What Is the Average Cost to Paint the Exterior of a House in Florida?

Keeping up with a clean exterior home can feel like tackling a beast year over year. Between power washing your driveway or painting the exterior, your home can seem like a lot to keep up with. 

The best solution is to hire someone for the job. Now, you have to consider if you're getting the right price for the work. 

Here is a list of things to consider when finding the average cost to paint the exterior of your house.

Accessibility of Painting the Exterior

Looking at the side of your home, consider how easy it would be to paint. Here are a few things to look for:

• Roof overhangs
• Moldings
• Intricate designs
• Many windows
• Gutters
• Shrubbery
• Foliage
• Pipes
• Different types of materials to paint over (e.g., metal, stucco, and wood)

These are all factors that will determine how "accessible" your home is to paint.

Weather can also play a factor. If your paint professional is working by the hour and suddenly it begins to rain - which it always does in the summer in Florida - they will need to wait it out. This waiting period is adding dollars to your final bill. 

Ask how much your paint professional charges per hour and then factor in the materials, time, and any "obstacles" in their way. With these factors in mind, painting a two-story house will cost anywhere between $3,500 to $17,500

Materials Impact the Average Cost to Paint the Exterior of a House

Picking a paint color is only half of the job. The material the siding of your house is made of will also alter the price of your average cost. Things like smooth, rough, old, or new paint are a few things to consider.

Old Paint

While painting over old paint should be a breeze, depending on how long your house is, this may not be a possibility.

Don Vandervort from U.S. News suggests removing flaking siding with a scraper. Paint is created to adhere to other types of paint. If you want to take an easier route, have your paint professional check for any cracks or flaking bits on the side of your home.

The cost of paint removal in Florida depends on the square footage of your home. On average, you can expect a rate of $2.32 per square foot. For a 2,000 square foot siding, you'll only spend $46.40 per side.

Most professionals will also charge an hourly rate for the labor, which will add $36.59 to a very accessible house.

Siding

After you realize you want to paint the exterior of your home, you also discover that you'd like to alter the siding. While this may be a great idea to achieve the look and color you'd like, it is a long-term project for your home that deserves deep consideration.

The typical home in Florida has a more rough material called stucco. Materials like this will cost more to paint, so it is recommended to add around 20% more to your estimation. Exterior paints of a stucco home range between $2,000 and $17,500 or higher.

Brick will offer similar pricing as stucco, as it is considered a rough material to paint over.

Types of siding you might have include the following:

• Stucco
• Brick
• Vinyl
• Wood 
• Fiber-cement
• Stone-veneer

Fiber-cement and stone-veneer are considered smoother materials to paint. 

New Paint

The easiest option of painting your home is if you bought a brand new house and you are the first or second to paint the sides.

The average cost of painting the exterior of your home is $2.10 per square foot and $36.59 per hour. A 2,000 square-foot side of your home should average about $78.59 per side. This number will change depending on the accessibility of your home.

Painting the Exterior of Your Home

Now for the fun part: choosing what to paint the exterior of your house. While any color that fits your fancy should be fine, there are few things to factor in. Here is the rundown.

Homeowners Association

The homeowners association or HOA has a huge say in how often and what color you can paint your home. The lines here can be a little blurry.

If the articles of your HOA agreement do not specify the color of your home as it relates to the Davis-Stirling Act, then you truly can choose any color you'd like. 

However, HOA can determine whether or not you need to paint the side of your house - whether or not you think it is time. In this case, consider keeping the exterior power washed. If you live near the ocean, things like salt and rainstorms will break down the paint materials more quickly than usual.

Not all neighborhoods in Florida have an HOA, however. 

Faux Paint

This is a type of painting technique that creates the illusion of siding material. This is usually done on a smooth material where it will look like paneling, stone, or brick. Homeowners will do this to increase the resale values of their homes.

Exterior Paint

Choosing a color for your home is an important one. It will help you stand out, blend in, or express yourself amongst your neighbors. Get inspired by viewing a few of our recent projects. 

A few ideas for coordinating the exterior colors of your home are:

• Roof color
• Accent colors
• Door color
• Lighting
• Location
• Theme

A rule of thumb for any painting job is to use sample colors. Having the visual of seeing the color on the walls will help you decide. A tip would be to paint the sample color on several sides of your home to see what the lighting does to change it - if at all. 

Again, keep in mind HOA may have a say in which colors you can choose from. However, this may be an upside to having to choose from all the colors in the rainbow.

Call for a Quote

Now that you know the average cost to paint the exterior of a house, consider getting some help. The professionals at Harman Custom Painting care about you and your home, so we have a process in place to make sure you are 100% satisfied. We have thirty years of residential painting experience, and we've seen it all. 

Call today for a free estimate, and one of our painting professionals will come to your home as soon as possible.