How Much Does Exterior House Painting Cost in Melbourne, FL?

Based on our Florida planning ranges, repainting the outside of a typical stucco or concrete block home in Melbourne is estimated at about $3,500–$7,000 for a home up to about 2,000 sq. ft. and $5,000–$9,000 for a larger one. One Melbourne franchise painter publishes higher averages: about $7,500–$9,000 for a one-story home and $10,000–$12,000 for two stories. Where your house lands depends on how much prep it needs, how tall it is, the coating you choose and how much salt and sun it takes.

Exterior painting cost at a glance

These are our statewide planning ranges. They include pressure washing, typical crack repair and two coats, and like all our ranges they assume a lump-sum contract in which the painter's price includes sales tax on materials. They don't include HOA application fees, replacing rotted wood or re-stuccoing large areas. Two-story walls, lots of trim and elastomeric coatings push a job toward the top of the range. See how we estimate costs for where the numbers come from, and the Florida house painting cost guide for interior painting.

What published Melbourne and Florida figures show

Published exterior painting prices for the Space Coast are scarce. Here's what we found, with its limits:

• One Melbourne franchise painting company publishes averages of about $7,500–$9,000 for a one-story home with trim, stucco or siding, and about $10,000–$12,000 for a two-story home with trim and siding. It calls them averages only, and we didn't see a date or home sizes alongside them.
• A cost-estimate website's Melbourne page puts exterior painting at about $2–$4 per square foot, based on a home of about 1,709 sq. ft. It isn't clear whether that means square feet of wall or of floor, so don't compare it directly with our wall-area rate.
• A national cost guide's Florida page gives about $4,000–$10,000 for an exterior repaint, with an average of about $5,750.

The franchise averages sit at or above the top of our planning ranges, while the Florida cost guide's range lands close to ours. We didn't find a full scope of work behind any of these numbers, and none of them is a quote. Use them as a sense check, and judge a real quote by what it includes rather than by how it compares with an average.

Per square foot: wall area or floor area?

Our $1.50–$4.50 rate is measured on the painted wall area, while our calculator's exterior mode uses the home's living area to pick a per-home range. Before you compare two per-square-foot numbers, ask which square feet each one counts.

To estimate wall area, multiply the length of the outside walls by their height, then subtract the garage door and larger openings. For example, 180 feet of 10-foot walls is about 1,800 sq. ft.; after a two-car garage door and the bigger windows and doors, you might be painting about 1,600 sq. ft. Soffits, fascia, trim, doors and working around a pool cage or tight side yards add time on top.

What a proper repaint includes

Prep takes much of the time on a Florida exterior job, and it's the part of a quote worth reading most closely.

Washing and mildew treatment

Mildew has to be killed and washed off before paint goes on. One manufacturer's data sheets describe a 1-to-3 bleach-and-water wash, scrubbed on, left 10 minutes, rinsed and dried, with no detergent or ammonia added, and warn that bleach can damage or discolor existing paint.

Another manufacturer's guide calls pressure washing the best way to clean stucco before painting, and one mildew-removal guide says to let a washed surface dry for 48 hours. We didn't find guidance on drying times in Florida humidity, so ask how long the crew will wait before painting, how they'll protect your plants and where the wash water will go.

Stucco cracks

Our ranges include typical crack repair: hairline cracks sealed before priming. Some cracks need more. One stucco maker's repair bulletin says a long, straight crack running through a wall with few joints may mark where a control joint should have been, and recommends cutting back the stucco and installing a joint rather than patching it. Wide or recurring cracks, bulging stucco or signs of water getting in should be priced as a separate repair; our guide to stucco repair cost in Brevard County covers causes and costs.

Repairs have to cure before they're painted, and cure times depend on the product. One paint maker's guidance says new stucco should cure at least 30 days and have a surface pH of 6 to 9, while one elastomeric coating's data sheet allows stucco after 6 days and concrete after 28. Ask the painter which product sheet they're following.

Paint and elastomeric coatings

One manufacturer says paints with mildew-inhibiting agents help prevent mildew growth on the paint film, which is worth asking about for shaded or damp walls.

Elastomeric wall coatings are a heavier option for stucco. Manufacturers sell them as able to bridge and seal hairline cracks, and they go on much thicker than ordinary paint: one two-coat system targets about 32 wet mils in total. They need a clean, sound, cured surface, and the extra material and labor push a job toward the top of our ranges or beyond. That data sheet also rates vapor permeability (how readily moisture passes through the film), and we found no guidance on what that means for Florida block walls. Ask the painter why they recommend an elastomeric for your house, and ask to see the product's data sheet.

Budget, standard and premium jobs

• Budget. Pressure washing, a mildew wash, spot-priming and two coats of a standard exterior paint on the walls, with minimal crack repair and no color change. It suits a house in good shape.
• Standard. Full washing and mildew treatment, caulking and sealing of hairline cracks, priming of repairs, two coats of a better-grade exterior paint with mildew inhibitors, plus trim, fascia, soffits and doors.
• Premium. Everything in a standard job, plus more extensive crack repair (including control joints where needed), an elastomeric coating on the walls, a color change and two-story access with lifts or scaffolding.

Example budgets for Melbourne-area homes

These illustrative scenarios use only our planning ranges and the condition adjustments in our painting cost calculator: plus 15% for some patching or a big color change, plus 35% for lots of repairs. The multipliers are our own planning assumptions and the homes are examples, not real houses. Totals are rounded to the nearest $100 under $10,000 and the nearest $500 above.

