When to paint a house exterior in Elmira, NY
When to paint in Elmira, NY
A short season: book early and expect weather delays. The painting window is July to August, and even that is thin, with 0 good months a year. The best month is August, at about 12 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 Jun, Jul, Aug.
- under 1Jan
- under 1Feb
- under 1Mar
- 1Apr
- 4May
- 6Jun
- 11Jul
- 12Aug
- 6Sep
- 2Oct
- under 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 | 18° / 38°F |
| February | under 1 | under 1 | 1 | 17° / 42°F |
| March | under 1 | under 1 | 2 | 25° / 50°F |
| April | 1 | 1 | 5 | 34° / 62°F |
| May | 4 | 2 | 11 | 45° / 75°F |
| June | 6 | 5 | 14 | 52° / 82°F |
| July | 11 | 5 | 14 | 58° / 87°F |
| August | 12 | 7 | 16 | 57° / 84°F |
| September | 6 | 4 | 14 | 51° / 78°F |
| October | 2 | 2 | 10 | 41° / 67°F |
| November | under 1 | under 1 | 3 | 29° / 54°F |
| December | under 1 | under 1 | 1 | 25° / 43°F |
Deck stain does best in August. Low-temperature paint adds about 49 days a year here.
Towns near Elmira compared
5 of the 6 nearest places get more painting days, the most in Endicott (57 a year, 38 miles east). 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. Corning is read from the same station as Elmira, so its numbers match; the real difference is the distance from that station.
| Place | From Elmira | Painting days a year | Window | Station |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Corning, NY | 13 mi west | 41 | July to August | same station |
| Ithaca, NY | 29 mi northeast | 48 | July to August | Ithaca Tompkins Regional Airport |
| Endicott, NY | 38 mi east | 57 | July to August | Greater Binghamton/E A Link F |
| Johnson City, NY | 43 mi east | 57 | July to August | Greater Binghamton/E A Link F |
| Binghamton, NY | 46 mi east | 57 | July to August | Greater Binghamton/E A Link F |
| Cortland, NY | 48 mi northeast | 48 | July to August | Ithaca Tompkins Regional Airport |
How Elmira ranks in NY
Of 90 NY places with 10,000 people or more, Elmira (population 26,255, 34th largest) ranks 88th for painting days, 29 days below the state median of 70. The longest season in the state is Kingston, 96 days, 145 miles east. The shortest is Olean at 39. Switching to low-temperature paint here is worth 49 extra days, more than most of the summer months on their own.
Where these numbers come from
Daily records from Elmira/Corning Rgnl Airport (6.2 miles away), 2015 to 2024, NOAA Global Summary of the Day. A month is good at 12+ painting days and possible at 6+.