Exterior work during winter months

[Riz Ahmad]

I was wondering how others handled exterior finish remodeling during the winter months. Just picked up a house that is a 6 week rehab, problem is the outside needs to the painted, and here in Wisconsin it’s unlikely that we will see a good 36 hour stretch above freezing to accomplish that. Any suggestions

[Marcus Auerbach]

A lot of painters still stick to the 60F idea. Sherwin Williams exterior paints like Durantion or Resiliance will go down to 35F, but keep in mind ideally for the first 48 hours after application - so not just daytime high. The paint will cure and apprear okay if temperatures drop further, but it can stop coalescing. This can allow moisture to get into the uncured paint film allowing certain components to come to the surface when the moisture evaporates, causing surface staining and possible adhesion problems.

I don't know how experience you are with rehabs, but 6 weeks are only doable if you stick to paint and carpet and don't do any rough in electrical, plumbing and drywall work. We usually need two weeks for demo and installation of electrical and plumbing, then a week for inspection, a couple days for insulation, then inspection again and then about a week and a half for rocking, tape, 3 coats of mud, sanding and texture. (In theory you can save a few days, but keep in mind that contractors and inspectors are not always available when you want them to be, so you always have days where nothing happens; the better you manage the project, the less it will be). As soon as you open walls you are usually looking at 12-14 weeks total project time.

By that time you may catch a week with 40F or 50F weather..