How Much to Charge per Square Foot for Interior Painting: Pricing Tips and Benchmarks
Pricing interior painting by the square foot sounds simple. In practice, it takes judgment, solid measurements, and a clear scope. If you manage an office, retail store, restaurant, or multi-unit building in Edmonton, a fair square-foot rate helps you plan budgets and compare bids. It also keeps your project on schedule without surprise extras. Below, you’ll find straightforward benchmarks for commercial interior painting Edmonton property managers rely on, plus the variables that move a price up or down. You’ll also see how we estimate, why labour, prep, and coatings matter more than most people expect, and what rates make sense across common building types in Edmonton’s neighbourhoods.
The short answer: baseline ranges that fit most commercial interiors
For commercial interior painting in Edmonton, a realistic starting range is often 1.50 to 4.00 per square foot of painted surface for standard walls and ceilings with typical prep, mid-grade acrylic, and two coats. That range shifts with ceiling height, substrate condition, brand standards, and occupancy. For many owner-occupied offices in areas like Downtown and Old Strathcona with average wear and standard 9 to 10-foot ceilings, we see a common cluster between 1.85 and 2.75 per square foot of paintable area.
Important clarification: professionals price per square foot of paintable surface, not just the floor area. If you must use floor area for quick budgeting, add a factor for wall height and complexity. For example, a 5,000 sq ft office with 10-foot ceilings and typical partitioning often translates to roughly 10,000 to 14,000 sq ft of wall and ceiling surface, depending on layout. That multiplier is where many “apples-to-apples” comparisons fall apart.
Why pricing varies more than most expect
Two rooms with the same floor area do not cost the same to paint. A well-maintained medical office in Windermere with washable paints and minimal damage is quick work. A high-turnover retail space on Whyte Avenue with patched signage holes, colour changes, and late-night shifts costs more per square foot. Variables that impact price include:
- Height and access: anything over 10 feet needs different tools, slower production, and compliance. Work over stairwells or atriums often needs scissor lifts or scaffolding and spotters. A 14 to 20-foot open deck ceiling can add 0.50 to 1.50 per square foot or be priced separately by the hour.
- Surface condition and prep: scuffs and nail holes are fast; water staining, hairline cracking, failing paint, or greasy substrates are not. Prep can add 0.25 to 1.25 per square foot, especially in kitchens or industrial corridors where degreasing and stain blocking are essential.
- Paint system and sheen: low-VOC, scrubbable acrylics and premium lines cost more up front but reduce future maintenance. Upgrading from contractor-grade to premium can add 0.15 to 0.40 per square foot on material costs alone. Sheen jumps also impact effort; eggshell and satin cover differently than flat.
- Colour changes and coverage: going from dark navy to off-white can require a primer plus two topcoats. Whites over reds, yellows, and strong blues often need an extra coat or a specific grey-tinted primer. Each extra coat adds labour and time.
- Occupied vs off-hours: night work, phased schedules, and containment raise the price due to slower production and supervision. Think museums, clinics, or retail during business-hours restrictions on Jasper Avenue.
- Compliance and protection: masking sensitive equipment, IT rooms, food service areas, and health spaces increases labour. Meeting healthcare or education protocols also affects production rates.
Quick math for floor-area-based budgeting
Many owners and managers plan by floor area first, then refine. If you have 3,000 sq ft of floor space with 9-foot ceilings and a standard office layout, a rough conversion to wall area is 2.0 to 2.8 times the floor area for walls plus potentially the ceilings. So you might budget for 6,000 to 8,400 sq ft of wall area, plus 3,000 sq ft of ceiling if that is in scope. That yields 9,000 to 11,400 sq ft of paintable surface. Apply the 1.50 to 2.75 per square foot range, depending on condition and finish standards, to get a first-pass budget. This is a planning tool, not a quote, but it helps you communicate internally before you request proposals.
Edmonton benchmarks by space type
These are typical Edmonton price ranges we see for commercial interior painting where walls and ceilings are standard drywall or acoustic tile, surfaces are in fair shape, and a two-coat system is specified. Rates reflect paintable surface area.
