A contractor finds that 8 gallons of paint will cover 1000 sq ft of wall area. How much wall area could be covered with 16 gallons of paint?

If 8 gallons of paint cover 1000 sq ft of wall area, then 16 gallons of paint would cover 2 * 1000 = <<2*1000=2000>>2000 sq ft of wall area. Answer: \boxed{2000}.