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Paint is the cheapest protection a home buys, and it fails on a schedule you can predict. Interior walls typically last 5-10 years, exterior siding 5-7 in sun-exposed areas, and trim 3-4 — and the honest way to judge any paint job is cost per year of life, which is what this calculator works out. Enter what a full job costs, how many years ago it was done and the expected life for your surface, and you get the years left and the real annual cost of the protection. The verdict tells you whether to book a repaint this season, plan it for next year, or relax — and it explains why the visible warning signs (fading, chalking, peeling, bare wood) are the cue to act a season before real damage starts.
Work out when your paint job is due and what it really costs per year of life — interior, exterior or trim — so repainting happens on schedule instead of after the damage starts.
Quality work on interior walls typically lasts 5-10 years; exterior siding about 5-7 years in sun-exposed areas and longer in shade; and exterior trim 3-4 years. Cheaper paint, harsh exposure and poor prep all sit at the short end of those ranges.
Because a $4,000 exterior job that lasts 8 years costs $500 a year, while a $2,500 bargain that fails in 4 costs $625 a year — the dearer job is genuinely cheaper. Comparing quotes on price alone is how early failure gets bought.
Fading, chalking (powder that comes off on your hand), cracking or peeling paint, and bare wood showing through. They typically appear a season or two before moisture starts damaging the siding and trim — which is the window to repaint while it is still a paint job and not a carpentry job.
Every tool answers instantly from our own knowledge and calculators — no AI wait, no account. Honest maths and plain guidance, always educational and never alarmist: homes are built to be lived in, and these tools exist to keep yours safe, efficient and affordable — not to scare you into spending. Results are estimates and reflections, not appraisals or prescriptions, and nothing you type is stored. Want the deeper, personalised version? Each has a $2.95 full report.