When to paint a house exterior in Portland, ME
When to paint in Portland, ME
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 August, at about 16 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
- under 1Apr
- 3May
- 9Jun
- 15Jul
- 16Aug
- 8Sep
- 1Oct
- 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 | 17° / 37°F |
| February | under 1 | under 1 | under 1 | 17° / 39°F |
| March | under 1 | under 1 | 1 | 25° / 46°F |
| April | under 1 | under 1 | 5 | 34° / 56°F |
| May | 3 | 3 | 16 | 44° / 68°F |
| June | 9 | 7 | 14 | 53° / 77°F |
| July | 15 | 7 | 15 | 61° / 83°F |
| August | 16 | 11 | 16 | 60° / 82°F |
| September | 8 | 5 | 16 | 53° / 75°F |
| October | 1 | 1 | 9 | 42° / 63°F |
| November | under 1 | under 1 | 3 | 30° / 52°F |
| December | under 1 | under 1 | under 1 | 22° / 41°F |
Deck stain does best in August. Low-temperature paint adds about 44 days a year here.
Towns near Portland compared
1 of the 6 nearest places get more painting days, the most in Biddeford (75 a year, 17 miles southwest); 2 get fewer, down to 41 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. South Portland, Westbrook, Saco are read from the same station as Portland, so their numbers match; the real difference is the distance from that station.
| Place | From Portland | Painting days a year | Window | Station |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| South Portland, ME | 5 mi west | 52 | July to August | same station |
| Westbrook, ME | 10 mi northwest | 52 | July to August | same station |
| Saco, ME | 14 mi southwest | 52 | July to August | same station |
| Biddeford, ME | 17 mi southwest | 75 | June to September | Wells Reserve |
| Auburn, ME | 31 mi north | 41 | July | Auburn/Lewiston Municipal Airport |
| Lewiston, ME | 32 mi north | 41 | July | Auburn/Lewiston Municipal Airport |
How Portland ranks in ME
Of 11 ME places with 10,000 people or more, Portland (population 69,568, 1st largest) ranks 3rd for painting days, right at the state median of 52. The longest season in the state is Biddeford, 75 days, 17 miles southwest. The shortest is Sanford at 33. Switching to low-temperature paint here is worth 44 extra days, more than most of the summer months on their own.
Where these numbers come from
Daily records from Portland International Jetpor (6 miles away), 2015 to 2024, NOAA Global Summary of the Day. A month is good at 12+ painting days and possible at 6+.