Guest Author - Dale Yelich

As much as I would love to talk about the painted leaves that appear each fall, all the golden yellows, the brilliant reds, and the shimmering oranges, we need to think about a different type of painting, to be specific, exterior painting in the fall.

This is one of those questions for the ages, when best to paint, spring or fall. Well, here is The Maintenance Guys take on this dilemma.

Whether paint is made from latex or oil bases, it is made to also expand and contract. If it wasn’t, anything outdoors that you painted would chip and peel before the first season was finished. However, there are different schools of thought on when the best time to paint is, and my favorite time has always been the fall. And here‘s why.

At the end of summer, after the house has been exposed to heat for the entire season, it has essentially expanded as far as it can go. In fact, by the time fall rolls around, it is actually beginning to contract because of the cooler temperature changes.

Realistically, it is still fairly well expanded by this time, and here is why I believe it is time to paint.

Any paint is better at contracting then expanding. If someone were to paint in the middle of winter, that coat of paint would probably last only half of it’s life because expansion would shred it in just a couple of years. However, the same also holds true for major contracting when it's cold. Painting in the heat of summer might cause the paint to actually wrinkle by the dead of winter, so that isn’t a good choice either.

So, when fall comes around, the house is still fairly expanded and on it’s way down. Painting now will allow it to initially stretch before contracting with the house. So, by the next years summer, when the house expands to it’s fullest, the paint has already been stretched, and will have an easier time responding to the house as a whole.

Painting in the spring has a totally different effect. The house is still cold and on it’s way up. The paint, when hitting the cold house, automatically contracts. Contracted paint means less of it on the house, and conversely, less of it means there is less of it that can stretch. So, as the house stretches from the heat of the summer, the stress on the paint to stretch with it, is far worse. That ultimately means paint failure in less than normal time. And paint failure means you’ll be painting again before you know it.

There will always be an argument on which season is best to do exterior painting. And regardless, paints made now-a-days are all very very good at being a stretching skin for your house. But if you want the best longevity for your exterior paint job, try painting in the fall. You’ll never equal the beauty of nature and her trees, but your house will look pretty darn good, and it will last that much longer.