- Professional offices in Downtown, Oliver, and Old Strathcona: 1.85 to 2.75 per sq ft. Expect the lower end for fresh drywall and light colours, the upper end for occupied phased work or higher sheens in boardrooms and corridors.
- Retail in Whyte Avenue, West Edmonton Mall area, and 124 Street: 2.00 to 3.25 per sq ft. Frequent brand refreshes, colour changes, and feature walls add time. Night work is common.
- Restaurants and cafes in Garneau, Ritchie, and Glenora: 2.25 to 3.50 per sq ft. Grease, odours, and stain blocking push the rate. Kitchens and washrooms often require specialized primers and scrubbable topcoats.
- Healthcare clinics in Summerside, Windermere, and Meadowlark: 2.25 to 3.50 per sq ft. Low-odour, low-VOC coatings and working around staff and patients reduce production speed. Infection-control protocols drive masking, containment, and cleanup.
- Light industrial offices and common areas in Northwest Industrial and Strathcona Industrial Park: 1.75 to 2.75 per sq ft for office zones; warehouse block walls, high bays, and exposed steel are priced separately and can range 2.50 to 5.00 per sq ft due to height and lifts.
These are working numbers, not promises. They help you spot outliers during procurement. If a quote is far below these ranges, ask about scope gaps, prep assumptions, and number of coats.
How we calculate a square-foot rate that holds up on site
An accurate price begins with accurate takeoffs. We measure all paintable surfaces, confirm heights, and flag special substrates like concrete block, wood, vinyl wallcoverings to be removed, or exposed steel. We walk the site for damaged corners, water-stained ceilings, greasy surfaces, and prior coating failures. Then we estimate production rates by zone. A typical drywall office with 9-foot ceilings might see 250 to 400 sq ft per hour for walls with rolling and cutting in. An occupied clinic corridor with doors, signage, and constant traffic might slow to 120 to 220 sq ft per hour.
Material coverage matters as well. Many acrylics cover 350 to 425 sq ft per gallon per coat on smooth drywall. Heavier primers and block fillers cover less. If we anticipate three coats in a feature area, we include that material and time. Lifts, scaffolds, and containment are separate line items when they materially slow production.
We also account for colour transitions, caulking, baseboards, doors, frames, and whether ceilings are included. Acoustic tile ceilings are often excluded unless you specify a ceiling paint system. Spraying ACT and T-bar grids requires prep and masking, and overspray control.
Occupied spaces, phasing, and off-hours considerations
Most commercial interior painting in Edmonton is done in occupied spaces. That means phases, segments, and heavy communication. We create a painted zone schedule with your operations team to minimize downtime, and we sequence rooms so staff can keep working. Off-hours labour, often evenings or weekends, helps sales floors and clinics avoid disruption. This adds cost because production drops when crews work around equipment and clean down daily, but it protects revenue and patient experience. Property managers in Downtown and health districts often decide the minor price increase is worth the operational control.
Material choices: why the cheapest paint costs more later
The paint you choose influences not just today’s price but maintenance for years. In hallways, washrooms, stairwells, and kitchens, specify washable acrylics with better resin content. They touch up cleanly and resist marking. Entry vestibules face grit and salt in winter, so a durable eggshell or satin helps. Retail fitting rooms and feature walls with deep bases may need a primer and quality topcoat to avoid burnishing and uneven sheen.
Low-odour lines let us work during business hours in many cases. We can also use specialty products for stain blocking, fire-rated assemblies, or institutional standards. We line-item these choices in our quotes so you can weigh costs against lifecycle performance.
Doors, frames, and trim: small items that add up
Doors and frames are high-touch surfaces. They need proper prep, degreasing, and an appropriate enamel or urethane acrylic. In newer buildings, frames and doors often arrive factory-finished. In refresh projects, we price them per door and frame set, not by square foot, because hardware removal and protection drive the effort. Budget 90 to 180 per hollow-metal door and frame for a sand, spot-prime, and two-coat system, higher if the existing coating is failing or the colour change is extreme.
Baseboards and cove base edges require steady hands. We commonly include a single coat on trim during a wall repaint, with add-ons if you request a colour change or a shift in Depend Exteriors sheen.
