When to paint a house exterior in Elkhart, IN
When to paint in Elkhart, IN
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 July, at about 17 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 May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep, Oct.
- under 1Jan
- under 1Feb
- under 1Mar
- 2Apr
- 7May
- 11Jun
- 17Jul
- 17Aug
- 12Sep
- 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 | 19° / 35°F |
| February | under 1 | under 1 | 1 | 20° / 40°F |
| March | under 1 | under 1 | 3 | 29° / 51°F |
| April | 2 | 1 | 7 | 37° / 62°F |
| May | 7 | 6 | 15 | 49° / 74°F |
| June | 11 | 9 | 15 | 59° / 83°F |
| July | 17 | 12 | 18 | 61° / 85°F |
| August | 17 | 13 | 18 | 59° / 83°F |
| September | 12 | 9 | 19 | 54° / 80°F |
| October | 4 | 4 | 12 | 43° / 67°F |
| November | 1 | 1 | 5 | 31° / 52°F |
| December | under 1 | under 1 | 1 | 25° / 42°F |
Deck stain does best in August. Low-temperature paint adds about 42 days a year here.
Towns near Elkhart compared
2 of the 6 nearest places get more painting days, the most in Plymouth (121 a year, 30 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. Goshen is read from the same station as Elkhart, so its numbers match; the real difference is the distance from that station.
| Place | From Elkhart | Painting days a year | Window | Station |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mishawaka, IN | 11 mi west | 72 | July to September | South Bend Regional Airport |
| Goshen, IN | 11 mi southeast | 72 | July to August | same station |
| South Bend, IN | 16 mi west | 72 | July to September | South Bend Regional Airport |
| Niles, MI | 18 mi northwest | 72 | July to September | South Bend Regional Airport |
| Sturgis, MI | 29 mi east | 76 | June to September | Kirsch Municipal Airport |
| Plymouth, IN | 30 mi southwest | 121 | May to September | Starke County Airport |
How Elkhart ranks in IN
Of 88 IN places with 10,000 people or more, Elkhart (population 53,690, 18th largest) ranks 59th for painting days, 4 days below the state median of 75. The longest season in the state is Michigan City, 134 days, 47 miles west. The shortest is McCordsville at 59. Switching to low-temperature paint here is worth 42 extra days, more than most of the summer months on their own.
Where these numbers come from
Daily records from Goshen Municipal 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+.