When to paint a house exterior in West Columbia, SC
When to paint in West Columbia, SC
A short season: book early and expect weather delays. The painting window is October, with 1 good month a year. The best month is October, at about 14 painting days. Book a painter by August.
If you want the house done in October, call for quotes in August 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, Sep, Oct.
- 1Jan
- 3Feb
- 7Mar
- 10Apr
- 12May
- 5Jun
- 2Jul
- 3Aug
- 10Sep
- 14Oct
- 4Nov
- 1Dec
Month by month
| Month | Painting days | Staining days | With low-temp paint | Avg low / high |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 1 | 1 | 5 | 35° / 61°F |
| February | 3 | 3 | 9 | 39° / 67°F |
| March | 7 | 6 | 15 | 45° / 73°F |
| April | 10 | 10 | 19 | 51° / 80°F |
| May | 12 | 9 | 15 | 60° / 86°F |
| June | 5 | 5 | 6 | 68° / 92°F |
| July | 2 | 1 | 2 | 73° / 95°F |
| August | 3 | 2 | 3 | 72° / 93°F |
| September | 10 | 10 | 10 | 66° / 89°F |
| October | 14 | 14 | 23 | 54° / 81°F |
| November | 4 | 4 | 13 | 43° / 70°F |
| December | 1 | 1 | 8 | 39° / 64°F |
Deck stain does best in October. Low-temperature paint adds about 54 days a year here.
Towns near West Columbia compared
3 of the 6 nearest places get more painting days, the most in Cayce (77 a year, 4 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. Lexington, Irmo are read from the same station as West Columbia, so their numbers match; the real difference is the distance from that station.
| Place | From West Columbia | Painting days a year | Window | Station |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cayce, SC | 4 mi southeast | 77 | October | Columbia Owens Downtown Airport |
| Lexington, SC | 7 mi west | 71 | October | same station |
| Forest Acres, SC | 8 mi east | 77 | October | Columbia Owens Downtown Airport |
| Irmo, SC | 10 mi northwest | 71 | October | same station |
| Columbia, SC | 12 mi east | 77 | October | Columbia Owens Downtown Airport |
| Newberry, SC | 35 mi northwest | 73 | May | Greenwood County Airport |
How West Columbia ranks in SC
Of 42 SC places with 10,000 people or more, West Columbia (population 18,418, 29th largest) ranks 38th for painting days, 11 days below the state median of 82. The longest season in the state is Myrtle Beach, 122 days, 128 miles east. The shortest is Tega Cay at 68. Switching to low-temperature paint here is worth 54 extra days, more than most of the summer months on their own.
Where these numbers come from
Daily records from Columbia Metropolitan Airport (3.5 miles away), 2015 to 2024, NOAA Global Summary of the Day. A month is good at 12+ painting days and possible at 6+.