When to paint a house exterior in Fort Dodge, IA
When to paint in Fort Dodge, IA
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 Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep.
- under 1Jan
- under 1Feb
- 1Mar
- 2Apr
- 5May
- 11Jun
- 17Jul
- 15Aug
- 11Sep
- 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 | 12° / 30°F |
| February | under 1 | under 1 | 1 | 13° / 34°F |
| March | 1 | 1 | 3 | 27° / 49°F |
| April | 2 | 1 | 11 | 36° / 62°F |
| May | 5 | 3 | 14 | 49° / 74°F |
| June | 11 | 7 | 13 | 60° / 85°F |
| July | 17 | 12 | 18 | 62° / 85°F |
| August | 15 | 11 | 17 | 60° / 83°F |
| September | 11 | 10 | 17 | 55° / 80°F |
| October | 4 | 3 | 12 | 40° / 64°F |
| November | 1 | 1 | 5 | 27° / 50°F |
| December | under 1 | under 1 | 1 | 18° / 38°F |
Deck stain does best in July. Low-temperature paint adds about 43 days a year here.
Towns near Fort Dodge compared
2 of the 6 nearest places get more painting days, the most in Grimes (72 a year, 61 miles south); 2 get fewer, down to 56 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.
| Place | From Fort Dodge | Painting days a year | Window | Station |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boone, IA | 35 mi southeast | 68 | June to September | Ames Municipal Airport |
| Ames, IA | 44 mi southeast | 68 | June to September | Ames Municipal Airport |
| Carroll, IA | 46 mi southwest | 57 | July to August | Perry Municipal Airport |
| Storm Lake, IA | 53 mi west | 56 | July to August | Cherokee Municipal Airport/ |
| Grimes, IA | 61 mi south | 72 | June to September | Des Moines International Airport |
| Johnston, IA | 61 mi south | 72 | June to September | Des Moines International Airport |
How Fort Dodge ranks in IA
Of 41 IA places with 10,000 people or more, Fort Dodge (population 24,886, 21st largest) ranks 32nd for painting days, 4 days below the state median of 72. The longest season in the state is Council Bluffs, 118 days, 123 miles southwest. The shortest is Le Mars at 54. Switching to low-temperature paint here is worth 43 extra days, more than most of the summer months on their own.
Where these numbers come from
Daily records from Fort Dodge Regional Aprt (2.8 miles away), 2015 to 2024, NOAA Global Summary of the Day. A month is good at 12+ painting days and possible at 6+.