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A professional exterior repaint of a 2,000 sq ft home takes 5 days (40–50 labor hours): Day 1: Pressure washing and chemical mildew treatment; Day 2: Wood drying, scraping loose paint, power sanding, and spot priming; Day 3: Masking windows/doors, elastomeric caulking, and spraying body coat 1; Day 4: Spraying body coat 2 and de-masking; Day 5: Hand-brushing trim, fascia, doors, shutters, and final site cleanup.
Published 2026-03-01 · Updated 2026-03-01 · 10 min read
Master 5-Day Exterior Painting Workflow Matrix
75% of exterior painting time is spent on cleaning, scraping, masking, and caulking. The actual painting/spraying phase accounts for only 25% of the total labor.
Worked Example: Scheduling a 2-Story 2,400 Sq Ft Siding Repaint
Calculating labor hours and material deliveries for a 2-story colonial repaint.
For a 2-person crew, the job completes in exactly 3 full working days (or 5–6 days for a solo DIY homeowner).
How often does a house need to be repainted?
Wood siding requires repainting every 5 to 7 years, fiber cement every 10 to 15 years, and stucco/brick every 8 to 12 years.
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Sources
- PCA Standard P3: Exterior Coating Application Sequence and Protection — Painting Contractors Association