When to paint a house exterior in Suffolk, VA
When to paint in Suffolk, VA
A short season: book early and expect weather delays. The painting window is May to October, and even that is thin, with 0 good months a year. The best month is September, at about 12 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, Aug, Sep, Oct.
- under 1Jan
- 1Feb
- 2Mar
- 5Apr
- 9May
- 11Jun
- 6Jul
- 10Aug
- 12Sep
- 7Oct
- 1Nov
- under 1Dec
Month by month
| Month | Painting days | Staining days | With low-temp paint | Avg low / high |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | under 1 | under 1 | 2 | 31° / 55°F |
| February | 1 | 1 | 4 | 34° / 59°F |
| March | 2 | 1 | 9 | 39° / 65°F |
| April | 5 | 5 | 15 | 47° / 74°F |
| May | 9 | 4 | 14 | 57° / 81°F |
| June | 11 | 8 | 12 | 64° / 87°F |
| July | 6 | 2 | 6 | 70° / 90°F |
| August | 10 | 5 | 10 | 68° / 89°F |
| September | 12 | 9 | 13 | 64° / 85°F |
| October | 7 | 6 | 18 | 51° / 76°F |
| November | 1 | 1 | 9 | 39° / 66°F |
| December | under 1 | under 1 | 4 | 35° / 59°F |
Deck stain does best in September. Low-temperature paint adds about 49 days a year here.
Towns near Suffolk compared
6 of the 6 nearest places get more painting days, the most in Portsmouth (98 a year, 19 miles northeast). 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 Suffolk | Painting days a year | Window | Station |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chesapeake, VA | 18 mi east | 84 | August to September | Chesapeake Regional Airport |
| Portsmouth, VA | 19 mi northeast | 98 | September to October | Norfolk Naval Air Station |
| Norfolk, VA | 27 mi northeast | 98 | September to October | Norfolk Naval Air Station |
| Newport News, VA | 27 mi north | 79 | June | Nwpt News/Wimburg International Airport |
| Hampton, VA | 31 mi northeast | 76 | June | Langley Air Force Base Airport |
| Virginia Beach, VA | 34 mi east | 86 | September | Oceana Naval Air Station |
How Suffolk ranks in VA
Of 39 VA places with 10,000 people or more, Suffolk (population 103,105, 8th largest) ranks 22nd for painting days, right at the state median of 65. The longest season in the state is Williamsburg, 109 days, 40 miles north. The shortest is Front Royal at 49. Switching to low-temperature paint here is worth 49 extra days, more than most of the summer months on their own.
Where these numbers come from
Daily records from Suffolk Municipal Airport (2.1 miles away), 2015 to 2024, NOAA Global Summary of the Day. A month is good at 12+ painting days and possible at 6+.