When to paint a house exterior in North Chicago, IL
When to paint in North Chicago, IL
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 August, at about 18 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, Oct.
- under 1Jan
- under 1Feb
- 1Mar
- 1Apr
- 7May
- 13Jun
- 17Jul
- 18Aug
- 14Sep
- 5Oct
- 1Nov
- under 1Dec
Month by month
| Month | Painting days | Staining days | With low-temp paint | Avg low / high |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | under 1 | under 1 | 1 | 19° / 32°F |
| February | under 1 | under 1 | 2 | 19° / 36°F |
| March | 1 | 1 | 4 | 29° / 46°F |
| April | 1 | 1 | 8 | 37° / 57°F |
| May | 7 | 7 | 15 | 48° / 68°F |
| June | 13 | 11 | 16 | 58° / 79°F |
| July | 17 | 10 | 17 | 64° / 82°F |
| August | 18 | 18 | 18 | 63° / 81°F |
| September | 14 | 14 | 17 | 58° / 76°F |
| October | 5 | 5 | 15 | 45° / 63°F |
| November | 1 | 1 | 8 | 34° / 50°F |
| December | under 1 | under 1 | 1 | 26° / 39°F |
Deck stain does best in August. Low-temperature paint adds about 45 days a year here.
Towns near North Chicago compared
3 of the 6 nearest places get more painting days, the most in Lake Forest (80 a year, 6 miles south). 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. Waukegan, Gurnee, Libertyville are read from the same station as North Chicago, so their numbers match; the real difference is the distance from that station.
| Place | From North Chicago | Painting days a year | Window | Station |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Waukegan, IL | 4 mi north | 77 | June to September | same station |
| Gurnee, IL | 5 mi northwest | 77 | June to September | same station |
| Lake Forest, IL | 6 mi south | 80 | June to September | Palwaukee Municipal Airport |
| Libertyville, IL | 6 mi west | 77 | June to September | same station |
| Vernon Hills, IL | 8 mi southwest | 80 | June to September | Palwaukee Municipal Airport |
| Mundelein, IL | 9 mi west | 80 | June to September | Palwaukee Municipal Airport |
How North Chicago ranks in IL
Of 225 IL places with 10,000 people or more, North Chicago (population 30,639, 63rd largest) ranks 132nd for painting days, 1 day below the state median of 77. The longest season in the state is Chicago, 131 days, 34 miles south. The shortest is Woodstock at 65. Switching to low-temperature paint here is worth 45 extra days, more than most of the summer months on their own.
Where these numbers come from
Daily records from Waukegan Regional Airport (6.9 miles away), 2015 to 2024, NOAA Global Summary of the Day. A month is good at 12+ painting days and possible at 6+.