When to paint a house exterior in Cambridge, MA
When to paint in Cambridge, MA
A normal season: plan the job, do not leave it late. The painting window is August to September, with 3 good months a year. The best month is September, at about 15 painting days. Book a painter by June.
If you want the house done in August to September, call for quotes in June 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
- under 1Mar
- 1Apr
- 8May
- 15Jun
- 12Jul
- 15Aug
- 15Sep
- 8Oct
- 1Nov
- under 1Dec
Month by month
| Month | Painting days | Staining days | With low-temp paint | Avg low / high |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | under 1 | under 1 | 1 | 24° / 42°F |
| February | under 1 | under 1 | 2 | 24° / 44°F |
| March | under 1 | under 1 | 3 | 30° / 49°F |
| April | 1 | under 1 | 12 | 40° / 59°F |
| May | 8 | 7 | 16 | 50° / 71°F |
| June | 15 | 9 | 15 | 59° / 79°F |
| July | 12 | 8 | 12 | 66° / 86°F |
| August | 15 | 9 | 15 | 66° / 85°F |
| September | 15 | 11 | 17 | 59° / 77°F |
| October | 8 | 8 | 17 | 49° / 67°F |
| November | 1 | 1 | 10 | 37° / 56°F |
| December | under 1 | under 1 | 2 | 30° / 47°F |
Deck stain does best in September. Low-temperature paint adds about 48 days a year here.
Towns near Cambridge compared
Every one of the 6 closest places lands within three days of Cambridge's 74 a year, so the season here is the regional season. Somerville, Watertown, Medford, Everett, Chelsea, Malden are read from the same station as Cambridge, so their numbers match; the real difference is the distance from that station.
| Place | From Cambridge | Painting days a year | Window | Station |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Somerville, MA | 1 mi northeast | 74 | August to September | same station |
| Watertown, MA | 3 mi west | 74 | August to September | same station |
| Medford, MA | 3 mi north | 74 | August to September | same station |
| Everett, MA | 4 mi northeast | 74 | August to September | same station |
| Chelsea, MA | 5 mi east | 74 | August to September | same station |
| Malden, MA | 5 mi northeast | 74 | August to September | same station |
How Cambridge ranks in MA
Of 58 MA places with 10,000 people or more, Cambridge (population 121,186, 4th largest) ranks 2nd for painting days, 15 days above the state median of 60. The longest season in the state is Boston, 74 days, 6 miles southeast. The shortest is Greenfield at 41. 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 Gen E L Logan International A (5.6 miles away), 2015 to 2024, NOAA Global Summary of the Day. A month is good at 12+ painting days and possible at 6+.