Outdoor Painting 101: When Is the Best Time to Paint Your House?

Want to know the secret to outdoor painting that lasts on your house? Use this guide to make sure you choose the right time of year.

The exterior of your home is starting to look a bit worn. You want to bring life back into it by giving it a fresh paint job. Keep in mind, however, that outdoor painting requires a bit of knowledge. If you feel this is too much of a job for you, you can always reach out to an expert. Companies like clmcdaidpainting.com offer an excellent painting service with professional staff and excellent prices. They will make sure to evaluate the exterior and the angles of your home accurately while working with you to choose the right colors, using high-quality painting brands

That being said, you can’t blindly go into a paint job without knowing the best time to paint a home’s exterior. Yes, there’s a right time to do it and the wrong time. You won’t want to be that person who chooses the wrong time to paint the exterior of their home and end up in a mess of a situation.

Before you grab your brush and pick out your favorite color paint, understanding when the best time to paint your home’s exterior is. Ready to learn more? Continue reading below!

The Best Weather for Painting

You’ll want to select the best weather conditions to paint in since the weather has a lot to do with how the paint dries. For the best results, the best time to paint house exteriors is on a warm and dry day, but you shouldn’t stop there. Make sure you take the time to view the weather conditions before and after the day you’re thinking about choosing.

This is essential when determining the best day to paint because you won’t want to choose a day where there was rain before or rain coming soon after. If it rains the days before you paint, the siding on your home might need some extra time to fully dry out. If it rains the day following the one you selected to paint on, then the paint could be ruined because it won’t be finished curing.

Static Temperatures

For a while, it was recommended not to paint in temperatures of 50 degrees and lower. Now, because of improvements in paint qualities, that number is around 40 degrees. Always keep this minimum temperature in mind when deciding when to paint your home.

You want to paint during temperatures above 40 degrees and never during temperatures below.

Fluctuating Temperatures

It’s also important to keep in mind that you don’t want to paint when the temperatures are fluctuating. The paint won’t dry properly if you paint it on during 80-degree temperatures and at night the temperature drops significantly. Because of this, try aiming for fall temperatures.

Depending on where you live, fall is normally the best season for closer in range temperatures throughout the entire day.

The Best Temperature for Painting

The best temperatures to paint in are during the late summer and early fall. Aim for days that are less humid as humidity also plays a factor in ruining the paint. Winter months are normally too cold for paint and will also prevent the paint from drying properly.

Other than how the weather affects the paint, it’s also important to keep in mind how the weather might affect you. Not only is the late-summer and early-fall season great for paint, but it’s great for you as well. Working in extremely hot or extremely cold conditions are dangerous and should be avoided.

Outside Elements to Avoid

Now that you know when the best time to paint your home is and why, it’s time to understand what outside weather elements to avoid. Although picking the best painting day means finding all the qualities in a day that make it ideal, there are some factors to try your best at avoiding. They’re as follows:

Wet or Rainy Days

As mentioned before, always avoid rainy days either before or even after the day you decide to paint. You also want to avoid days that are wet and humid. You want to make sure that your home’s exterior is completely dry before applying the paint.

If there is any reason why your home’s exterior might not be completely dry, save yourself the headache and plan for another day to paint.

Off-Seasons

For those that live in northern states, you could paint on days that are more into the fall season, but going past November is not advisable. This is when the weather starts to become too cold for the paint to dry properly. It’ll also begin to get too cold for you to comfortable spend hours outside painting.

If you live in warmer climates, this may not be as big of an issue. Do keep in mind, however, that if you live in warmer climates where you’re susceptible to hurricanes or tropical storms, you’ll want to prepare ahead for these. Keep in touch with your local weather stations to ensure you’re not choosing a day close to a possible hurricane or other wet weather.

The best time to paint is affected by where you live, but for general purposes, it’s best to stick to the late-summer and early-fall season.

Bad Temperatures

Bad temperatures are the last thing that you’ll want to be sure to avoid when painting outdoors. Anything below 40 degrees will damper the paint’s drying process. Any temperatures where it’s considered extreme heat, should not be painted in either.

Although it might seem surprising, temperatures that are too hot can stop the paint from drying as well. Keep yourself in a good temperature range to yield the best results!

Don’t Forget These Outdoor Painting Tips

When you’re ready to paint the exterior of your home, don’t forget these outdoor painting tips. Always choose a warm and dry day to paint where wet weather is nowhere in sight either before or after the chosen day. The best temperatures to paint in are those above 40 degrees but not to enter extreme heat conditions.

Avoid fluctuating temperatures, and you’ll be on your way to an amazing paint job! Interested in more home and garden tips? Keep check back with us!