When to paint a house exterior in El Cerrito, CA
When to paint in El Cerrito, CA
A normal season: plan the job, do not leave it late. The painting window is August to October, with 5 good months a year. The best month is May, at about 20 painting days. Book a painter by June.
If you want the house done in August to October, call for quotes in June or earlier; a job pushed past October is likely to wait until next year. For a deck, the months with enough staining days to spare are Apr, May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep, Oct.
- 1Jan
- under 1Feb
- 3Mar
- 9Apr
- 20May
- 16Jun
- 11Jul
- 13Aug
- 16Sep
- 15Oct
- 3Nov
- under 1Dec
Month by month
| Month | Painting days | Staining days | With low-temp paint | Avg low / high |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 1 | 1 | 15 | 41° / 61°F |
| February | under 1 | under 1 | 17 | 41° / 66°F |
| March | 3 | 1 | 20 | 44° / 68°F |
| April | 9 | 8 | 25 | 48° / 75°F |
| May | 20 | 16 | 24 | 52° / 80°F |
| June | 16 | 16 | 16 | 57° / 89°F |
| July | 11 | 11 | 11 | 59° / 93°F |
| August | 13 | 10 | 13 | 60° / 92°F |
| September | 16 | 15 | 16 | 58° / 89°F |
| October | 15 | 13 | 24 | 52° / 82°F |
| November | 3 | 1 | 22 | 43° / 69°F |
| December | under 1 | under 1 | 13 | 40° / 61°F |
Deck stain does best in May. Low-temperature paint adds about 108 days a year here.
Towns near El Cerrito compared
3 of the 6 nearest places get more painting days, the most in Albany (163 a year, 2 miles southwest). 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. San Pablo, Richmond, Pinole are read from the same station as El Cerrito, so their numbers match; the real difference is the distance from that station.
| Place | From El Cerrito | Painting days a year | Window | Station |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Albany, CA | 2 mi southwest | 163 | May to October | Metro Oakland International Airport |
| San Pablo, CA | 4 mi northwest | 106 | August to October | same station |
| Berkeley, CA | 4 mi south | 163 | May to October | Metro Oakland International Airport |
| Richmond, CA | 4 mi northwest | 106 | August to October | same station |
| Emeryville, CA | 6 mi south | 163 | May to October | Metro Oakland International Airport |
| Pinole, CA | 6 mi north | 106 | August to October | same station |
How El Cerrito ranks in CA
Of 376 CA places with 10,000 people or more, El Cerrito (population 26,409, 263rd largest) ranks 222nd for painting days, 22 days below the state median of 128. The longest season in the state is Santa Clarita, 269 days, 322 miles southeast. The shortest is Susanville at 4. Switching to low-temperature paint here is worth 108 extra days, more than most of the summer months on their own.
Where these numbers come from
Daily records from Buchanan Field Airport (14.4 miles away), 2015 to 2024, NOAA Global Summary of the Day. A month is good at 12+ painting days and possible at 6+.