What Time of Year Should I Paint my Florida Property?

Having a property painted in Florida is an exciting prospect and many homeowners are ready to jump into the process right away. However, painting during certain times of the year can make the job easier or harder than others and it is important to know the pros and cons of each. When hiring a professional, painting during any time of year is certainly possible as they are trained to work in a variety of conditions, but it is still important to understand how bad weather could potentially delay your project or extend its timeline. When completing the work yourself, some times of year are much more difficult to cope with than others.

Painting during the winter

In Florida, winter typically spans from October to the end of March. The sun is shining almost everyday, there is very little precipitation and the weather is fairly calm. This is the ideal season for painting a Florida home. When painting the exterior, there is no need to plan around numerous rainfalls and the temperature is still warm enough for paint to dry properly. Combine this with a lack of humidity and strong winds and winter truly shines as the best time to paint. However, although it is rare, temperatures can fall near the freezing point which would prevent paint from drying during that time. It is always important to check that the temperatures will be at least in the 50’s. For visitors from snowier climates who have a home in Florida, winter is when they are spending the most time in and around the home and painting it during this time is often an afterthought. However, it really is much more advantageous compared to having a house painted during the rainy season, so visitors should consider hiring professionals who can get the job done while they enjoy their vacation.

Painting during the spring

If a winter painting project isn’t an option, painting during the spring is the next best time to paint a Florida home. The humidity is still low, which prevents the trapping moisture in wood surfaces and also helps paints to dry quicker on their own. If moisture is trapped behind paint, it tends to bubble up later on as the moisture tries to escape, but has nowhere else to go. Homeowners who paint their home on their own tend to run into this problem when they are painting during rainy times of year or when there is high humidity that prevents surfaces from thoroughly drying out.

Painting during the summer

Although it is possible to paint a home in the summer, it is the most difficult season due to very high temperatures, high humidity, regular rainfalls and the possibility of hurricanes and high winds. The high humidity slows the drying of paint and increases the chances of trapping moisture in the surfaces to be painted. When painting the interior of a home on a very humid or damp day, turning on the AC can help remove the humidity so that the paint can dry more effectively. Winds and rain are the biggest threats to painting the exterior of a home. High winds can send dirt and debris flying towards a fresh coat of paint. If the paint is still wet enough for dirt to stick to it, then the final paint job will likely have a sloppy appearance and may need to be redone. Professionals are used to working around the volatile weather patterns of the summer, but it is an absolute nightmare for the inexperienced homeowner who decides to take on the project alone.

Painting during the fall

The fall is not an ideal season to paint the exterior of your home due to the chance of hurricanes and the fact that the humidity levels are not yet as low as they would be in the summer or the spring. A hurricane will definitely slow down plans to paint the exterior of your home, but will not stop homeowners from painting the interior. On the positive side, fall is not too cold to paint and it is also not too hot. High heat can exhaust workers and especially the first-time painter who is completing a project on their own. Fall, spring and winter are all better than summer painting when high heat is a concern. High heat has the potential to dry paint too quickly, which means that getting a nice, smooth finish would be near impossible.

Not only does painting your home protect it from the elements and make it look amazing, but it is also a big project that requires an appropriate amount of forethought. Before the paint is dry, it needs to be protected from the elements, such as high winds, high or low temperatures, high humidity and rainfalls. All things considered, winter offers the most advantageous combination of low humidity, little precipitation or wind and appropriate temperatures. Choosing spring as a second choice is also a great idea, but summer and fall are best avoided altogether if the project is being completed without the help of professionals.

If you’d like to know more about hiring an Orlando, FL painting company, feel free to contact us here or call us directly at 407.256.8610.