When to paint a house exterior in Memphis, TN
When to paint in Memphis, TN
A short season: book early and expect weather delays. The painting window is May, with 2 good months a year. The best month is May, at about 15 painting days. Book a painter by March.
If you want the house done in May, call for quotes in March or earlier; a job pushed past May is likely to wait until next year. For a deck, the months with enough staining days to spare are Apr, May, Jun, Sep, Oct, Nov.
- under 1Jan
- 2Feb
- 3Mar
- 9Apr
- 15May
- 8Jun
- 3Jul
- 5Aug
- 11Sep
- 13Oct
- 4Nov
- 1Dec
Month by month
| Month | Painting days | Staining days | With low-temp paint | Avg low / high |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | under 1 | under 1 | 4 | 33° / 54°F |
| February | 2 | 1 | 7 | 36° / 59°F |
| March | 3 | 3 | 14 | 44° / 68°F |
| April | 9 | 6 | 17 | 51° / 75°F |
| May | 15 | 10 | 17 | 62° / 84°F |
| June | 8 | 5 | 8 | 70° / 91°F |
| July | 3 | 1 | 3 | 74° / 93°F |
| August | 5 | 4 | 5 | 72° / 92°F |
| September | 11 | 11 | 11 | 67° / 89°F |
| October | 13 | 13 | 22 | 54° / 79°F |
| November | 4 | 4 | 14 | 43° / 66°F |
| December | 1 | 1 | 8 | 38° / 59°F |
Deck stain does best in October. Low-temperature paint adds about 54 days a year here.
Towns near Memphis compared
4 of the 6 nearest places get more painting days, the most in Bartlett (139 a year, 12 miles northeast). 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. Southaven, Horn Lake are read from the same station as Memphis, so their numbers match; the real difference is the distance from that station.
| Place | From Memphis | Painting days a year | Window | Station |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Germantown, TN | 11 mi east | 125 | April to June | Olive Branch Airport |
| Southaven, MS | 11 mi south | 75 | May | same station |
| Horn Lake, MS | 12 mi southwest | 75 | May | same station |
| Bartlett, TN | 12 mi northeast | 139 | April to June | Millington Municipal Airport |
| Olive Branch, MS | 13 mi southeast | 125 | April to June | Olive Branch Airport |
| West Memphis, AR | 13 mi west | 86 | September to October | West Memphis Municipal Airport |
How Memphis ranks in TN
Of 65 TN places with 10,000 people or more, Memphis (population 610,919, 2nd largest) ranks 45th for painting days, 15 days below the state median of 90. The longest season in the state is Winchester, 154 days, 218 miles east. The shortest is Elizabethton at 65. Switching to low-temperature paint here is worth 54 extra days, more than most of the summer months on their own.
Where these numbers come from
Daily records from Memphis International Airport (3.8 miles away), 2015 to 2024, NOAA Global Summary of the Day. A month is good at 12+ painting days and possible at 6+.