Summer or Winter – When Should I Paint The Outside Of a Home?

Here in Colorado, we typically feel major weather changes during all 4 seasons. Though, at any point during the year, we can see a variety of highs and lows, sometimes needing our winter coats in July, and our summer shorts in December. Just because Colorado can have very mild days all year long, does that mean you can paint the outside of a home all year long as well?

Painting the exterior of your home is thought to be a summer activity. The weather is warm, we don’t have a lot of rain, and the days are longer – meaning more time to get the job done faster.

Yet summer is a short season. This year the cold crept into June, and we can see snow as early as August (yes, not the norm, but it has happened). How far can you stretch the painting season? And can you paint in the dead of winter and still have a great looking paint job?

Paint manufacturers each have a recommended temperature rating. As paint quality has improved over the years, so too has the minimum temperature for painting.

For many years, 50 degrees was the standard ambient temperature for accepting paint. Today the temperature has lowered a few degrees to around 40 degrees. And if you get into some specialty paints, you may be able to paint even around the 35 degree mark, as long as conditions stay above the minimum temperature point.

Just as important on the low side of things is the other end of the spectrum. Paint is best applied during conditions of little variance. When its 95 in the day and it drops to 40 degrees at night, paint may not function at 100 percent.

While temperature plays an important role, so to does moisture. Paint should only be applied to a dry surface. If we’ve experienced a hard rain, or are in the middle of a several day rainfall, it may be best to postpone the painting job.

So when is your best timeframe to paint the outside of a home here in Denver? Typically the best time would be from May through October. Again, a lot of it depends on how our weather patterns play out. An Indian Summer can give us more time, an early snow may shorten it by several weeks.

Get on the calendar today – our times fill up fast this time of year.