When to paint a house exterior in Decatur, IL
When to paint in Decatur, IL
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 August, 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, Oct.
- under 1Jan
- under 1Feb
- 1Mar
- 4Apr
- 11May
- 14Jun
- 14Jul
- 17Aug
- 14Sep
- 6Oct
- 1Nov
- under 1Dec
Month by month
| Month | Painting days | Staining days | With low-temp paint | Avg low / high |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | under 1 | under 1 | 1 | 22° / 37°F |
| February | under 1 | under 1 | 3 | 24° / 43°F |
| March | 1 | 1 | 6 | 34° / 55°F |
| April | 4 | 3 | 12 | 43° / 66°F |
| May | 11 | 8 | 15 | 55° / 77°F |
| June | 14 | 11 | 14 | 64° / 86°F |
| July | 14 | 10 | 14 | 67° / 86°F |
| August | 17 | 13 | 17 | 64° / 85°F |
| September | 14 | 11 | 17 | 58° / 82°F |
| October | 6 | 5 | 17 | 47° / 69°F |
| November | 1 | 1 | 7 | 35° / 54°F |
| December | under 1 | under 1 | 2 | 28° / 44°F |
Deck stain does best in August. Low-temperature paint adds about 45 days a year here.
Towns near Decatur compared
3 of the 6 nearest places get more painting days, the most in Mattoon (98 a year, 40 miles southeast). 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.
| Place | From Decatur | Painting days a year | Window | Station |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Taylorville, IL | 28 mi southwest | 91 | May to September | Taylorville Minicipal Airport |
| Lincoln, IL | 31 mi northwest | 83 | May to September | Logan County Airport |
| Mahomet, IL | 37 mi northeast | 84 | June to September | Universi Of Il Willard Airport |
| Springfield, IL | 38 mi west | 85 | June to September | Abraham Lincoln Capital Airport |
| Champaign, IL | 39 mi northeast | 84 | June to September | Universi Of Il Willard Airport |
| Mattoon, IL | 40 mi southeast | 98 | May to September | Coles County Memo Airport |
How Decatur ranks in IL
Of 225 IL places with 10,000 people or more, Decatur (population 68,763, 17th largest) ranks 54th for painting days, 5 days above the state median of 77. The longest season in the state is Chicago, 131 days, 152 miles northeast. The shortest is Woodstock at 65. Switching to low-temperature paint here is worth 45 extra days, more than most of the summer months on their own.
Where these numbers come from
Daily records from Decatur Airport (3.9 miles away), 2015 to 2024, NOAA Global Summary of the Day. A month is good at 12+ painting days and possible at 6+.