When to paint a house exterior in Ames, IA
When to paint in Ames, 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 July, at about 17 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.
- under 1Jan
- under 1Feb
- under 1Mar
- 2Apr
- 7May
- 12Jun
- 17Jul
- 14Aug
- 13Sep
- 3Oct
- 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 | 14° / 31°F |
| February | under 1 | under 1 | 1 | 15° / 36°F |
| March | under 1 | under 1 | 4 | 29° / 51°F |
| April | 2 | 2 | 11 | 38° / 63°F |
| May | 7 | 6 | 14 | 51° / 74°F |
| June | 12 | 10 | 13 | 62° / 85°F |
| July | 17 | 12 | 17 | 64° / 85°F |
| August | 14 | 11 | 15 | 61° / 83°F |
| September | 13 | 12 | 19 | 55° / 80°F |
| October | 3 | 3 | 13 | 42° / 65°F |
| November | 1 | 1 | 6 | 29° / 51°F |
| December | under 1 | under 1 | 1 | 21° / 39°F |
Deck stain does best in September. Low-temperature paint adds about 44 days a year here.
Towns near Ames compared
5 of the 6 nearest places get more painting days, the most in Ankeny (72 a year, 20 miles south). A gap like that between towns is usually elevation, a coast or a lake, which is why a painter from a few towns over can be on a different schedule. Boone is read from the same station as Ames, so its numbers match; the real difference is the distance from that station.
| Place | From Ames | Painting days a year | Window | Station |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boone, IA | 13 mi west | 68 | June to September | same station |
| Ankeny, IA | 20 mi south | 72 | June to September | Des Moines International Airport |
| Johnston, IA | 24 mi south | 72 | June to September | Des Moines International Airport |
| Grimes, IA | 26 mi south | 72 | June to September | Des Moines International Airport |
| Altoona, IA | 27 mi south | 72 | June to September | Des Moines International Airport |
| Urbandale, IA | 28 mi south | 72 | June to September | Des Moines International Airport |
How Ames ranks in IA
Of 41 IA places with 10,000 people or more, Ames (population 69,026, 8th largest) ranks 29th for painting days, 4 days below the state median of 72. The longest season in the state is Council Bluffs, 118 days, 128 miles southwest. 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 Ames Municipal Airport (2.4 miles away), 2015 to 2024, NOAA Global Summary of the Day. A month is good at 12+ painting days and possible at 6+.