When Should I Paint My House in California?

In California, the weather is so even and nice, we sometimes don’t consider the best season to paint our homes until we realize that we really need it. Unfortunately, this often happens at the very worst time to paint. Don’t wait until there is deferred maintenance to ask yourself, “When should I paint my house in California?

There are a couple rules of paint, so to speak, to understand before we look at how California stands up.

Rules of Paint when I paint my house in California

• Weather is important, even in California, and you need to consider it when you start an outdoor paint project
• If it is too wet, the paint won’t dry properly
• If it is too hot or sunny, the paint can dry too fast and uneven, causing lap marks. These are marks where you can see the application of paint.
• If it is windy, like when the Santa Ana’s are blowing, it can cause the paint to dry to quickly or worse, it could blow dirt into your wet paint.
• What you are left with is a day without rain or high humidity, a day that is not too terribly sunny or windy.

Reading through that list, you may just say that this seems like the average day in California. For the most part you would be correct. Yet, if you are honest, there are some application rules to follow.

When should I paint my house in California?

1. Even though winter is the rainiest season in California, it may not be a deal breaker if planned correctly. First, this tends to be the slowest season, so you, likely, can get your work done timely and with a better price. However, prepare for delays if a sudden storm erupts.
2. Even though summer seems to be a good time, in most of southern California, it is a bit hot and sunny for this time to be ideal.
3. The best time to start an outdoor painting project in Southern California seems is at the end of winter or beginning of spring. That way, there is less rain. There is also less wind. There is also less direct sunlight.

Just because we don’t live in a snowy environment, doesn’t mean we don’t need to consider weather. In fact, it is likely that we have to be more on top of the weather report. Your outdoor paint specialist ought to be your guide to California weather! Rely on their knowledge.