When to paint a house exterior in Santa Maria, CA
When to paint in Santa Maria, CA
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 July, at about 26 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
- 2Feb
- 1Mar
- 2Apr
- 8May
- 18Jun
- 26Jul
- 22Aug
- 16Sep
- 7Oct
- 2Nov
- under 1Dec
Month by month
| Month | Painting days | Staining days | With low-temp paint | Avg low / high |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | under 1 | under 1 | 14 | 41° / 67°F |
| February | 2 | under 1 | 14 | 40° / 68°F |
| March | 1 | 1 | 17 | 43° / 68°F |
| April | 2 | 2 | 22 | 45° / 71°F |
| May | 8 | 5 | 24 | 48° / 70°F |
| June | 18 | 16 | 25 | 52° / 74°F |
| July | 26 | 25 | 27 | 54° / 75°F |
| August | 22 | 22 | 22 | 55° / 77°F |
| September | 16 | 14 | 19 | 54° / 79°F |
| October | 7 | 5 | 19 | 50° / 79°F |
| November | 2 | 1 | 21 | 43° / 73°F |
| December | under 1 | under 1 | 15 | 40° / 67°F |
Deck stain does best in July. Low-temperature paint adds about 132 days a year here.
Towns near Santa Maria compared
4 of the 6 nearest places get more painting days, the most in Arroyo Grande (144 a year, 15 miles northwest); 2 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.
| Place | From Santa Maria | Painting days a year | Window | Station |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arroyo Grande, CA | 15 mi northwest | 144 | May to October | San Luis County Regional Airport |
| Grover Beach, CA | 16 mi northwest | 126 | September to November | Cal Poly Pier |
| Lompoc, CA | 19 mi south | 96 | June to September | Lompoc Airport |
| San Luis Obispo, CA | 26 mi northwest | 144 | May to October | San Luis County Regional Airport |
| Morro Bay, CA | 38 mi northwest | 144 | May to October | San Luis County Regional Airport |
| Atascadero, CA | 41 mi north | 31 | none reliable | Paso Robles Municipal Airport |
How Santa Maria ranks in CA
Of 376 CA places with 10,000 people or more, Santa Maria (population 111,346, 60th largest) ranks 227th for painting days, 22 days below the state median of 128. The longest season in the state is Santa Clarita, 269 days, 116 miles east. The shortest is Susanville at 4. Switching to low-temperature paint here is worth 132 extra days, more than most of the summer months on their own.
Where these numbers come from
Daily records from Santa Maria Pub/Capt G A Hanc (2.4 miles away), 2015 to 2024, NOAA Global Summary of the Day. A month is good at 12+ painting days and possible at 6+.