When to paint a house exterior in San Luis Obispo, CA
When to paint in San Luis Obispo, CA
A long painting season, with room to reschedule. The painting window is May to October, with 6 good months a year. The best month is July, at about 28 painting days. Book a painter by March.
If you want the house done in May to October, call for quotes in March or earlier; a job pushed past October is likely to wait until next year. For a deck, the months with enough staining days to spare are Apr, May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep, Oct.
- 1Jan
- 1Feb
- 3Mar
- 6Apr
- 16May
- 23Jun
- 28Jul
- 28Aug
- 21Sep
- 12Oct
- 5Nov
- 1Dec
Month by month
| Month | Painting days | Staining days | With low-temp paint | Avg low / high |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 1 | 1 | 18 | 42° / 68°F |
| February | 1 | under 1 | 17 | 42° / 69°F |
| March | 3 | 1 | 20 | 44° / 69°F |
| April | 6 | 5 | 26 | 47° / 73°F |
| May | 16 | 15 | 28 | 50° / 73°F |
| June | 23 | 23 | 27 | 53° / 79°F |
| July | 28 | 28 | 29 | 55° / 82°F |
| August | 28 | 27 | 28 | 56° / 83°F |
| September | 21 | 21 | 24 | 56° / 84°F |
| October | 12 | 12 | 22 | 51° / 83°F |
| November | 5 | 4 | 23 | 44° / 75°F |
| December | 1 | 1 | 18 | 42° / 68°F |
Deck stain does best in July. Low-temperature paint adds about 137 days a year here.
Towns near San Luis Obispo compared
4 get fewer, down to 31 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. Arroyo Grande, Morro Bay are read from the same station as San Luis Obispo, so their numbers match; the real difference is the distance from that station.
| Place | From San Luis Obispo | Painting days a year | Window | Station |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grover Beach, CA | 10 mi south | 126 | September to November | Cal Poly Pier |
| Arroyo Grande, CA | 11 mi southeast | 144 | May to October | same station |
| Morro Bay, CA | 13 mi northwest | 144 | May to October | same station |
| Atascadero, CA | 15 mi north | 31 | none reliable | Paso Robles Municipal Airport |
| El Paso de Robles (Paso Robles), CA | 25 mi north | 31 | none reliable | Paso Robles Municipal Airport |
| Santa Maria, CA | 26 mi southeast | 106 | June to September | Santa Maria Pub/Capt G A Hanc |
How San Luis Obispo ranks in CA
Of 376 CA places with 10,000 people or more, San Luis Obispo (population 49,729, 179th largest) ranks 177th for painting days, 16 days above the state median of 128. The longest season in the state is Santa Clarita, 269 days, 136 miles southeast. The shortest is Susanville at 4. Switching to low-temperature paint here is worth 137 extra days, more than most of the summer months on their own.
Where these numbers come from
Daily records from San Luis County Regional Airport (2.5 miles away), 2015 to 2024, NOAA Global Summary of the Day. A month is good at 12+ painting days and possible at 6+.