Francesco Zinghinì
Author and curator of PaintingCalcs.
Author and curator · PaintingCalcs
Francesco Zinghinì is the author and curator of PaintingCalcs. This is a truthful role: I am not a licensed painter, a painting contractor or any trade professional, and I do not claim any such credential.
My relevant, verifiable competence is building deterministic online calculators (open-source Python projects) and electronic-engineering training (Systems Theory, Sapienza University of Rome) — which gives genuine rigor on the paintable-area geometry and cost arithmetic. Paint quantity is plane geometry (paintable area = wall perimeter × height − openings; gallons = area × coats ÷ coverage) and paint cost is a quantity × unit-price sum (cost = area × $/sq ft or gallons × paint price + labor + add-ons) — verified numerically on known examples. Every formula on this site shows its basis, every convention is cited under Sources, and every calculator is numerically self-checked against known values (see Methodology).
Everything here follows one rule: the tools must stay correct with no ongoing maintenance. That is why every cost tool works only on the surfaces you measure and the prices you enter from your own quotes and bills — the site keeps no material or labor price list, no regional cost database and no live rates that would silently go stale. The only baked-in numbers are stable identities (area = L × H, gallons = area × coats ÷ coverage, 144 in² = 1 ft²) and clearly labeled published typicals (coverage per gallon, coats by scenario, door/window deductions, cost bands) you can adjust to your own project.
Painting a home is a real spend, so every cost tool is framed as a planning estimate, not a bid; every quantity tool reminds you to measure your actual surfaces and confirm coverage on the paint can and allow extra for texture, porosity, color change and waste; and the coverage / coats / sheen / type / masonry references note their values are labeled typicals, not a certified spec — follow the manufacturer’s data, and the EPA RRP rule with a certified firm for pre-1978 lead paint. The aim is a neutral, free, no-signup reference you can use to sanity-check a painter’s numbers — nothing that pretends to replace a professional painter, a certified lead-safe firm or local code.
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Reach me through the contact page.