In Ottawa, painting a whole house costs roughly $4,500 to $12,000 for a full interior repaint and about $4,000 to $15,000 for a full exterior in 2026, meaning a complete inside-and-out job on a typical detached home commonly lands between $9,000 and $25,000. On a per-square-foot basis, interior painting runs about $3.50 to $7.00 per square foot of floor area (walls, ceilings, and trim), while exterior painting runs roughly $3.00 to $6.50 per square foot of siding surface. Per room, most Ottawa painters charge $450 to $900 for a standard bedroom and $900 to $1,800 for a large open-concept livin...
Most Ottawa homeowners budget for interior and exterior separately, because the two jobs use different crews, materials, and seasons. A full interior repaint of a 1,500–2,000 sq ft home — walls, ceilings, doors, and trim — typically runs $6,000 to $11,000 in 2026, or about $4,500 to $7,000 if you skip ceilings and trim and paint walls only. A 2,500–3,000 sq ft home with high foyers and a finished basement commonly reaches $11,000 to $16,000. On the exterior, a modest bungalow with aluminum or vinyl-adjacent surfaces might come in at $4,000 to $6,500, while a two-storey home with wood siding, extensive trim, soffits, fascia, and a garage door often runs $9,000 to $15,000. Condos and townhomes sit at the lower end simply because there is less surface: a two-bedroom Ottawa townhouse interior often prices out at $3,500 to $6,000. These are installed, labour-and-materials figures from local painting contractors, not paint-only costs.
If you are only repainting inside, the detailed room-by-room breakdown, paint-quality tiers, and prep pricing are covered in depth in our Ottawa interior painting cost guide. This page focuses on the whole-house picture including the exterior.
Ottawa painters quote three main ways: per square foot, per room, or as a flat project price after a walkthrough. Per square foot of floor area, expect $3.50 to $7.00 for interiors including walls, ceilings, and trim, or $2.00 to $3.50 for walls only in a home with clean drywall and standard 8-foot ceilings. Per room, a standard 10 x 12 bedroom runs $450 to $750, a bathroom $300 to $550, a hallway and stairwell $600 to $1,200 (the stairwell drives that up because of ladder and scaffold work), and a large open-concept main floor $900 to $1,800. Ceilings typically add $1.00 to $2.00 per square foot of ceiling area, and doors and trim are often billed separately at $40 to $90 per door and $2 to $5 per linear foot of baseboard and casing. Nine- and ten-foot ceilings add roughly 15–25% to labour, and a two-storey foyer or open stairwell can add $400 to $900 on its own because of the staging required.
Going from a dark colour to a light one, or painting over bold accent walls, often requires a primer coat plus two finish coats instead of two coats total. Budget an extra 20–35% in labour and materials for dramatic colour changes.
Exterior pricing in Ottawa depends almost entirely on what your house is clad in, because prep is the expensive part. Previously painted wood siding is the most common and most labour-intensive: expect $4.50 to $7.00 per square foot once you factor in scraping, sanding, spot-priming bare wood, and caulking. Aluminum siding repainting runs about $3.00 to $5.00 per square foot and requires a thorough clean and a bonding primer to prevent peeling. Stucco and parging typically run $3.50 to $6.00 per square foot, with crack repair billed separately. Painted brick is roughly $3.50 to $6.00 per square foot, but it is close to irreversible, so many Ottawa contractors will push you toward a breathable masonry coating rather than standard exterior latex. Fibre-cement board is usually factory-finished and only needs repainting after 12–15 years, at about $3.00 to $5.00 per square foot. Trim, soffit, fascia, and eaves are commonly quoted separately at $8 to $18 per linear foot, and a garage door adds $250 to $600.
Most exterior coatings need surface and air temperatures above roughly 10°C, which limits Ottawa exterior painting to about mid-May through late September or early October. Crews book up fast, and late-season work carries scheduling risk if a cold snap arrives.
