When to paint a house exterior in Watertown, MA
When to paint in Watertown, MA
A normal season: plan the job, do not leave it late. The painting window is August to September, with 3 good months a year. The best month is September, at about 15 painting days. Book a painter by June.
If you want the house done in August to September, call for quotes in June 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
- under 1Feb
- under 1Mar
- 1Apr
- 8May
- 15Jun
- 12Jul
- 15Aug
- 15Sep
- 8Oct
- 1Nov
- under 1Dec
Month by month
| Month | Painting days | Staining days | With low-temp paint | Avg low / high |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | under 1 | under 1 | 1 | 24° / 42°F |
| February | under 1 | under 1 | 2 | 24° / 44°F |
| March | under 1 | under 1 | 3 | 30° / 49°F |
| April | 1 | under 1 | 12 | 40° / 59°F |
| May | 8 | 7 | 16 | 50° / 71°F |
| June | 15 | 9 | 15 | 59° / 79°F |
| July | 12 | 8 | 12 | 66° / 86°F |
| August | 15 | 9 | 15 | 66° / 85°F |
| September | 15 | 11 | 17 | 59° / 77°F |
| October | 8 | 8 | 17 | 49° / 67°F |
| November | 1 | 1 | 10 | 37° / 56°F |
| December | under 1 | under 1 | 2 | 30° / 47°F |
Deck stain does best in September. Low-temperature paint adds about 48 days a year here.
Towns near Watertown compared
2 get fewer, down to 46 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. Cambridge, Somerville, Medford, Everett are read from the same station as Watertown, so their numbers match; the real difference is the distance from that station.
| Place | From Watertown | Painting days a year | Window | Station |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Newton, MA | 3 mi southwest | 46 | June to September | Norwood Memorial Airport |
| Cambridge, MA | 3 mi east | 74 | August to September | same station |
| Waltham, MA | 4 mi west | 52 | August | Laurence G Hanscom Field Airport |
| Somerville, MA | 4 mi east | 74 | August to September | same station |
| Medford, MA | 5 mi northeast | 74 | August to September | same station |
| Everett, MA | 7 mi east | 74 | August to September | same station |
How Watertown ranks in MA
Of 58 MA places with 10,000 people or more, Watertown (population 35,985, 40th largest) ranks 11th for painting days, 15 days above the state median of 60. The longest season in the state is Boston, 74 days, 8 miles east. The shortest is Greenfield at 41. Switching to low-temperature paint here is worth 48 extra days, more than most of the summer months on their own.
Where these numbers come from
Daily records from Gen E L Logan International A (8.6 miles away), 2015 to 2024, NOAA Global Summary of the Day. A month is good at 12+ painting days and possible at 6+.