When to paint a house exterior in Madison, WI
When to paint in Madison, WI
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 19 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
- under 1Mar
- 1Apr
- 4May
- 11Jun
- 19Jul
- 18Aug
- 12Sep
- 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 | under 1 | 14° / 30°F |
| February | under 1 | under 1 | 1 | 14° / 35°F |
| March | under 1 | under 1 | 2 | 25° / 48°F |
| April | 1 | 1 | 7 | 34° / 60°F |
| May | 4 | 3 | 13 | 47° / 73°F |
| June | 11 | 8 | 15 | 57° / 82°F |
| July | 19 | 14 | 19 | 61° / 85°F |
| August | 18 | 14 | 19 | 59° / 82°F |
| September | 12 | 10 | 18 | 53° / 77°F |
| October | 3 | 3 | 13 | 41° / 64°F |
| November | under 1 | under 1 | 4 | 29° / 49°F |
| December | under 1 | under 1 | under 1 | 21° / 38°F |
Deck stain does best in August. Low-temperature paint adds about 41 days a year here.
Towns near Madison compared
Every one of the 6 closest places lands within three days of Madison's 69 a year, so the season here is the regional season. Middleton, Waunakee, Fitchburg, Verona, DeForest, Oregon are read from the same station as Madison, so their numbers match; the real difference is the distance from that station.
| Place | From Madison | Painting days a year | Window | Station |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Middleton, WI | 4 mi west | 69 | July to August | same station |
| Waunakee, WI | 7 mi north | 69 | July to August | same station |
| Fitchburg, WI | 7 mi south | 69 | July to August | same station |
| Verona, WI | 9 mi southwest | 69 | July to August | same station |
| DeForest, WI | 11 mi northeast | 69 | July to August | same station |
| Oregon, WI | 11 mi south | 69 | July to August | same station |
How Madison ranks in WI
Of 98 WI places with 10,000 people or more, Madison (population 285,300, 2nd largest) ranks 51st for painting days, 1 day below the state median of 69. The longest season in the state is Appleton, 111 days, 97 miles northeast. The shortest is Superior at 29. Switching to low-temperature paint here is worth 41 extra days, more than most of the summer months on their own.
Where these numbers come from
Daily records from Dane County Regional-Truax Field (5.6 miles away), 2015 to 2024, NOAA Global Summary of the Day. A month is good at 12+ painting days and possible at 6+.