When Should I Paint The Exterior Of My Home?

When Should I Paint The Exterior Of My Home?

Interior and exterior house painting may seem similar. But they are two totally different things. For interior painting you’ve got protected surfaces, a limited amount of moisture in the air and a controlled climate. Exterior painting is another story.

You know that coastal homes endure sun, sand and sea air. Did you know that exposure to these elements means that your home needs more exterior upkeep than others? And the paint on the outside of your home is likely the first thing that guests will encounter as they visit your home.

Revitalizing your home or simply keeping up its appearance is easy to do with a fresh coat of paint. This will up the curb appeal of your home as well as the resale value. It doesn’t hurt that paint is often the first line of defense to protect your home from the elements.

But when do you do it? One might think that when it comes to exterior painting in they can do it whenever they get around to it just like interior painting. This is not the case. When doing exterior painting, homeowners must plan ahead, taking in to account the time of year. Paint is best applied to an exterior when there is little rain in the air accompanied by low humidity.

Temperature

When temperatures or too high or too low, the paint will not properly bind to the surface. This leads to chipping and peeling paint. It is important when choosing exterior paint to read the labels because often paint manufacturers will include a minimum and maximum temperature for outside painting with the product.

Some paints allow you to paint when the temperature is down as far as 35 degrees, but in Florida’s climate, that isn’t really something to worry about. It’s the maximum temperatures as well as the humidity and moisture. But typically, if you are painting at temperatures above the minimum, your paint job will come out fine.

Another fact to keep in mind when painting the exterior of your home is that fluctuating temperatures are not good for drying paint. Hot days that dip down in to colder nights will also lead to paint problems. Days that are too hot may even dry certain types of paint before you’ve finished the job. This isn’t a good thing.

If you live in Florida, the best time to paint your home’s exterior is in the dry season. This is due to the pleasant temperature, lower humidity and the much lower chance of rain. However, we are still able to paint year-round in the other conditions.

As long as you are careful and aware of the atmosphere around you, arguably, you could get away with painting in the early fall as well. But this leads us on to our next concern.

Moisture

In defense of exterior painting, you can paint in humid climates. You just have to keep an eye on the humidity levels of the surface to be painted. It bears repeating that always before you do painting on your exterior, check the weather. Check the current forecast and the upcoming forecast. You should only paint dry surfaces. If you don’t, you’ll have problems as it dries, and you’ll be wasting the paint that you’ve paid for.

Painting surfaces can become moist just by contact with humidity in the air. Rain and looming rain can cause moisture on your surface for at least a full day after. When painting, always thoroughly check the area you are painting. Feel it and be sure it’s dry. Be aware that porous surfaces may still be wet even if they don’t feel as though they are.

In continuation with paint not surviving temperature fluctuations very well, keep an eye out for early morning dews after long warm days. Even if you painted in the warm weather, your paint still has a chance to be damaged in this instance. Be aware also of humidity inside the house escaping to the outside.

Paint adheres to the surface by evaporating the water in its mixture faster than the solvents. If too much humidity stops the water from evaporating, this lets the solvent dry first. If this happens your paint will not last. You can paint with levels of 70% humidity, but it is recommended that the range be between 40% to 50%.

What Else You Need to Know

When painting the exterior in addition to keeping the first two points in mind it is recommended that you follow the sun around the house. If you paint when the surface has been heated too much, your paint job could have paint blisters. If you paint when the surface will soon be heated too much, your paint job could have paint blisters. So follow the sun and stay in the shade. In the late morning, paint the east side of the exterior, then the south side in the afternoon, and the west side later. The north side can be painted at any time.

As you can now see, much more must be taken in to account when deciding when to paint the exterior of your home. You need to be aware of the type of paint you are using, the temperatures and the humidity and what time of the day to do what. That being said however, so long as you are aware of these things, you don’t have to stick to a specific season to paint. Your home can get an exterior paint job of lasting quality when done right with that extra attention to the details.

If you have any exterior painting questions or would like to get a free estimate, contact us here or call us directly at 239.600.1418.