When to paint a house exterior in Pittsburgh, PA
When to paint in Pittsburgh, PA
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 17 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
- 3Apr
- 8May
- 13Jun
- 15Jul
- 17Aug
- 16Sep
- 4Oct
- 1Nov
- under 1Dec
Month by month
| Month | Painting days | Staining days | With low-temp paint | Avg low / high |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | under 1 | under 1 | 1 | 23° / 40°F |
| February | under 1 | under 1 | 3 | 25° / 46°F |
| March | 1 | under 1 | 4 | 32° / 55°F |
| April | 3 | 2 | 9 | 41° / 66°F |
| May | 8 | 6 | 13 | 52° / 75°F |
| June | 13 | 10 | 15 | 59° / 82°F |
| July | 15 | 9 | 15 | 64° / 86°F |
| August | 17 | 11 | 17 | 63° / 84°F |
| September | 16 | 13 | 18 | 58° / 79°F |
| October | 4 | 4 | 15 | 46° / 68°F |
| November | 1 | 1 | 7 | 34° / 55°F |
| December | under 1 | under 1 | 2 | 29° / 46°F |
Deck stain does best in September. Low-temperature paint adds about 41 days a year here.
Towns near Pittsburgh compared
Every one of the 6 closest places lands within three days of Pittsburgh's 79 a year, so the season here is the regional season. Baldwin, Munhall, Wilkinsburg, Whitehall, West Mifflin, Bethel Park are read from the same station as Pittsburgh, so their numbers match; the real difference is the distance from that station.
| Place | From Pittsburgh | Painting days a year | Window | Station |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Baldwin, PA | 4 mi south | 79 | June to September | same station |
| Munhall, PA | 5 mi southeast | 79 | June to September | same station |
| Wilkinsburg, PA | 5 mi east | 79 | June to September | same station |
| Whitehall, PA | 6 mi south | 79 | June to September | same station |
| West Mifflin, PA | 7 mi southeast | 79 | June to September | same station |
| Bethel Park, PA | 9 mi south | 79 | June to September | same station |
How Pittsburgh ranks in PA
Of 68 PA places with 10,000 people or more, Pittsburgh (population 307,668, 2nd largest) ranks 5th for painting days, 14 days above the state median of 65. The longest season in the state is Indiana, 109 days, 45 miles east. The shortest is St. Marys at 39. 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 Allegheny County Airport (6.5 miles away), 2015 to 2024, NOAA Global Summary of the Day. A month is good at 12+ painting days and possible at 6+.