How long does a typical residential painting job take in Ottawa?
- Axcell Painting
- 5 days ago
- 3 min read
Short answer.It depends on the home, the scope, and how you live in the space while work happens.
Long answer below.
Based on 7,000+ Ottawa projects.
What most Ottawa homeowners want to know
You want a clear timeline.
You want minimal disruption.
You want the job done right, not rushed.
Those goals sometimes pull against each other.
Our real-world baseline
We complete 200–300 projects each year in Ottawa.
Condos, townhomes, single-family homes.
Interior walls, trim, stairwells, and cabinet painting.
From that volume, patterns are very clear.
A standard occupied 3-bedroom Ottawa home
Typical timeline:
4 to 6 business days
That assumes:
Proper prep
Two full coats where needed
Normal wall repairs
An occupied home with furniture
Could it be faster?Yes.
Should it always be?Not if quality matters.
Why “one-day painting” rarely matches reality
Preparation alone can take a full day:
Covering floors and furniture
Protecting cabinets and fixtures
Patching dents and cracks
Sanding and priming repairs
After that:
Ceilings often take a full day
Walls and trim usually take 2 to 3 more days
When you see one-day promises, ask this question:
What steps are being skipped?
Common job types and realistic timelines
Here’s what we see most often in Ottawa homes:
One room or feature wall
1 day
Main floor repaint
2 to 3 days
Full house repaint, occupied
4 to 6 days
Full cabinet or vanity repaint
Coordinated to limit downtime
Often completed without losing kitchen or bathroom use
No job is too small.
The prep and planning still matter.
Ottawa-specific details that affect timing
Local conditions matter more than people expect.
Winter
Dry air helps paint cure well
Great time for interior work
Summer
Higher humidity can extend drying times
Exterior painting
Weather controls everything
Inside older Ottawa homes:
Plaster walls take longer than drywall
Previous poor paint jobs slow things down
Heavy wear areas need more repair
What slows projects down the most
Not the paint.
Not the crew.
Preparation issues.
The biggest delay we see:
Furniture not moved before arrival
We ask for furniture centered in the room so work can start immediately.When that’s done, timelines stay predictable.
How crew size changes the experience
We’re a mid-sized company.
That gives us flexibility.
Larger crews can shorten timelines
Larger crews also mean more activity in your home
Some homeowners prefer speed.
Others prefer fewer people and less daily disruption.
We adjust based on how you live in the space.
Real Ottawa case studies
A few examples from recent years:
Rockcliffe Park custom homes
Over 7,000 sq. ft.
Full interior repaint
Completed in under 10 business days
Garden homes and townhomes under 1,500 sq. ft.
Full repaint
Completed in 1 to 2 business days with meticulous prep
Same standards.
Different scale.
How we sequence rooms to make life easier
We let clients choose when possible.
From experience, the least disruptive order is:
Bedrooms first
Then main living areas
Stairwells and hallways last
Why?
Less furniture
Easier to clear near the end
Clients usually have less energy by that stage
This keeps bedrooms usable as early as possible.
A simple rule of thumb
Here’s a practical estimate you can use:
About 1,000 square feet per two business days
That assumes standard prep and finishes.
Your job may be faster or slower if:
Walls need heavy repair
You want major colour changes
Furniture isn’t cleared
The home is fully occupied
The question you should ask any painter
Not “How fast can you finish?”
Ask this instead:
“How many days do you plan to be on site, start to finish, and why?”
A clear answer usually signals a clear process.
If you want a project-specific timeline for your Ottawa home, click here to get a no obligation quote.
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