Homeowners To Feel The Pinch On Home Improvements With Increased Paint Costs By Dawn Geske A Sherwin-Williams Paints storefront photographed on March 16, 2020 in Melville, New York. While homeowners contended with the rising cost of lumber over the last year, they now have a new home improvement cost to deal with as they look to makeover their homes. The cost of lumber has climbed 300% since April 2020, according to the National Association of Home Builders, but the new pinch homeowners will feel in their pocketbooks is going to come from paint. Sherwin-Williams (SHW) announced on Tuesday that it was increasing the price of its paint and other products by as much as 7%, starting in August, citing rising costs of raw materials.