1. Mainland one-story in good shape. Assumptions: about 1,700 sq. ft. of living area in West Melbourne or Palm Bay, stucco over block, sound walls with light mildew, a similar color, walls plus trim and doors, and about 1,600 sq. ft. of paintable wall. A home under 2,000 sq. ft. falls in the $3,500–$7,000 band, with no condition adjustment. As a cross-check by wall area, 1,600 sq. ft. × $1.50 is $2,400 and × $4.50 is $7,200, which brackets that band. Estimated cost: about $3,500–$7,000.

2. Beachside one-story that needs heavy prep. Assumptions: about 1,900 sq. ft. in Satellite Beach or Indialantic, heavy mildew under the eaves, faded and chalky paint, many hairline cracks and a few longer ones, and rusty railings to treat first. The home is in the same $3,500–$7,000 band, plus 35% for lots of repairs: $3,500 × 1.35 is $4,725, which rounds to $4,700, and $7,000 × 1.35 is $9,450, which rounds to $9,500. Estimated cost: about $4,700–$9,500. An elastomeric coating or control-joint repairs would push it toward the top of that range or beyond.

3. Two-story home with a color change. Assumptions: about 2,600 sq. ft. in Viera or Suntree, two-story walls that need tall ladders or a lift, some patching, and a switch to a noticeably different body color. A home over 2,000 sq. ft. falls in the $5,000–$9,000 band, plus 15%: $5,000 × 1.15 is $5,750, which rounds to $5,800, and $9,000 × 1.15 is $10,350, which rounds to $10,500. Estimated cost: about $5,800–$10,500. The Melbourne franchise painter's two-story average of $10,000–$12,000 overlaps the top of this range and runs above it.

None of these include replacing rotted fascia or trim, re-stuccoing whole walls, replacing light fixtures or railings, HOA fees or storm-damage repairs. A real quote depends on your walls, your access and the products you choose.

Need a contractor for this project?Request a painting estimate

Beachside salt, sun and rain

Homes on the barrier island, in Melbourne Beach, Indialantic, Satellite Beach and Indian Harbour Beach, sit closer to ocean salt than most mainland homes, and that shows up in the prep:

• Wash sheltered areas well. FEMA's coastal corrosion bulletin notes that spots such as eaves and porches miss the rinsing that rain gives, so salt builds up there: soffits, porch ceilings and walls under deep eaves.
• Deal with rusting metal first. Check railings, hose bibs, fasteners, light fixtures and screen enclosure connections, and ask how rusted items will be treated or who will replace them.
• Leave stainless steel unpainted. The same FEMA bulletin discourages painting stainless steel, because a coating can keep its protective oxide film from forming.

Our salt-air corrosion guide covers distance from the ocean, metals and maintenance.

Weather matters for scheduling too. Florida's drier months, roughly late fall through spring, are easier for exterior painting, while summer afternoon storms and humidity can interrupt work; see the best time to renovate in Florida. Ask how the painter handles rain delays and put the agreed approach in the contract. If a storm damaged your roof, windows or stucco, get those repaired before you repaint, and watch for the tactics in hurricane repair scams.

HOA approval and color choices

In a community with a homeowners' association, exterior paint colors are typically among the changes the association reviews, sometimes from a pre-approved palette. Before you sign with a painter:

• Get the current architectural guidelines and the application form.
• Submit the paint brand, color names and color numbers for the body, trim, doors and garage door, plus a sample if the HOA asks for one.
• Get approval in writing, or make the contract conditional on it.

In a condo or townhome community, check your governing documents first, since they set who maintains the exterior and what owners may change. Our HOA approval guide explains the process.

Permits, licensing and lead paint

Permits. Painting is cosmetic work, which usually doesn't need a building permit. If the job grows to include replacing windows or doors, structural repairs or other construction, ask the building department for your address whether that part needs one: the City of Melbourne Building Section inside city limits, Brevard County Planning and Development in unincorporated areas such as Viera and Suntree, or your own city or town in Palm Bay, West Melbourne and the beach communities. Our Brevard County building permits guide explains which office covers which areas.

Licensing. Florida doesn't issue a state license for painting, and a 2021 state law, HB 735, generally stops local governments from requiring one. Brevard County says there's no handyman license and handymen may only do unregulated work, while construction, electrical, plumbing, roofing and similar work, including repairs, must be done by a licensed contractor. So if the job turns up electrical work, such as replacing corroded light fixtures, or structural repairs, that part needs a licensed contractor. For the painter, check insurance and references; see contractor insurance in Florida and hiring a contractor in Melbourne.

Lead paint. If your home was built before 1978, contractors paid to disturb painted surfaces must be certified under the EPA's Renovation, Repair and Painting rule and follow lead-safe work practices, unless the work stays within the rule's small-area limits or testing shows no lead-based paint. Our guide to renovating an older Florida home has more.

Estimate your own repaint

Choose Exterior (stucco or block home) in the first box, enter your home's living area and pick the condition that best matches your walls. The result is an estimate from our planning ranges, not a quote.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Comparing quotes with different scopes. A lower quote may leave out trim, soffits or crack repair; see why contractor quotes differ.
• Painting too soon after washing or rain, or over a stucco patch that hasn't cured.
• Patching a crack that needs a control joint, or painting over rust or stainless steel.
• Choosing colors before HOA approval. Depending on your community's documents, the association may be able to require changes and impose fines.
• Paying too much up front. Tie payments to finished work; see contractor deposits in Florida.

Next steps

1. Check your HOA's rules and color palette, if you have one.
2. Walk around the house and photograph mildew, cracks, rotted wood, rust and peeling areas.
3. Get written quotes that list the prep steps, product line, number of coats, every surface included, how cracks will be repaired, the schedule and the warranty.
4. Ask for proof of insurance: general liability and workers' compensation (or an exemption), plus addresses of recent exterior jobs you can drive past.
5. Book for the drier months if you can, and agree in writing how rain delays will be handled.