When to paint a house exterior in Altoona, IA
When to paint in Altoona, IA
A normal season: plan the job, do not leave it late. The painting window is June to September, with 4 good months a year. The best month is September, at about 15 painting days. Book a painter by April.
If you want the house done in June to September, call for quotes in April or earlier; a job pushed past September is likely to wait until next year. For a deck, the months with enough staining days to spare are May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep, Oct.
- under 1Jan
- under 1Feb
- 1Mar
- 2Apr
- 7May
- 12Jun
- 14Jul
- 15Aug
- 15Sep
- 5Oct
- 1Nov
- under 1Dec
Month by month
| Month | Painting days | Staining days | With low-temp paint | Avg low / high |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | under 1 | under 1 | under 1 | 15° / 35°F |
| February | under 1 | under 1 | 1 | 16° / 40°F |
| March | 1 | 1 | 5 | 30° / 55°F |
| April | 2 | 2 | 13 | 39° / 66°F |
| May | 7 | 5 | 14 | 52° / 76°F |
| June | 12 | 9 | 13 | 63° / 87°F |
| July | 14 | 9 | 14 | 66° / 88°F |
| August | 15 | 10 | 15 | 64° / 87°F |
| September | 15 | 13 | 18 | 58° / 83°F |
| October | 5 | 5 | 16 | 43° / 68°F |
| November | 1 | 1 | 6 | 31° / 54°F |
| December | under 1 | under 1 | 2 | 22° / 42°F |
Deck stain does best in September. Low-temperature paint adds about 44 days a year here.
Towns near Altoona compared
Every one of the 6 closest places lands within three days of Altoona's 72 a year, so the season here is the regional season. Pleasant Hill, Ankeny, Des Moines, Johnston, Urbandale, Norwalk are read from the same station as Altoona, so their numbers match; the real difference is the distance from that station.
| Place | From Altoona | Painting days a year | Window | Station |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pleasant Hill, IA | 4 mi south | 72 | June to September | same station |
| Ankeny, IA | 8 mi northwest | 72 | June to September | same station |
| Des Moines, IA | 9 mi southwest | 72 | June to September | same station |
| Johnston, IA | 13 mi west | 72 | June to September | same station |
| Urbandale, IA | 16 mi west | 72 | June to September | same station |
| Norwalk, IA | 16 mi southwest | 72 | June to September | same station |
How Altoona ranks in IA
Of 41 IA places with 10,000 people or more, Altoona (population 22,598, 26th largest) ranks 18th for painting days, right at the state median of 72. The longest season in the state is Council Bluffs, 118 days, 126 miles west. The shortest is Le Mars at 54. Switching to low-temperature paint here is worth 44 extra days, more than most of the summer months on their own.
Where these numbers come from
Daily records from Des Moines International Airport (12 miles away), 2015 to 2024, NOAA Global Summary of the Day. A month is good at 12+ painting days and possible at 6+.