Author Topic: Best time of year to paint exterior of house? Other considerations?  (Read 2700 times)

jhrobbin

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Hi guys,  I'll be up front and say this isn't a job I can/will do myself.  However, I think these questions are relevant for anyone considering a fresh exterior painting of a house.

I live in the Front Range area of Colorado.  Summer highs frequently hit upper 90's and the sun is shining most of the time.

How do local weather conditions affect when I should paint my house?  Is the heat of the Summer too hot?  Better to wait for Spring/Autumn? 

Do professional painters take into consideration the time of day to paint?  For example, the west side of my home bakes in the direct late afternoon sun.  Is it best to paint west facing side of the house in the morning?

Those are some questions that come to mind but any recommendations and advice on this topic are most welcome!


J Boogie

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Might be better to wait. Latex paint isn't meant to be applied when temps are over 85 especially if it's in direct sunlight. Oil based paint can tolerate up to 90.

secondcor521

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If it's hot the paint dries more quickly.  Other than that I didn't think there was an upper temperature, but I'd go by whatever the paint manufacturer recommends.

Paint shouldn't be applied in weather under 40 degrees.  I usually set my limit at about 50 degrees for personal comfort.

Wind can affect how much you have to deal with paint spray or even paint droplets from rollers and brushes.

Shouldn't apply paint if it's going to rain within a few hours.

Around here late spring and early fall is best.

SwordGuy

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Hi guys,  I'll be up front and say this isn't a job I can/will do myself. 


@jhrobbin , you get to be the ultimate arbiter of whether you will paint your house.
But I'm going to question whether it's true you can paint your house.

A huge % of houses are very simple to paint with very inexpensive tools.  If the weather is nice outside and you don't have to finish super fast, it's actually quite pleasant and meditative.   I know this because I just painted the outside of one of our rental properties.    It was a nice enough job that I would consider doing it as a side hustle just for fun.

And yes, I'll assure you that I paid attention to where the sun was when determining where I would be painting next.   It made a big difference in comfort.

This is not a job that requires any special skills or intensive training to do a good job.  To do a perfect job?  Sure, that's an order of magnitude harder.   Few of us need a perfectly painted house when the savings can be in the $4000 to $8000 range.




MatthewK

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Hi guys,  I'll be up front and say this isn't a job I can/will do myself. 


@jhrobbin , you get to be the ultimate arbiter of whether you will paint your house.
But I'm going to question whether it's true you can paint your house.

A huge % of houses are very simple to paint with very inexpensive tools.  If the weather is nice outside and you don't have to finish super fast, it's actually quite pleasant and meditative.   I know this because I just painted the outside of one of our rental properties.    It was a nice enough job that I would consider doing it as a side hustle just for fun.

And yes, I'll assure you that I paid attention to where the sun was when determining where I would be painting next.   It made a big difference in comfort.

This is not a job that requires any special skills or intensive training to do a good job.  To do a perfect job?  Sure, that's an order of magnitude harder.   Few of us need a perfectly painted house when the savings can be in the $4000 to $8000 range.

$4000 to $8000 in savings?? Is this a typo? How big of a house are you painting?

Linea_Norway

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Hi guys,  I'll be up front and say this isn't a job I can/will do myself. 


@jhrobbin , you get to be the ultimate arbiter of whether you will paint your house.
But I'm going to question whether it's true you can paint your house.

A huge % of houses are very simple to paint with very inexpensive tools.  If the weather is nice outside and you don't have to finish super fast, it's actually quite pleasant and meditative.   I know this because I just painted the outside of one of our rental properties.    It was a nice enough job that I would consider doing it as a side hustle just for fun.

And yes, I'll assure you that I paid attention to where the sun was when determining where I would be painting next.   It made a big difference in comfort.

This is not a job that requires any special skills or intensive training to do a good job.  To do a perfect job?  Sure, that's an order of magnitude harder.   Few of us need a perfectly painted house when the savings can be in the $4000 to $8000 range.

Indeed. Why is this post in the DIY forum if you don't do it yourself?

