When to paint a house exterior in Detroit, MI
When to paint in Detroit, MI
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 18 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
- under 1Mar
- 1Apr
- 8May
- 15Jun
- 15Jul
- 18Aug
- 18Sep
- 5Oct
- 1Nov
- under 1Dec
Month by month
| Month | Painting days | Staining days | With low-temp paint | Avg low / high |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | under 1 | under 1 | 1 | 21° / 36°F |
| February | under 1 | under 1 | 1 | 21° / 40°F |
| March | under 1 | under 1 | 3 | 29° / 50°F |
| April | 1 | 1 | 9 | 37° / 61°F |
| May | 8 | 6 | 16 | 49° / 74°F |
| June | 15 | 11 | 16 | 59° / 83°F |
| July | 15 | 9 | 15 | 65° / 86°F |
| August | 18 | 13 | 18 | 64° / 85°F |
| September | 18 | 16 | 20 | 58° / 79°F |
| October | 5 | 5 | 17 | 46° / 66°F |
| November | 1 | 1 | 8 | 34° / 53°F |
| December | under 1 | under 1 | 2 | 28° / 43°F |
Deck stain does best in September. Low-temperature paint adds about 45 days a year here.
Towns near Detroit compared
2 get fewer, down to 75 a year. 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. Hamtramck, Hazel Park, Ferndale, Oak Park are read from the same station as Detroit, so their numbers match; the real difference is the distance from that station.
| Place | From Detroit | Painting days a year | Window | Station |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hamtramck, MI | 3 mi east | 81 | June to September | same station |
| Hazel Park, MI | 5 mi north | 81 | June to September | same station |
| Ferndale, MI | 5 mi north | 81 | June to September | same station |
| Oak Park, MI | 7 mi northwest | 81 | June to September | same station |
| Dearborn, MI | 7 mi southwest | 75 | June to September | Detroit Metro Wayne County Airport |
| Melvindale, MI | 8 mi southwest | 75 | June to September | Detroit Metro Wayne County Airport |
How Detroit ranks in MI
Of 90 MI places with 10,000 people or more, Detroit (population 645,705, 1st largest) ranks 8th for painting days, 11 days above the state median of 70. The longest season in the state is Alpena, 105 days, 187 miles north. The shortest is Escanaba at 36. 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 Detroit City Airport (5 miles away), 2015 to 2024, NOAA Global Summary of the Day. A month is good at 12+ painting days and possible at 6+.