Team size: We typically work with 2 to 3 painters on site simultaneously
• Specialist tools: Airless sprayers, extension poles, and commercial-grade roller tools that most homeowners don’t have
• Experience: Knowing exactly how much paint to apply, how long to wait between coats, and how to handle tricky areas like cornices and skirting boards
• No learning curve: No trips back to Bunnings, no second-guessing, no fixing mistakesThe Australian Government’s consumer guides on hiring tradies also recommend getting a written quote and timeline from any contractor, which is exactly what we provide at Top Kat Painting before every job.
What Affects How Long Painting Takes? (5 Key Factors)
Understanding these five factors will help you have a realistic conversation with any painter you quote and avoid nasty surprises.
1. Surface Preparation Requirements
Prep is the most time-consuming part of any paint job and the most important. If your walls have significant cracks, flaking paint, water damage or old wallpaper, expect prep alone to add 1 to 2 extra days. Skipping prep leads to peeling paint within months.
2. Number of Coats
Most professional painters apply two full coats over a primer. However, if you’re doing a drastic colour change (for example, going from dark charcoal to white), a third coat is often necessary. Each additional coat adds roughly 20 to 30% to the total job time.
3. Home Size and Layout
This one’s obvious, but layout matters as much as size. A home with lots of small rooms, hallways, and stairwells takes disproportionately longer than an open-plan space of the same floor area, because there’s more cutting-in, more edges, and more tricky angles.
4. Access and Height
Single-storey exteriors are straightforward. Add a second storey, and you’re adding scaffolding setup time (usually half a day), which also needs to be factored into your timeline.
5. Paint Drying and Curing Time
Between coats, paint needs adequate drying time, typically 2 to 4 hours for interior walls in normal Perth conditions, and longer in high humidity or cooler weather. Professional painters plan their workflow to minimise dead time, working on different areas while coats dry elsewhere.
How to Plan Your Painting Project in Bayswater or Perth
Here’s a practical checklist to help you plan smoothly:
• Book early: Quality painters in Perth get booked 2 to 4 weeks ahead, especially in autumn and spring
• Clear rooms beforehand: Moving furniture out of rooms before painters arrive can save half a day of labour
• Communicate your timeline: If you have a hard deadline (like a settlement date or tenant move-in), tell your painter upfront so they can plan accordingly
• Ask for a room-by-room breakdown: A good painter will give you a day-by-day schedule, not just a total number
• Plan for touch-up day: Build in one extra day at the end, a professional team will always do a final walk-through and touch up anything that needs attention
Get a Clear Timeline for Your Perth Home Free Quote
Still not sure how long your project will take? The best way to know is to have an experienced painter look at your property and give you a straight answer.
At Top Kat Painting, we offer free, no-obligation on-site assessments for homeowners across Bayswater, Morley, Maylands, Bedford, Bassendean and surrounding Perth suburbs. We’ll walk through your home, assess the surfaces, and give you a clear timeline and written quote before any work starts.
Frequently Asked Questions About Painting Service
How long does it take to paint a 3-bedroom house in Perth?
A 3-bedroom single-storey home typically takes 3 to 5 days for an interior repaint and 3 to 5 days for an exterior repaint, with a professional crew. A full repaint (both interior and exterior) usually takes 7 to 10 days total.
How long does it take to paint one room?
A standard bedroom or living room takes a professional painter roughly half a day to one full day, including surface prep and two coats. DIY will typically take a full weekend per room, including prep, drying time between coats, and cleanup.
Can painters work while I’m living in the house?
Yes, and most of our Perth clients continue living at home during interior repaints. We work room by room, protect your furniture and floors, and ensure spaces are usable again by the end of each day. For exterior jobs, there’s virtually no disruption to your daily life.
Does the weather affect how long exterior painting takes in Perth?
Yes. Extreme heat (over 35°C) can cause issues with paint adhesion and drying, and rain obviously prevents exterior work. Perth’s autumn and spring months (March to May and September to November) offer the most reliable conditions for exterior painting.
How long does paint take to dry between coats?
Interior latex or acrylic paints typically need 2 to 4 hours between coats in normal Perth conditions. Exterior paints may need longer, especially if the humidity is higher or the temperatures are cooler. A quality painter will always allow adequate drying time rushing this step causes problems.
How much does it cost to paint a house in Perth?
Interior repaints for a typical Perth home range from $2,500 to $6,500, while exterior repaints range from $3,500 to $8,500. Full repaints (inside and out) typically run $6,000 to $15,000 depending on size and condition. For an accurate quote tailored to your home, contact Top Kat Painting for a free, no-obligation assessment.
Is it faster to spray paint or use rollers?
Airless spray painting is significantly faster for large open surfaces, but requires more prep time to mask off areas you don’t want painted. For most residential repaints, a combination of spray and roller is used to balance speed with quality and precision.
How soon can I move furniture back after interior painting?
Latex and acrylic paints are typically dry to the touch within 1 to 2 hours, but we recommend waiting at least 24 hours before moving furniture back against walls. Full curing (hardening of the paint film) takes around 2 to 4 weeks, so avoid heavy scrubbing during that period.