Painting the outside of a house is easy. If you need to paint higher than you can reach, you can buy a paintbrush and an extender pole.
When we paint our home, we make sure we paint the side that is in the shadow while we paint. You also wouldn't want to paint in rainy/very humid weather.

lthenderson

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I'm theoretically painting my house right now. I started a month ago but the we kept getting cold temperatures and now the last three weeks has been non-stop rain. But when the rain finally subsides, I plan on completing it.

For me, especially when it is hot outside, I like to paint in the morning on what will be the hot side of the house by afternoon but is still relatively cool in the morning and then switch over to the shady side in the afternoon. It allows me to keep painting for longer. That is the nice thing about DIY painting, you don't have to paint things in order. I like to just tackle one wall section at a time.

I spent a little over $500 on Sherwin Williams paint and brushes (during their 40% off sale) for a large ranch house with walkout basement and got enough paint to do one primer coat and two topcoats. (I just resided with concrete siding three years ago so I'm re-priming the pre-primed siding since the time lapse has been so long.)

jtraggie99

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I'm theoretically painting my house right now. I started a month ago but the we kept getting cold temperatures and now the last three weeks has been non-stop rain. But when the rain finally subsides, I plan on completing it.

For me, especially when it is hot outside, I like to paint in the morning on what will be the hot side of the house by afternoon but is still relatively cool in the morning and then switch over to the shady side in the afternoon. It allows me to keep painting for longer. That is the nice thing about DIY painting, you don't have to paint things in order. I like to just tackle one wall section at a time.

I spent a little over $500 on Sherwin Williams paint and brushes (during their 40% off sale) for a large ranch house with walkout basement and got enough paint to do one primer coat and two topcoats. (I just resided with concrete siding three years ago so I'm re-priming the pre-primed siding since the time lapse has been so long.)

Which Sherwin Williams are you using?  I've done a ton of interior painting over the years and stick with their Superpaint.  I've never done any exterior painting, although my house is in desperate need, so it will likely be something I'll be tackling soon. 

Sibley

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I'm theoretically painting my house right now. I started a month ago but the we kept getting cold temperatures and now the last three weeks has been non-stop rain. But when the rain finally subsides, I plan on completing it.

For me, especially when it is hot outside, I like to paint in the morning on what will be the hot side of the house by afternoon but is still relatively cool in the morning and then switch over to the shady side in the afternoon. It allows me to keep painting for longer. That is the nice thing about DIY painting, you don't have to paint things in order. I like to just tackle one wall section at a time.

I spent a little over $500 on Sherwin Williams paint and brushes (during their 40% off sale) for a large ranch house with walkout basement and got enough paint to do one primer coat and two topcoats. (I just resided with concrete siding three years ago so I'm re-priming the pre-primed siding since the time lapse has been so long.)

Which Sherwin Williams are you using?  I've done a ton of interior painting over the years and stick with their Superpaint.  I've never done any exterior painting, although my house is in desperate need, so it will likely be something I'll be tackling soon.

The store I go to is quite knowledgeable. I tell them what I'm painting, they make a suggestion, we debate the options. Interior, I use Superpaint for walls. Exterior - I tend to use a higher grade because stretching when I need to repaint the garage an additional year is desired. But really, unless I've got something weird, any of their grades are good. Make sure you prime properly, and use the correct primer. Apparently cabinets are really picky.

secondcor521

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Hi guys,  I'll be up front and say this isn't a job I can/will do myself. 


@jhrobbin , you get to be the ultimate arbiter of whether you will paint your house.
But I'm going to question whether it's true you can paint your house.

A huge % of houses are very simple to paint with very inexpensive tools.  If the weather is nice outside and you don't have to finish super fast, it's actually quite pleasant and meditative.   I know this because I just painted the outside of one of our rental properties.    It was a nice enough job that I would consider doing it as a side hustle just for fun.

And yes, I'll assure you that I paid attention to where the sun was when determining where I would be painting next.   It made a big difference in comfort.

This is not a job that requires any special skills or intensive training to do a good job.  To do a perfect job?  Sure, that's an order of magnitude harder.   Few of us need a perfectly painted house when the savings can be in the $4000 to $8000 range.

