Ceiling paint sounds simple, but ceilings often drink more paint than walls because they're often patched, plastered or have visible joints. Here's the right answer.
Ceiling paint typically covers 8–10 m² per litre per coat. For 1 coat on a 20 m² ceiling that's 2.2 L – one 2.5 L tin. For 2 coats: one 5 L tin.
Measure the ceiling area (= floor area). A 4 × 5 m room has a 20 m² ceiling.
Ceilings usually need 1 coat for white-on-white. Going from yellow/nicotine-stained to white: 2 coats, possibly with a primer first.
Ceiling paint is usually thicker than wall paint and covers better, but textured or skim-coated ceilings drink more.
20 m² ÷ 9 m²/L × 2 coats = 4.4 L. Buy one 5 L tin. The 0.6 L spare is useful for touch-ups after light fixtures or holes get worked on.
Enter the ceiling area and coat count – the calculator rounds to 2.5 L and 5 L tins.
1 coat on a clean white ceiling. 2 coats on patched or skim-coated. 3 coats (including primer) on nicotine-stained or very dark ceilings.
On new plasterboard ceilings, yes. It evens out the absorption difference between board and joint compound.
Not ideal. Ceiling paint is formulated to drip less and cover in fewer coats.
1–2 hours of actual painting in a normal room, but masking and patching usually take longer than the painting itself.
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