The exterior of your home could use a facelift. The paint is faded and flaking, and you’re wondering if you have the know-how to tackle the paint job yourself.

But first, you need to know: what is the best time of year to paint a house?

Keep reading to find which season — and more importantly, which factors — will determine the best time of year to paint your home’s interior and exterior.

Table of Contents

When Is a Good Time to Paint Your House Interior?

While it is possible to paint the interior of your home at any time of the year, there are ideal conditions to give you the most desirable paint job.

While you might not think of painting as a winter activity, it turns out that interior paint will dry faster and better in the colder months when humidity is low.

This is great news since many home renovation projects can’t be done in the winter months in most areas. So you can concentrate on freshening up the inside of your home with your extra time.

What Is the Best Time of Year to Paint a House Exterior?

Unlike the inside of your home, the exterior will not do well if painted during the winter months. If it’s too cold, the paint will not properly dry and cure.

While you may think that the summer heat will do the best job of drying paint quickly, you’ll want to avoid the hottest and most humid summer days to allow for an optimum finish.

The best time of year to paint is any time that gives you a series of warm, dry days. This may vary based on where you live, but early summer and early fall are typically ideal.

That’s because these times of the year usually have minimal rain and minimal fluctuations in temperature throughout the day and night. A sudden drop in temperature after the sun goes down can cause the paint to not cure properly, which can ultimately lead to cracking and peeling.

3 Factors That Determine the Best Time of Year to Paint a House

If you’re trying to decide the best time of year to paint outside, here are a few things you need to consider.

 #1: The Moisture in the Air

Moist conditions can wreak havoc on your paint job. High humidity in the air or the presence of rain and snow will affect how your paint dries and cures.

Paint cures best when it is applied to a completely dry surface and when the surrounding air is dry as well.

If you aren’t sure if the exterior of your home has any moisture present, do a thorough check of the surface. If it feels even the least bit wet, don’t paint it!

And even if the exterior doesn’t feel damp, it could hold moisture within if you’ve experienced high humidity or inclement weather recently. A good rule of thumb is to wait one full day after wet weather before you start painting again.

#2: Temperature Fluctuations

Maybe your weather has been warm and dry during the day, so you think it’s the best time of year to paint your house exterior. But have you considered how drastically the temperature changes from day to night?

Extreme fluctuations lead to paint that doesn’t dry and cure well. So if you’re experiencing weather that has highs near 90 degrees and drops down into the 40s or 50s at night, you won’t want to paint during this time.

Just as early summer and fall days are a good time to paint your house due to the warm, dry days, they can also be ideal when you’re looking for a smaller range of temperatures from day to night.

#3: The Quality of Your Paint

You don’t want to skimp when choosing an exterior paint for your home. Our houses go through a lot to protect us from the elements, including:

  • Ice and snow
  • Heavy winds
  • Hail
  • UV exposure
  • And more

So it will take a high-quality paint to stand up to all of this and keep looking good for years to come. If you want to cut corners, find another area of your budget to do it!

Is it Better to Paint Your House in the Summer or Winter?

Overall, summer is going to provide better conditions for painting your home’s exterior than winter. However, if you live somewhere with mild winters, that season could be an ideal time for you.

No matter what the season or your area’s climate, pick a time when you will have a series of dry days with low humidity and low temperature fluctuation. This will allow the paint to dry and cure properly and cause your paint job to last for many years to come.

3 Tips for Finding the Best Time of Year to Paint a House

If you can’t put off painting your house any longer — or you just want to freshen up — here are three things you must do.

#1: Wait for the Ideal Conditions

By now, you know that moisture and painting go together like peanut butter and tuna fish. But we can’t say it enough:

  1. Try to paint when the days are warm and dry.
  2. Avoid high humidity, rain, or snow.
  3. Pick days to paint when the temperature does not fluctuate too much from morning to night.

#2: Avoid Painting in the Rain

This seems to go without saying. Obviously, you aren’t going to head out into a thunderstorm with your paint bucket and brush in hand.

But it’s also important to wait long enough after inclement weather for your home’s exterior to fully dry. Home siding can get waterlogged after rain, which we know means the paint you apply to it won’t dry in the right way.

If this sounds like too much to deal with and keep track of, you may want to consider letting professionals handle it for you. This is what they do. You may not pay much attention to the weather until it’s time to walk out the door, but they are highly practiced at monitoring conditions and knowing how they will affect exteriors and their paint.

#3: Choose the Right Paint

If you pick the right paint for the exterior of your home and the right time to do it, your paint job can last for years.

But the last thing you want is to spend lots of time and money painting your house only to have it start looking shabby in a year or two.

A great way to ensure that your exterior house painting job will be done right is to leave it to professionals at A1 Paint Removal, Painting & Restoration. We are dedicated and experienced painters who choose the right paint — and the right time to do it — for every job we do.

Let A1 Paint Removal, Painting & Restoration Help You Find the Best Time to Paint Your Home’s Exterior

If you don’t have the time or patience to figure out when you should paint your home’s exterior, look no further than A1 Paint Removal, Painting & Restoration. Our team of experienced pros knows just the right time and conditions to paint homes in the Greater Portland area.

We have been painting exteriors since 1995, and we know the best way to prepare and paint all kinds of exterior surfaces and materials. Let us worry about the temperature and humidity levels while you sit back and watch your home or business get the best paint job it has ever seen.

Contact us today for a free estimate!