$4000 to $8000 in savings?? Is this a typo? How big of a house are you painting?

Not the person you quoted, but I have a 1800 sqft house and was quoted around $4000-$5000 to have it done professionally.  I am DIYing it for about $500 in supplies (paint, ladder, painting tape, caulk, house wash, paint brushes, etc).  I'm not sure why the disparity, but I did get three different professional quotes and they were all in that $4K-$5K neighborhood.  Two of the three appeared not to have workmans comp insurance, which bothered me; the third I couldn't tell for sure.

Ironically, when I was at the Sherwin Williams store buying my supplies, I saw an ad there from one of the professional paint companies seeking painters to come work for them.  So they are just hiring people off the street to paint people's houses.  I'll be that guy off the street painting my own house and get it done for pennies on the dollar.
« Last Edit: May 29, 2019, 10:22:44 AM by secondcor521 »

MatthewK

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Re: Best time of year to paint exterior of house? Other considerations?
« Reply #10 on: May 29, 2019, 11:21:53 AM »
Wow! Okay, I will prepare myself mentally as I have 2 contractors coming over in the next few days to look at my place. I really had no idea it may be that much.

I started another thread somewhat related that I meant to post in ask a mustachian, so my mistake. I may have to re vist the DIY route. I'll know in a couple of days.

Thanks

TrMama

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Re: Best time of year to paint exterior of house? Other considerations?
« Reply #11 on: May 29, 2019, 11:29:04 AM »
Hi guys,  I'll be up front and say this isn't a job I can/will do myself. 


@jhrobbin , you get to be the ultimate arbiter of whether you will paint your house.
But I'm going to question whether it's true you can paint your house.

A huge % of houses are very simple to paint with very inexpensive tools.  If the weather is nice outside and you don't have to finish super fast, it's actually quite pleasant and meditative.   I know this because I just painted the outside of one of our rental properties.    It was a nice enough job that I would consider doing it as a side hustle just for fun.

And yes, I'll assure you that I paid attention to where the sun was when determining where I would be painting next.   It made a big difference in comfort.

This is not a job that requires any special skills or intensive training to do a good job.  To do a perfect job?  Sure, that's an order of magnitude harder.   Few of us need a perfectly painted house when the savings can be in the $4000 to $8000 range.

$4000 to $8000 in savings?? Is this a typo? How big of a house are you painting?

Not a typo. I painted 85% of the exterior of my house last spring. It's a 2 story, 3000 sq ft craftsman style (aka big gables above the 2nd floor, setback 2nd floor and a shit ton of trim) and we only called one company for a quote. Their bid was $6800. From talking to other homeowners in my area, I think that quote was actually too low and comps would've been in the $8-10K range.

I went all out and bought the 2nd highest grade of Sherwin Williams paint, rented a huge lift (to reach the awkward 2nd floor and gables), and paid someone to pressure wash the outside to prep it. It still only cost me $1500. This summer I'll rent some specialized scaffolding to reach the last section where the lift wouldn't fit, but I'm sure it'll be less than $600, including having the rental company set up and tear down the scaffolding. 

In terms of time of year, check the temperature guidelines on the paint you buy. Different brands and grades have different high and low temps. The type of siding you're painting may also matter. I've got hardiplank siding with cedar trim. The hardiplank is basically pure concrete and gets really hot. Even early in the morning the paint was steaming as I applied it. Didn't make any difference though. It dried nice and still looks great. The wood trim doesn't get as hot, so application was less exciting.

I'd skip painting in conditions that are hotter or colder than the application temp for the paint. I'd also skip painting on seriously wet days (SW makes a paint that can go on in somewhat wet conditions though) or very windy days. You don't want to be on a ladder in a strong wind and you don't want dust or other debris sticking to the wet paint.

Cadman

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Re: Best time of year to paint exterior of house? Other considerations?
« Reply #12 on: May 29, 2019, 12:00:42 PM »
When it comes to exterior painting, you want to maintain a 'wet edge'. Sunlight and hot siding will cause the paint to dry too quickly and every section where you dipped your brush for fresh paint will show a mark. Something to keep in mind if you DIY.

