Seasonal Painting
It may seem that exterior and interior painting is an all-year-round event. But the truth of the matter is that no matter where you live, summer seems to be the best season for painting. What is the allure of this time of year? To start with, paint loves the heat. Often there is less rain in the summer months than other times of the year, which gives you longer windows of time to apply the paint without fear of it being washed away.
Despite the fact that spring and fall seem to offer better climate conditions – breezy, cool days and cool nights – these times of the year are also the most unpredictable. In other words, you may start a project and get hit with an unexpected storm or a light rain shower. The summer offers more sustainable weather conducive to all your outdoor projects.
Continued warm weather ensures the surface is dry which is the only type of surface that will accept paint. If an area has experienced a recent hard rain, the surface of the home’s exterior may feel dry but be saturated underneath. Experienced painters know how to determine if a surface is optimally ready to receive paint.
If paint is applied to a surface that is moist underneath, it will adversely affect the drying paint. However, summer is also a time that dew tends to collect on things in the early morning hours. So you will need to rely on the expertise of the painting company you hire to ensure they are knowledgeable in prime paint application times.
For the inexperienced home exterior painter, the worst time to paint the outside of a home is when it is cool outside – forty degrees or below.
To recap:
- Outdoor projects of all types are best conducted during the summer months. This includes painting the exterior of the home including trim. The reasoning is the heat ensures the surface is dry, which allows the paint to ‘cure’.
- Allow the home’s surface to dry in the sunshine prior to painting in the morning.
- Finally, painting during the earlier summer months will allow you to find and seal rot that may have occurred during the winter.
For more information on painting seasons and related information, contact the experts at University Painters, Inc. Your home is our business!