Two Ottawa homes of the same size can differ by thousands of dollars, and prep work explains most of the gap. Interior jobs cost more when walls need patching, when old wallpaper has to come down (add $2 to $5 per square foot), when there is water staining that needs stain-blocking primer, or when the home is fully furnished and requires extensive masking and floor protection. Popcorn ceiling removal is a separate trade-level task and adds $3 to $6 per square foot. On the exterior, peeling paint, rotted wood requiring carpentry repair, mildew on north-facing walls, and second- or third-storey access all push labour up. Paint quality matters too: a premium 100% acrylic exterior product costs $75 to $110 per gallon in Ottawa versus $45 to $60 for a contractor-grade line, and on a whole house that difference is a few hundred dollars for several extra years of life. Finally, occupied versus vacant makes a real difference — an empty home can be painted 20–30% faster than one full of furniture.
DIY interior painting is genuinely worthwhile for a single room. A bedroom costs about $120 to $220 in paint, primer, tape, rollers, and drop sheets versus $450 to $750 hired out, and the skill ceiling is low if you take your time cutting in. Whole-house interiors are a different story: you are looking at 60 to 100 hours of work, and the finish quality on ceilings, trim, and stairwells is where amateur jobs show. Exteriors are where most Ottawa homeowners should stop. You need ladders or scaffolding for two storeys, a pressure washer, the ability to spot rot and prime bare wood correctly, and a stretch of dry weather — and a fall from a second-storey ladder is a serious risk with no insurance backstop. Professional crews carry liability insurance and WSIB coverage, spray-and-back-roll for a uniform finish, and typically warranty their work for two to five years. Weigh the savings against the fact that a poorly prepped exterior in Ottawa's freeze-thaw climate can start peeling within two winters, erasing every dollar saved.
Labour is roughly 70–85% of a painting quote, so DIY saves a lot on paper. On a $9,000 interior, materials might be $1,200–$1,800 — but factor in equipment rental, your time, and the cost of redoing work that does not hold up.
The ranges above are planning numbers; a real quote requires an on-site walkthrough. When you request estimates, tell each painter the square footage, ceiling heights, which surfaces are included (walls, ceilings, trim, doors, closets), whether you are changing colours dramatically, and for exteriors, your siding type and storey count. A proper written quote itemizes prep work, primer, the specific paint brand, line, and sheen, the number of coats, and whether furniture moving and cleanup are included — a lump-sum number with no prep detail is the single most common source of disputes. Get at least three quotes and be sceptical of any bid far below the others, because the savings almost always come out of prep and coat count. Confirm liability insurance and WSIB clearance, ask for recent local addresses you can drive past, and get the workmanship warranty in writing. For exteriors, book by March or April — the best Ottawa crews fill their summer calendars early.
In 2026, a full interior repaint in Ottawa typically costs $4,500 to $12,000 and a full exterior costs $4,000 to $15,000, so a complete inside-and-out job on a typical detached home usually lands between $9,000 and $25,000. Size, ceiling height, siding type, and the amount of prep work drive where you fall in that range.
Interior painting runs about $3.50 to $7.00 per square foot of floor area including walls, ceilings, and trim, or $2.00 to $3.50 per square foot for walls only. Exterior painting runs roughly $3.00 to $6.50 per square foot of siding surface, depending on the material.
A standard 10 x 12 bedroom costs $450 to $750, a bathroom $300 to $550, and a large open-concept living and dining area $900 to $1,800. Ceilings add roughly $1.00 to $2.00 per square foot, and doors and trim are often billed separately.
A bungalow exterior typically runs $4,000 to $6,500, while a two-storey home with wood siding, trim, soffits, and fascia commonly runs $9,000 to $15,000. Wood siding is the most expensive to prep at $4.50 to $7.00 per square foot; aluminum and fibre-cement are cheaper at $3.00 to $5.00.
Most exterior coatings require surface and air temperatures above roughly 10°C, so the practical Ottawa exterior painting season runs from about mid-May to late September or early October. Some low-temperature paints extend that slightly, but cold-weather application carries real adhesion risk.
Yes for a single room — about $120 to $220 in materials versus $450 to $750 hired out. For a whole house it is less clear: labour is 70–85% of a quote, but a full interior takes 60 to 100 hours, and exteriors require ladders, scaffolding, and prep expertise that most homeowners should leave to insured professionals.