When to paint a house exterior in Federal Way, WA
When to paint in Federal Way, WA
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 July, at about 24 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.
- under 1Jan
- under 1Feb
- under 1Mar
- 1Apr
- 10May
- 17Jun
- 24Jul
- 23Aug
- 16Sep
- 3Oct
- under 1Nov
- under 1Dec
Month by month
| Month | Painting days | Staining days | With low-temp paint | Avg low / high |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | under 1 | under 1 | 3 | 37° / 50°F |
| February | under 1 | under 1 | 5 | 36° / 50°F |
| March | under 1 | under 1 | 10 | 39° / 56°F |
| April | 1 | under 1 | 15 | 42° / 61°F |
| May | 10 | 5 | 20 | 48° / 70°F |
| June | 17 | 12 | 20 | 53° / 75°F |
| July | 24 | 23 | 24 | 57° / 81°F |
| August | 23 | 20 | 23 | 57° / 82°F |
| September | 16 | 14 | 19 | 54° / 73°F |
| October | 3 | 3 | 13 | 47° / 63°F |
| November | under 1 | under 1 | 5 | 40° / 53°F |
| December | under 1 | under 1 | 2 | 36° / 48°F |
Deck stain does best in July. Low-temperature paint adds about 64 days a year here.
Towns near Federal Way compared
4 get fewer, down to 41 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. Des Moines, Auburn are read from the same station as Federal Way, so their numbers match; the real difference is the distance from that station.
| Place | From Federal Way | Painting days a year | Window | Station |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Des Moines, WA | 5 mi north | 93 | June to September | same station |
| Fife, WA | 6 mi south | 41 | July to August | Mcchord Air Force Base Airport |
| Auburn, WA | 6 mi east | 93 | June to September | same station |
| Edgewood, WA | 6 mi southeast | 41 | July to August | Mcchord Air Force Base Airport |
| Tacoma, WA | 7 mi southwest | 84 | July to September | Tacoma Narrows Airport |
| Sumner, WA | 8 mi southeast | 41 | July to August | Mcchord Air Force Base Airport |
How Federal Way ranks in WA
Of 91 WA places with 10,000 people or more, Federal Way (population 100,252, 10th largest) ranks 15th for painting days, 23 days above the state median of 71. The longest season in the state is Seattle, 108 days, 21 miles north. The shortest is Sunnyside at 27. Switching to low-temperature paint here is worth 64 extra days, more than most of the summer months on their own.
Where these numbers come from
Daily records from Seattle-Tacoma International (9.2 miles away), 2015 to 2024, NOAA Global Summary of the Day. A month is good at 12+ painting days and possible at 6+.