When to paint a house exterior in San Mateo, CA
When to paint in San Mateo, CA
A long painting season, with room to reschedule. The painting window is April to October, with 7 good months a year. The best month is July, at about 30 painting days. Book a painter by February.
If you want the house done in April to October, call for quotes in February 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 Mar, Apr, May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep, Oct, Nov.
- 2Jan
- 5Feb
- 11Mar
- 18Apr
- 28May
- 28Jun
- 30Jul
- 29Aug
- 26Sep
- 25Oct
- 8Nov
- 1Dec
Month by month
| Month | Painting days | Staining days | With low-temp paint | Avg low / high |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 2 | 2 | 20 | 44° / 59°F |
| February | 5 | 3 | 27 | 45° / 64°F |
| March | 11 | 7 | 30 | 47° / 66°F |
| April | 18 | 15 | 30 | 50° / 69°F |
| May | 28 | 27 | 30 | 53° / 71°F |
| June | 28 | 28 | 28 | 57° / 76°F |
| July | 30 | 30 | 30 | 58° / 78°F |
| August | 29 | 29 | 29 | 60° / 79°F |
| September | 26 | 26 | 26 | 59° / 79°F |
| October | 25 | 23 | 29 | 55° / 75°F |
| November | 8 | 6 | 27 | 47° / 65°F |
| December | 1 | 1 | 21 | 43° / 59°F |
Deck stain does best in July. Low-temperature paint adds about 116 days a year here.
Towns near San Mateo compared
3 get fewer, down to 188 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. Foster City, Belmont, San Carlos are read from the same station as San Mateo, so their numbers match; the real difference is the distance from that station.
| Place | From San Mateo | Painting days a year | Window | Station |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hillsborough, CA | 3 mi west | 188 | April to October | San Francisco International A |
| Foster City, CA | 3 mi east | 211 | April to October | same station |
| Belmont, CA | 3 mi south | 211 | April to October | same station |
| Burlingame, CA | 4 mi northwest | 188 | April to October | San Francisco International A |
| San Carlos, CA | 5 mi southeast | 211 | April to October | same station |
| Millbrae, CA | 6 mi northwest | 188 | April to October | San Francisco International A |
How San Mateo ranks in CA
Of 376 CA places with 10,000 people or more, San Mateo (population 103,006, 71st largest) ranks 91st for painting days, 83 days above the state median of 128. The longest season in the state is Santa Clarita, 269 days, 304 miles southeast. The shortest is Susanville at 4. Switching to low-temperature paint here is worth 116 extra days, more than most of the summer months on their own.
Where these numbers come from
Daily records from San Carlos Airport (4.5 miles away), 2015 to 2024, NOAA Global Summary of the Day. A month is good at 12+ painting days and possible at 6+.