Edmonton conditions that influence timelines and costs
Winter changes how we move materials and ventilate. We plan warm-up time for paint, extra cure time in cooler areas, and careful ventilation in enclosed spaces. In old buildings on 104 Street or 124 Street, plaster repairs, adhesive residue from old wallcovering, and out-of-plumb surfaces add labour. In newer shells in south Edmonton, fast schedules demand tight coordination with flooring, electrical, and millwork to avoid rework. These factors affect production rates and should be part of your scheduling discussion.
How to compare quotes fairly
Ask each contractor to list the same scope. Confirm whether prices include two full coats plus primer where required, all masking, daily cleanup, ceiling paint or not, doors and frames or not, and patching beyond minor pinholes. Ask how they will handle occupied spaces, after-hours work, and protection of IT, fixtures, and inventory. Confirm brands and product lines, not just generic “eggshell acrylic.” If the rate seems low, check for exclusions like lift rental, wallcovering removal, or stain blocking.
We also recommend confirming warranty terms. Most commercial repaints receive a one-year workmanship warranty. In high-use corridors, touch-up programs every 12 to 24 months keep a building looking fresh without a full repaint.
A practical example: office refresh in Oliver
A 7,500 sq ft professional office with 9-foot ceilings needed a colour refresh on walls and ceilings. Walls showed moderate scuffing and minor drywall repairs. Two feature walls were deep teal. Ceilings were standard drywall. The lease required night work, and the client wanted low-odour paints.
Measured paintable surface was approximately 18,000 sq ft across walls and ceilings. Because of the colour change on the feature walls, we added a primer coat in those zones. The rest required two coats. Occupied phasing with off-hours work slowed production. The final price landed near 2.35 per sq ft of paintable surface. The client avoided daytime interruptions, finished in six nights, and the finish now cleans easily with mild detergent.
Another example: retail turnover on Whyte Avenue
A 3,200 sq ft retail bay needed a fast turnover. Existing walls had hundreds of anchor holes and tape residue from displays. The brand palette required white walls, a charcoal feature wall, and satin finish for durability. Work was after-hours.
Paintable area totalled about 9,000 sq ft for walls and bulkheads. Prep drove the schedule: patching, sanding, stain blocking on adhesive marks, and pole-sanding between coats. Final cost fell around 3.10 per sq ft. Prep accounted for the jump. The space photographed cleanly for marketing, and the owner avoided call-backs for shadowing or telegraphing patches.
The ceiling question: include or exclude?
Ceilings make a big visual difference but are often skipped to save time. If your ceiling is marked, stained, or mismatched after wall work, it will stand out. Painting ceilings along with walls gives a uniform look and prevents “picture framing” along edges. For acoustic tiles, we discuss options, since spraying ACT and grids is a different process than rolling drywall. In many offices, painting ceilings adds 0.45 to 1.25 per sq ft of ceiling area depending on access, height, and method.
Colour selection that works for Edmonton light
Edmonton gets bright summers and long winters. Light reflective colours help offices feel open in low-light months. Soft greys with warm undertones or warm whites play well with natural light and cool artificial lighting. For clinics and schools, avoid extreme whites that show scuffs easily; light neutral tones in washable finishes perform better. Feature walls are useful for brand identity in lobbies and meeting spaces. We review sheen choices by zone: eggshell for most walls, satin in high-use corridors and washrooms, and flat for ceilings to hide imperfections.
How we keep projects clean and safe
Commercial interior painting Edmonton teams must protect floors, fixtures, and inventory. We use poly and floor protection, label and isolate zones, and vac-sand or pole-sand with dust control where needed. We coordinate with your HVAC schedule so odours and dust do not migrate. We also lock out ladders and lifts after hours and keep egress clear at all times. Many buildings require contractor passes, COIs, and WHMIS; we manage that paperwork upfront so work starts on time.
Budgeting tips for facility managers and owners
If you handle multiple properties across neighborhoods like Terwillegar, Summerside, or Westmount, set a standard specification. List accepted paint lines, sheen by area, minimum coats, and prep standards. With a standard, you can compare bids based on production rates rather than guessing at quality levels. Stagger your repaint cycles so you avoid painting everything in the same quarter. Hallways and lobbies often need more frequent touch-ups than meeting rooms. Build in a small contingency for unforeseen substrate issues. Finally, schedule walkthroughs after the first phase; adjust details then to avoid repeat mistakes.
