I would get the second coat because it always makes a big difference to me. Always. Never looked at one coat with a primer and thought it was done. But I am picky.

Depends on the finish really. You will gain absolutely nothing with additional coats of flat finish. Once you have achieved complete color coverage, you are done. Sometimes though with flat if you are painting over a shiny finish, that shine will push through the first coat and you will need to apply another coat to completely cover that up. It's really the same deal with painting over a shiny primer. Look at the paint once the first coat is done and if it looks good, no more coats is necessary. With a washable finish (eggshell, satin, semi gloss), two coats is usually best. I will only try to get away with one coat if the color is very similar and the paint that is on the wall is of the same brand. We do two coats of a washable paint because this is when the paint will perform best and the sheen across the entire surface will be even. Two coats gives the proper film build which you want for maximum durability.

Sophie, what do you mean exactly by prep? Do you mean the sanding and priming? The priming part was actually done by my GC's team. I have a GC that I have a contract with, and his team built my whole house, but painting was not part of his contract. He primed the whole house, but that was extra for me.

My painter gave me a flat rate to paint the whole house (interior only). And he isn't going to charge me extra to do the second coat. He just said that I would need to get more paint if I want him to do a second coat. He will sand and caulk, because apparently my GC left some walls pretty rough. The only thing I need to provide is paint.

I'm not there on a daily basis to see the work being done, so I can't speak to his technique or anything. But my GC is still in the house to finish up, and my GC said that he's doing a good job and took down his number in case he wants my painter to do future jobs for him.

I'm asking specifically about the ceiling only, because it's a white ultra flat finish. I know for sure I would like the walls with 2 coats, because it is color and either matte/eggshell finish.

Paintguy - thanks! I will check with my GC to see what finish he used for the primer. The ceiling paint I provided my painter is ultra flat finish with BM ceiling paint. I'm going to do the trims in semi-gloss and walls in either matte or eggshell finish. The walls and trims will definitely be two coats.

Another question:

For matte or eggshell, which would be easier to touch up later? I have little kids and pets, and I'm expecting them to scuff up my walls a lot. My toddler loves to color my walls regardless of what I say. And I'm expecting my baby to do the same in another year.

You selected the best paint for ceiling, we use it, and I love how it blend everything. 13 gallons it is a lot! We used 4 for 2,000sf first floor. So if you have 7,000sf 13 gallons would make sense and week is not slow. But if you have 3,000sf, you painter might getting his $ in paint too...

4 gallons for 2000sf??? I’m a little more than that only. I think I’m around 2500 but let me double check. Before I start going nuts over it, can someone please explain to me if there are situation where so much paint is needed?

Also, I made a mistake. It was 11 gallons, not 13. But still, it is a lot more than 4 gallons.

Sofikbr- are you able to do 2 coats on the ceiling with 4 gallons of paint?

Average coverage for a gallon is 400-500 sf. If a lot more paint than that is being used, I’d suspect the builders prime coat was inadequate.

11 gallons for 2500sq. of ceiling over primer? Even for a first coat,new build that sounds like a lot. I usually figure about 350sq.ft. for a first coat but I've never used that specific BM product.How much do they say it covers?

It says on the can 400-450 sf per gallon. I don’t know why he is using so much paint. I’m going to ask my GC for an opinion.

We just did one coat as our ceiling was painted before with not as good paint. But I would question heavier coverage as it is ceiling, not like you can put heavy coat of paint there... On another hand it is not enough to tell your handyman to stop stealing. Just consider that his work will be too expensive if he continues this way. I also would agree that week is long for one coat on 2,500 sf. Ours was done in two days. For walls I would select mate, it is the best finish, it is washable but doesn't have shine.

If the ceiling sucked up paint at that rate, and it certainly could be doing so, I would be more,not less, inclined to have him put a second coat on. Because I hate repainting with a passion.

Always two coats - always. I don't care who you are or how long you've been painting, everybody misses spots on the first pass. No one gets the first coat on 100%. You need the second coat just to ensure even application.

I don't understand not doing a second coat. The prep has already been done, furniture moved, set up to do it, you're already committed to painting. Just get it done. Do it right.

I couldn't reach my GC yet to get an opinion from him. And I don't want to jump to any conclusion. I have to put a lot of trust on all the trades, because I'm not there on a daily basis to check on work. I was thinking...could it be that he is using the wrong brush? Maybe some brush picks up more paint than others?

Not his brush or roller,most likely that new ceiling could have used a second primer coat. I would not jump to the conclusion that you are being cheated. Your GC should know.

Sofikbr - 2 days only? That's so fast! Was it a team or just one guy?

This might be a dumb question: I can't find on the can whether the 400-450 sf coverage per gallon is based on one coat coverage or two coats coverage. I'm going to assume one coat, but two coats seem to be the standard, so I don't want to guess.

For example, if I want to paint 400 sf and want to do two coats, does that mean I can just get one gallon? Or 2 gallons? I asked the guy at the BM store this, and he said one gallon is enough. But why doesn't the can say based on 2 coats?

The gallon is estimated to cover 400 sq. ft. once. One coat of 400sq. ft. or 2 coats on 200 sq ft. Know that often those estimates are a tad generous. Different variables at play. And,be aware that the very first time something is painted it will suckup more product. Good news is that the second coat on new or old surfaces uses less. That is why a good primer is your friend.

Thanks for clarification, Holly!

I can't get over the fact that it took a week to apply 13 gallons!

Hes makin a career out of it.

In general, how long is needed for ONE guy to paint the whole 2500 sf ceiling in? I thought one week was fine before I saw sofikbr’s comments. I have never needed anything painted previously, so no experience to draw from.

I just had my bedroom painted (walls only). There were 3 guys and they painted the bedroom, bathroom and closet two coats in 4 hours. A week for your ceilings sounds excessive. I’m also about to have the rest of the interior walls painted (about 1600 sq ft) and they said it would take 2-3 days

If the ceilings were primed and prepped correctly, a second coat takes about half the paint, and half the time! And looks twice as good as a single coat.

Word to the wise? Even the best GC 's know next to nothing about paint. They hate paint, its nothing more than a necessary pain to most of them. Good painters know paint. If he's making a career of a ceiling? Not a good painter.

It really depends on the primer. It could be that the 'primer' isn't even a primer at all. It could be flat paint. It could also be PVA, which is such a cheap primer that painting over it may seem like you are painting over flat paint. The cheaper the primer, the more paint you will use painting over it. The best way to paint a ceiling is one coat primer, one coat flat. One coat primer, two coats flat is a waste of time and a waste of money and the ceiling is not going to look the best because you are painting over flat on that second coat, which is a porous surface that will take the most paint. The second coat requiring less paint only applies to washable finishes. Also, when the label of a paint can tells you how much square feet per gallon, that is for one coat.

Primer and two coats of finish is the minimum paint job.

I painted my ceilings (1800sf) myself and I used about 5 gallons of paint and it took me about 1 week, and that wasn't working 8 hours a day either! Mostly 1 coat but in areas I did have to put two...that is included in the 5 gallons. I am not a professional painter either. As long as you aren't paying for his time, no big deal.

I would be more concerned with WTH is he doing with all that paint??? If he only did one coat on previously primed ceiling, it sounds like you may be buying the paint for his next job too.

He’s getting paid by the hour too. So maybe there was a reason his original quote was the low one. He’s making the numbers up in other ways.

Two coats.

Hi Sophie, no it’s a flat rate. not hourly.