With kids back in school and temperatures showing a definite downward trend, the window is clearly starting to close for exterior house painting in New Jersey and Philadelphia. How fast is it closing? To tell the truth, it can be hard to tell sometimes. Many years, the fall is a wonderful time to paint your home exterior. The humid, scorching days of summer are not optimal for paint curing, and the thunderstorms that often accompany those months are obviously not conducive!
In order to paint a home exterior, two things are needed: moderately warm temperatures and dry days.
h1>What Temperatures Are Acceptable for Exterior Painting?
Most latex paints are formulated to cure best in temperatures between 50 and 85 degrees Fahrenheit. There are some special lines of exterior paint that are designed to cure even when the temperatures approach freezing, if necessary, but most of the time, you don’t want to paint when the mercury reads less than 40-45 degrees.
Another thing to consider is that the temperature needs to remain in the acceptable range for a number of hours after the paint is applied. You can’t throw on a coat of paint at three in the afternoon, just when the temperature rises briefly to 45 degrees, if the thermometer is going to start dropping again right away.
In New Jersey and the greater Philadelphia region, the exterior house painting season generally stretches into October, though this can vary from one year to the next.
Dry Days Are Ideal
Since July in New Jersey gives us more rainfall than any other month, summer can be an unpredictable time for exterior painting. September and October, however, have much less precipitation, making them a great time to get those exterior projects done before winter!
Rain can interfere with painting just as much as temperatures can. When you paint the outside of a home, it has to be thoroughly dry, meaning it can’t have rained heavily in the previous days. Additionally, you can’t paint if rain is in the near forecast, since it would destroy the curing paint.
The Schedule Fills Before the Season Ends
Because the season is limited, many local house painters have their schedules filled months in advance for exterior painting. If you have any exterior painting that you want done this year, please make sure to contact your painting contractor right away to see if they have any space left in their schedule. If not, ask if they have a cancellation list or a waiting list. It never hurts to ask!
If you end up missing the exterior painting dates for this year, make sure you get on the schedule nice and early next spring, so your home doesn’t go another year without the paint it needs.
Painting Contractor for New Jersey and the Philly Area
Cherry Hill Painting provides interior and exterior painting services to New Jersey and the Philadelphia region. Since 1968, we have operated as a family-run business, offering expert craftsmanship at a competitive price. Contact us to get a free estimate on your exterior house painting project!