QuoteIron › Painting price book › Paint a Ceiling
One room is 3 hours and $45 for two coats of flat ceiling paint. The labor is the story: ceilings take more time than walls per square foot because of the overhead position and the cut-in. The same ceiling is cheaper per room when you do the whole house, which the book prices separately.
Price breakdown: labor, parts, markup
Here is paint ceiling, one room as a contractor would build it at the book’s sample rate of $95 an hour and a 30% parts markup.
| Labor hours | 3 h |
| Labor at $95/hr | $285.00 |
| Parts at your cost | $45.00 |
| Parts markup (30%) | $13.50 |
| Subtotal before rounding | $343.50 |
| Typical flat rate (rounded up to $5) | $345 |
| Effective rate per labor hour | $115/h |
| Markup as a share of the price | 4% |
The range: each version of the job at three labor rates
One search, several jobs. The book separates them by size or method, so quote the one that matches the site. All at a 30% parts markup, rounded up to $5:
| Job | Hours / parts | At $75/hr | At $95/hr | At $125/hr |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Paint ceiling, one room | 3h / $45 | $285 | $345 | $435 |
| Paint ceiling & walls, one room | 7h / $120 | $685 | $825 | $1,035 |
| Repaint all ceilings, whole house | 18h / $240 | $1,665 | $2,025 | $2,565 |
What the flat rate covers
- Paint ceiling, one room. Roll two coats of flat ceiling paint over one room, drop cloths and cut-in included.
- Paint ceiling & walls, one room. Paint both the ceiling and the walls of one standard room in two coats each.
- Repaint all ceilings, whole house. Roll every ceiling in the house in one continuous run, cut in and two-coated.
What moves the price
- Stains and texture. Water stains need sealing first or they bleed through; popcorn texture changes the method and has its own testing row in older homes.
- Height. High and vaulted ceilings take scaffolding or staging. The book has a surcharge row for them.
- Walls. If the customer is also painting walls, the ceiling-and-walls row is cheaper than adding two separate jobs.
Add-ons to put on the quote
These are separate rows in the same book, priced at the $95 sample rate. Put the ones that apply on the quote so they are lines, not arguments.
| Add-on | Hours / parts | Price at $95/hr |
|---|---|---|
| Seal water, smoke & tannin stains before painting | 1.5h / $20 | $170 |
| High-ceiling & staging surcharge, vaulted room or two-story foyer | 6h / $120 | $730 |
| Extra coat or block primer over dark or bold walls, one room | 2.5h / $50 | $305 |
| Mask & protect room for spraying | 1.5h / $25 | $175 |
| Popcorn ceiling asbestos test, home built before 1980 | 0.5h / $35 | $95 |
How to present it: Good, Better, Best
Offer three options on one quote and let the customer choose. Each is a sum of real book rows at the $95 sample rate. Better seals stains before painting the ceiling; Best paints ceiling and walls together.
- Paint ceiling, one room
- Paint ceiling, one room
- Seal water, smoke & tannin stains before painting
- Paint ceiling & walls, one room
- Seal water, smoke & tannin stains before painting
How these numbers are built
QuoteIron’s price book stores structure: typical labor hours and a mid-grade parts cost for each job (book priced 2026-09). Your rates do the pricing: hours × your hourly rate, plus parts at cost with your markup, rounded up to the next $5. The low, typical and high figures use $75, $95 and $125 an hour at the book’s default 30% markup. They are formula outputs, not a survey of what your market pays, so replace them with your own rate and markup before you send anything. Prices checked October 8, 2026.
Related job pages
Hours and parts are typical starting points for a straightforward site; your market, supplier and the specific conditions decide the real number. Licensing, permits and local rules stay yours to handle. General information, not tax or legal advice.