When to paint a house exterior in Waterloo, IA
When to paint in Waterloo, IA
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
- 1Apr
- 6May
- 9Jun
- 16Jul
- 16Aug
- 10Sep
- 3Oct
- 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 | 11° / 31°F |
| February | under 1 | under 1 | under 1 | 12° / 35°F |
| March | under 1 | under 1 | 2 | 26° / 50°F |
| April | 1 | 1 | 9 | 36° / 63°F |
| May | 6 | 4 | 14 | 48° / 75°F |
| June | 9 | 5 | 12 | 59° / 86°F |
| July | 16 | 8 | 16 | 62° / 86°F |
| August | 16 | 11 | 18 | 59° / 85°F |
| September | 10 | 8 | 18 | 54° / 81°F |
| October | 3 | 3 | 13 | 40° / 66°F |
| November | 1 | 1 | 4 | 28° / 51°F |
| December | under 1 | under 1 | under 1 | 19° / 39°F |
Deck stain does best in August. Low-temperature paint adds about 44 days a year here.
Towns near Waterloo compared
3 of the 6 nearest places get more painting days, the most in Marion (70 a year, 50 miles southeast). 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. Cedar Falls, Waverly are read from the same station as Waterloo, so their numbers match; the real difference is the distance from that station.
| Place | From Waterloo | Painting days a year | Window | Station |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cedar Falls, IA | 6 mi west | 62 | July to August | same station |
| Waverly, IA | 17 mi north | 62 | July to August | same station |
| Marshalltown, IA | 42 mi southwest | 70 | June to September | Marshalltown Municipal Airport |
| Marion, IA | 50 mi southeast | 70 | June to September | The Eastern Iowa Airport |
| Cedar Rapids, IA | 50 mi southeast | 70 | June to September | The Eastern Iowa Airport |
| Mason City, IA | 62 mi northwest | 59 | July to August | Mason City Municipal Airport |
How Waterloo ranks in IA
Of 41 IA places with 10,000 people or more, Waterloo (population 67,477, 9th largest) ranks 34th for painting days, 10 days below the state median of 72. The longest season in the state is Council Bluffs, 118 days, 200 miles southwest. The shortest is Le Mars at 54. 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 Waterloo Municipal Airport (4.9 miles away), 2015 to 2024, NOAA Global Summary of the Day. A month is good at 12+ painting days and possible at 6+.