When to paint a house exterior in Bethlehem, PA
When to paint in Bethlehem, PA
A short season: book early and expect weather delays. The painting window is July to August, with 2 good months a year. The best month is August, at about 14 painting days. Book a painter by May.
If you want the house done in July to August, call for quotes in May or earlier; a job pushed past August is likely to wait until next year. For a deck, the months with enough staining days to spare are Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep, Oct.
- under 1Jan
- under 1Feb
- under 1Mar
- 1Apr
- 7May
- 12Jun
- 12Jul
- 14Aug
- 10Sep
- 4Oct
- 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 | 22° / 42°F |
| February | under 1 | under 1 | 1 | 23° / 46°F |
| March | under 1 | under 1 | 3 | 30° / 54°F |
| April | 1 | under 1 | 11 | 40° / 66°F |
| May | 7 | 4 | 16 | 49° / 76°F |
| June | 12 | 7 | 14 | 58° / 84°F |
| July | 12 | 8 | 12 | 64° / 89°F |
| August | 14 | 11 | 15 | 62° / 86°F |
| September | 10 | 7 | 16 | 55° / 80°F |
| October | 4 | 4 | 15 | 44° / 69°F |
| November | 1 | 1 | 6 | 33° / 57°F |
| December | under 1 | under 1 | 1 | 27° / 47°F |
Deck stain does best in August. Low-temperature paint adds about 48 days a year here.
Towns near Bethlehem compared
1 of the 6 nearest places get more painting days, the most in Lansdale (81 a year, 27 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. Allentown, Northampton, Easton, Emmaus, Phillipsburg are read from the same station as Bethlehem, so their numbers match; the real difference is the distance from that station.
| Place | From Bethlehem | Painting days a year | Window | Station |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Allentown, PA | 6 mi west | 62 | July to August | same station |
| Northampton, PA | 8 mi northwest | 62 | July to August | same station |
| Easton, PA | 9 mi northeast | 62 | July to August | same station |
| Emmaus, PA | 9 mi southwest | 62 | July to August | same station |
| Phillipsburg, NJ | 11 mi northeast | 62 | July to August | same station |
| Lansdale, PA | 27 mi south | 81 | June to September | Wings Field Airport |
How Bethlehem ranks in PA
Of 68 PA places with 10,000 people or more, Bethlehem (population 79,453, 6th largest) ranks 58th for painting days, 3 days below the state median of 65. The longest season in the state is Indiana, 109 days, 199 miles west. The shortest is St. Marys at 39. Switching to low-temperature paint here is worth 48 extra days, more than most of the summer months on their own.
Where these numbers come from
Daily records from Lehigh Valley International A (4.5 miles away), 2015 to 2024, NOAA Global Summary of the Day. A month is good at 12+ painting days and possible at 6+.