Vancouver gets more than 1,200mm of rain a year, and the wettest months — November through March — are also the coldest. That combination is brutal on exterior paint, especially on heritage homes in Strathcona, Kitsilano Edwardians and the Vancouver Specials of East Van. Here is how we plan exterior projects so the finish actually lasts 8–10 years.
Pick the right window: late spring through early fall
We schedule almost all Vancouver exterior repaints between May and early October. Surface temperatures need to stay above 10°C overnight for 100% acrylic coatings to cure properly. Spraying in November sounds cheap until the first wet snap lifts the film off the siding.
Prep is 70% of the job in Vancouver
Pressure wash, scrape failed paint, sand to a sound edge, replace cracked caulking, and spot-prime every bare spot with an oil or alkyd stain-blocking primer. Cedar siding common in Kitsilano and Mount Pleasant needs tannin-blocking primer or you will see brown bleed-through within a year.
Spec a moisture-rated coating system
We default to premium 100% acrylic exterior paints (Benjamin Moore Aura Exterior, Sherwin-Williams Emerald Exterior). They breathe enough to let trapped moisture escape rather than blistering, and they hold colour against Vancouver's UV-heavy summers.
Work neighbourhood by neighbourhood
Heritage homes in Strathcona and the West End usually need lead-safe practices and breathable paints. Yaletown and Coal Harbour low-rises lean on stucco and Hardie board. Kitsilano and Kerrisdale Craftsman homes almost always involve cedar restoration.
Painting in Vancouver?
Vancouver's wet Pacific climate demands premium primers and weather-rated exterior coatings — exactly what we specify on every job.