Best Time to Paint House Exterior

Best Time of Year to Paint A House

When weather conditions are free from freezing temperatures, pollen, humidity, or falling leaves, is the best time to paint a house. This timeframe is during early and late summer. 

House Paint Planning During the Spring

For many reasons, the vast majority look forward to the spring season. As the temperature increases, the days get longer, and the sun is more prominent. This is an excellent recipe for exterior house painting, along with other outdoor projects. 

But does pollen affect painting? Only extreme cases of pollen exposure will affect a paint film – however, no one wants pollen inside their homes. Early spring, before heavy pollen, is the best time to start planning and budgeting for your exterior painting project.

The Best Time Painting in Spring

Getting paint quotes early offers the greatest chance to get on a contractor’s schedule. If you can get your home painted during the early summer months, you are taking advantage of one of the best times to paint outdoors. Generally, the idea is to catch each season early before the extreme conditions that each season brings start to affect the weather forecasts.

Typically, there is less humidity during early summer and fewer chances of evening thunderstorms. Although applying exterior paint designed for humidity and not painting in direct sunlight will help on hotter days. Extreme heat can also be miserable for your painters. Opening windows and doors to paint them are a must, but letting in hot air is also less than ideal.

Best Painting Time During Late Summer/ Early Fall

Early Fall, hands-down, is one of the best times of the year to be outside. The temperatures are less extreme, more manageable, and consistent. But due to falling leaves and potential high morning dew points, late summer is the best time to paint. 

Early transitions between seasons are great opportunities for exterior house painting, but Fall is unique. Ideal fall weather conditions are seemingly shorter than in any other season. For this reason, the window for perfect painting conditions is much narrower. 

During Fall, cooler air resists established hotter air from the previous summer as winter gets closer. The collision with atmospheric fronts causes high dew points in the morning. 

If you are staining a deck or any other project that requires wood to be as dry as possible, late summer/ early fall is the best time for these particular types of projects. 

Exterior House Painting During Early Winter

For those that have put off painting their homes, early winter is a last-ditch effort to complete what is needed. 

Most exterior paints by Sherwin – Williams and other manufacturers can apply as low as 35 degrees. This kind of paint enables house painters to paint just above freezing without affecting how the paint dries. 

If the atmospheric temperature is in the high 30s and the surface temperature (usually on the sunny side) is above 35 degrees, these conditions can also be advantageous. 

House paint and caulk apply thicker and dry slowly and more uniformly in cooler climates. So, if you are considering painting a dark exterior color containing a shiny finish, winter will deem an amazingly uniform finish. 

Best Time When Painting Indoors

Exterior weather conditions have little to no effect on painting as long as the space is air-conditioned. The thermostat should be set between 69 and 76 degrees with a continuous flow of circling air. Outside walls will take more time to dry during winter months as they are normally colder from transferring cold outside temperatures.

Interior painters should never paint over damp walls or when mildew is present. A hot shower before or prior to painting will also cause an increase in wall moisture.

Conclusion

Regardless of the season, the gist is to start planning and budgeting early in preparation for the next best painting opportunity. Ideally, correctly timing your painting project in tandem with a local professional painter could improve your overall service experience. 

It’s fair to say that house painting is manageable almost year-round, especially here in Raleigh, NC. However, there are benefits to starting early for each season. Remember, even minor paint updates to shutters, front porches, doors, gutters, or garage doors can serve to revamp the look of your home.

Contact us for a free house painting quote. Our professional painters understand what painting products to use, enabling warrantied painting services nearly year-round.