Common add-ons that shift a quote
Wallcovering removal is a big one. If we discover vinyl wallcovering under paint, removal and adhesive cleanup add time. Heavily textured walls require extra material to achieve a smooth finish. Metal deck ceilings need specific prep and spray methods. Block walls need block filler and consume material. If your building has glass walls with exposed frames, masking is extensive. If you plan to reconfigure partitions, schedule painting after framing and drywall are complete to avoid doing the work twice.
How Depend Exteriors quotes commercial interior painting in Edmonton
We start with a call and a site visit. We measure, note heights, and check existing coatings. We ask about business hours, phasing constraints, access, and non-negotiables like brand colours or opening dates. We price by paintable square foot where practical, and by unit for doors, frames, beams, and special surfaces. We specify products by brand and line so you know exactly what you are getting. We offer off-hours scheduling, low-odour paints, and clear communication. On multi-tenant buildings in Downtown or Ellerslie, we coordinate with property management and tenants so each phase lands cleanly.
If you want a quick budget number, we can model from floor area and ceiling height in a 10-minute call. If you want a firm price, we will measure and provide a breakdown so you can approve with confidence.
Red flags to watch for in ultra-low bids
Be cautious if a bid skips priming on colour changes, excludes patching, or limits to “one coat to cover.” Watch for vague product descriptions like “commercial-grade paint” without a brand or line. If doors and frames are “by others,” confirm who owns that work. If ceiling work is excluded but cutting lines are on the painter, ask how they will protect ceilings from roller and brush marks. Low bids often leave these items out and lead to change orders. The cheapest number at award is not the least expensive project at the end.
Maintenance and touch-up strategy
Your space will wear. Build a plan for maintenance. Keep a labelled touch-up kit with small quantities of each colour, sheen, and product line used. Store it in a climate-stable room, not a cold mechanical space. Schedule touch-ups in high-traffic areas every six to twelve months. In retail and healthcare, shorter cycles keep spaces looking fresh. In offices, a two-year cycle often works. Good records save time and money when you do a larger repaint later.
How to request a quote that comes back accurate
Provide a floor plan, ceiling heights, photos of problem areas, and your target timeline. Note brand colour requirements, access limits, and off-hours needs. Include whether you need ceilings, doors, frames, and baseboards painted. If your space is in a tower Downtown, let us know about elevator access, loading dock times, and any building rules. The more we know, the tighter the estimate and the smoother the schedule.
Local context: where we work and what we know
We serve commercial interior painting across Edmonton, including Downtown, Whyte Avenue, West Edmonton, Summerside, Windermere, Mill Woods, St. Albert, and Sherwood Park. Each pocket has its quirks. Older brick and plaster buildings in Old Strathcona need different prep than new tilt-up spaces in south Edmonton. Snow loads, salt, and long winters change how vestibules and stairwells wear. We specify coatings that hold up to local conditions, and we plan work windows around your business cycles.
Bottom line: the rate is a number, the result is value
Price per square foot is a tool for budgeting. The real value is a clean, durable finish, delivered on schedule with minimal disruption. Expect most commercial interior painting in Edmonton to land between 1.50 and 4.00 per square foot of paintable surface, with typical offices clustering 1.85 to 2.75. Conditions, coatings, height, and occupancy shift the rate. A good estimator explains those shifts and shows the math.
If you need a firm number for your Edmonton property, reach out. Depend Exteriors can walk your site, build a clear scope, and give you a fair, transparent price for commercial interior painting Edmonton businesses trust. Call us to schedule a visit or send your floor plan and photos. We will return a detailed proposal and a schedule that respects your operations.
Depend Exteriors provides commercial and residential stucco services in Edmonton, AB. Our team handles stucco repair, stucco replacement, and masonry repair for homes and businesses across the city and surrounding areas. We work on exterior surfaces to restore appearance, improve durability, and protect buildings from the elements. Our services cover projects of all sizes with reliable workmanship and clear communication from start to finish. If you need Edmonton stucco repair or masonry work, Depend Exteriors is ready to help.