How do I calculate paint coverage?

Divide the area you painted by the litres you used. If you did more than one coat, multiply the area by the number of coats first, then divide.

Why did my paint not go as far as the tin said?

Almost always because the wall was not sealed, or it was rougher than a lab test surface. New plaster and fresh putty can halve the first coat coverage.

What is a normal coverage for wall paint in Dubai?

Around 10 to 12 square metres per litre for interior emulsion on a sealed wall. Exterior paint is lower, usually 7 to 9.

Does a more expensive paint cover more?

Often yes. Better paints carry more solid material, so they cover in two coats where a thin paint needs three. Two coats of good paint can cost less overall than three of cheap paint.

Should I use the tin figure or my own?

Your own, once you have it. The tin number is a good starting point before you begin. After the first room, your own measurement is more accurate for the rest of your home.

Does coverage change between coats?

Yes. The first coat on a fresh or porous wall always covers less than the second, because the wall is still absorbing. That is why primer makes the top coats go further.

Paint Coverage Calculator

Paint you used

Count part tins too. Half a gallon is 1.8 litres.

Area it covered

Coats you put on

If you did two coats over that area, pick two.

What the tin claims

m2/L

So you can see the difference.

Area still to paint

Leave at zero if you have finished.

Your answer

Your real coverage

11 m2 per litre

That is 8 per cent less than the tin claims.

Surface covered over all coats: 55 m2
Tin claim: 12 m2 per litre
For the rest of the job: 10.9 L
Gallons for the rest: 4

Measure the area you actually painted, not the whole room. If you painted three walls out of four, use three walls.

Paint Coverage Calculator for Dubai and the UAE

This tool works the other way round from the rest. Instead of guessing how far a litre goes, it tells you how far your paint actually went.

You put in how much paint you used and how much wall it covered. It gives you the coverage in square metres per litre, and then tells you what the rest of the job will need.

It is useful in the middle of a job. Once you have done one room you know the real number for your walls, and every room after that can be bought exactly.

What coverage means

Coverage is how much surface one litre of paint covers in one coat. It is written on every tin, usually as square metres per litre.

If a tin says 12 square metres per litre, one litre painted onto a smooth wall in one normal coat should cover an area 4 m wide and 3 m tall.

That number is measured in ideal conditions on a smooth, sealed, already painted surface. It is not a lie, but it is the best case.

What you get on a real wall is almost always less. This tool tells you how much less, for your paint on your walls.

Why your number is lower than the tin

Almost everyone gets less than the printed figure. These are the reasons, in order of how much they matter.

The wall was never sealed
Bare plaster, fresh putty and old chalky paint all pull the paint in. This is the biggest single cause and it is why primer exists.
The surface is rough
Textured render or rough block has far more real surface than its flat measurement. A wall measured at 20 square metres can have 26 square metres of actual surface.
It was put on thick
A heavy coat covers less area than two thin ones and takes longer to dry properly.
Waste you did not count
Paint stays in the tray, on the roller sleeve, on the brush and on the stirrer. That can be half a litre on a small job.
Spraying
Some of the mist never lands on the wall. Spraying is quick and it is not efficient.

Using your real number for the rest of the job

This is where the tool pays for itself.

Say you painted one bedroom and used a gallon and a half. You measure the walls and it comes to 55 square metres for one coat. That is 10 square metres per litre, not the 12 the tin claims.

Now you have four more rooms with 120 square metres left. At the tin figure you would buy 10 litres for one coat. At your real figure you need 12. That is the difference between finishing and stopping halfway through the last wall.

The number is also useful for checking a quote. If a painter tells you a job needs 30 litres and your own measurement says 45, one of you has the wrong area or the wrong coverage, and it is worth asking which.

Typical coverage in the UAE

Rough ranges, for sense checking. Always read your own tin.

Interior emulsion
Usually 10 to 12 square metres per litre on a sealed smooth wall. Matt tends to go a little further than silk.
Exterior wall paint
Around 7 to 9. It is thicker, it is going on a rougher surface, and both cut the number down.
Primer and sealer
About 8 to 10, and much less than that on new plaster, which is the whole reason for using it.
Gloss and enamel on wood
Around 12 to 14, because it goes on thin. But wood usually needs a primer and two top coats.
Textured or sand finish
Can drop to 4 or 5. These are closer to a coating than a paint.

How to measure what you painted

The answer is only as good as the area you put in, so measure it properly.

For walls, add the width of each wall you painted, then times by the height. Take off any door or window you painted round.

For a ceiling, it is length times width of the room.

Count part tins honestly. If you opened a second gallon and used about a third of it, that is 1.2 litres, so 3.6 plus 1.2 is 4.8 litres in total.

If you did two coats over the whole area, set coats to two. The tool then works out the coverage for a single coat, which is the number the tin is talking about.

Questions people ask

How do I calculate paint coverage?: Divide the area you painted by the litres you used. If you did more than one coat, multiply the area by the number of coats first, then divide.
Why did my paint not go as far as the tin said?: Almost always because the wall was not sealed, or it was rougher than a lab test surface. New plaster and fresh putty can halve the first coat coverage.
What is a normal coverage for wall paint in Dubai?: Around 10 to 12 square metres per litre for interior emulsion on a sealed wall. Exterior paint is lower, usually 7 to 9.
Does a more expensive paint cover more?: Often yes. Better paints carry more solid material, so they cover in two coats where a thin paint needs three. Two coats of good paint can cost less overall than three of cheap paint.
Should I use the tin figure or my own?: Your own, once you have it. The tin number is a good starting point before you begin. After the first room, your own measurement is more accurate for the rest of your home.
Does coverage change between coats?: Yes. The first coat on a fresh or porous wall always covers less than the second, because the wall is still absorbing. That is why primer makes the top coats go further.

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