Linea_Norway

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Re: Best time of year to paint exterior of house? Other considerations?
« Reply #13 on: May 30, 2019, 03:28:58 AM »
Wow! Okay, I will prepare myself mentally as I have 2 contractors coming over in the next few days to look at my place. I really had no idea it may be that much.

I started another thread somewhat related that I meant to post in ask a mustachian, so my mistake. I may have to re vist the DIY route. I'll know in a couple of days.

Thanks

You could also consider to let the contractor do the difficult parts and do the easy parts yourself.

lthenderson

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Re: Best time of year to paint exterior of house? Other considerations?
« Reply #14 on: May 30, 2019, 06:33:56 AM »
Which Sherwin Williams are you using?  I've done a ton of interior painting over the years and stick with their Superpaint.  I've never done any exterior painting, although my house is in desperate need, so it will likely be something I'll be tackling soon.

I'm using Loxon for the primer which is formulated for cement siding which I have and for the top coats I am using their Emerald line acrylic latex exterior paint. After using big box store paint for many years and then buying one gallon at Sherwin Williams, I have been a convert ever since on their paints. The key is to hit their 40% off sales and plan ahead which is easy to do by signing up for their emails.

Sibley

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Re: Best time of year to paint exterior of house? Other considerations?
« Reply #15 on: May 30, 2019, 08:56:33 AM »
Big picture: Painting is one of the things that are great for DIY in terms of cost impact. 90% at least of the cost of painting is labor. Sheer time. I painted my garage last year, and I spent probably $300 on supplies, but the cost in terms of time was exponentially higher. I probably spent at least 100 hours working on the prep work. Now, that garage was in really rough shape, so the prep was pretty extreme. But in any painting job, prep is probably going to be the biggest time chunk, and if you don't do the prep right it will show in the final product.

Fishindude

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Re: Best time of year to paint exterior of house? Other considerations?
« Reply #16 on: May 31, 2019, 07:57:44 AM »
Since you are hiring the job out anyway, leave those decisions up to the professional painter you hire.
So long as it's warm enough, it will be fine and any smart painter will work on the shady side of the house when possible if it's hot out.

bognish

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Re: Best time of year to paint exterior of house? Other considerations?
« Reply #17 on: June 19, 2019, 01:47:46 AM »
Fall for me. We have a huge Cottonwood tree in our backyard and a ton in the neighborhood. Painting anytime in late May or June would end up looking tarred & feathered. July & August is way too hot.

Dancin'Dog

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Re: Best time of year to paint exterior of house? Other considerations?
« Reply #18 on: June 20, 2019, 07:07:59 AM »
Be sure to pressure wash the house before painting.  You may be pleasantly surprised to discover that it only needed washing.  To wash, wet the house first, then spray with a diluted mixture of household bleach with a bit of laundry soap.  A 2-3 gallon pump up garden sprayer works well for applying the soapy bleach.  Let it sit for 10 +/- minutes for the bleach to work.  Pre-wetting the house first prevents streaking.  Then rinse well with the pressure washer.  A 3-4 foot long extension tube attached to the wand makes the job a lot easier. 

lthenderson

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Re: Best time of year to paint exterior of house? Other considerations?
« Reply #19 on: June 20, 2019, 12:57:38 PM »
The cotton wood seeds have flown their course so I've been back at painting my house, mostly a couple hours in the mornings before it gets to hot. I just have a little bit left that doesn't get much shade this time of year on the north side and then the rest of the painting will be in shade (underneath a deck) and on the west (shaded in the mornings) and south sides (quite a bit of shade right now). 

reverend

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Re: Best time of year to paint exterior of house? Other considerations?
« Reply #20 on: October 03, 2019, 01:21:46 PM »
Be sure to pressure wash the house before painting.

Scraping and sanding is the ugly part of the job (and why it costs so much to have it professionally done - because it sucks).

If you paint to resell the house, sure, slap a coat of paint on it.   If this is a house you're keeping or staying in for 5-10 years, it's worth doing it properly.