FAQ
How much does it cost to paint a house in Ottawa?
As an indicative 2026 range: a bedroom with walls only is commonly $450 to $800, a whole-house interior with two coats throughout is $6,000 to $14,000, and a full exterior on wood or engineered siding is $8,000 to $20,000. The variables that move a quote most are ceiling height, how much trim and how many doors, whether existing trim is oil-based, and how much repair the surfaces need before anything is painted.
Do painters need a licence in Ontario?
No. There is no painter's licence in Ontario. Painter and Decorator (Commercial and Residential) is trade code 404C and is a non-compulsory trade, so a Certificate of Qualification exists but nobody is required to hold one to paint your house, and holders do not appear on the public register (Skilled Trades Ontario, Painter and Decorator (Commercial and Residential), trade code 404C). Anyone advertising as a “licensed painter” in Ontario is using the word loosely. The things you can actually verify are liability insurance and a WSIB clearance certificate.
Does painting need a building permit in Ottawa?
No. The City of Ottawa lists painting and decorating among the work that does not require a building permit (City of Ottawa, Do I need a building permit). That also means no City inspector will look at the job, so the written quote and the written warranty are the only protection you have.
My house is from 1925. Should I worry about lead paint?
You should plan for it. Health Canada says homes built before 1960 probably contain lead-based paint, homes from 1960 to 1990 may contain some, and homes built after 1990 should not, because consumer paints were virtually lead-free by then (Health Canada, Reduce your exposure to lead). If the paint is sound and out of reach of children, Health Canada's advice is often to leave it alone, paint over it or cover it. If it is being disturbed, the method matters: no sanders, no heat guns, no blowlamps.
When is the best time of year to paint the outside of an Ottawa house?
Mid-May to early October, with the most reliable weather in June and September. Most exterior coatings need the surface and the overnight air above roughly 10 degrees Celsius while they cure, and they need the surface dry, which in September can mean waiting until mid-morning for dew to clear on a shaded elevation. Booking in February for a June slot is normal here.
Is low-VOC paint actually different?
It is regulated rather than marketed. Canada's VOC Concentration Limits for Architectural Coatings Regulations set limits across 53 coating categories, generally in the range of 100 to 800 grams per litre depending on the category, and those limits bind manufacturers, importers and sellers (Environment and Climate Change Canada, VOC Concentration Limits for Architectural Coatings Regulations). The practical result is that the products on the shelf today are far lower in solvent than their equivalents of twenty years ago. Odour is much reduced, and the trade-off is that modern waterborne products are less forgiving about temperature and surface preparation.