Two NOAA records for Valdosta
NOAA's 1991-2020 normals for Valdosta Regional Airport give 2,409 cooling degree days and 1,649 heating degree days a year (base 65 °F), with highs of 90 °F or more on about 101.4 days a year. In an average year at Moody AFB/Valdosta, NOAA counts about 1,840 hours with the wet-bulb temperature above 73°F and about 3,696 hours above 67°F.
Read together, the two records describe heat and moisture working on the outside of a house. Rather than talk about the weather in general, this page walks around a house and looks at how each kind of surface takes paint, and what a painter should do differently on each.
Wood and fiber-cement siding
Siding is the biggest area and usually the biggest share of the labour. On wood, the painter washes, scrapes anything loose, sands edges flat and spot-primes bare patches. Fiber-cement holds paint well but still needs washing, and any cut edges left raw at installation should be sealed. Hot days on a sunny wall are when lap marks happen, so expect the crew to work the shaded sides first and avoid rolling hot siding at midday.
Trim, fascia and soffits
Trim takes the most hand work: cutting in against siding, caulking joints, filling nail holes. Fascia and soffits sit under the roof edge and stay damp longer after rain. Given the Moody AFB/Valdosta count of humid hours, mildew on soffits and the shady side of trim is something to look for before painting. A painter should wash it off with a mildew treatment and let the surface dry; a paint with a mildewcide helps keep it from coming back.
Porch floors and steps
Floors take foot traffic and standing water, so they need a floor-rated porch paint or a solid stain, not wall paint. Old coats that have worn through should be sanded back and the edges feathered. Ask whether the price includes letting the floor cure before furniture goes back; the label usually asks for days, not hours, before full use.
Brick, block and stucco
Masonry is alkaline and porous. New or bare masonry needs a masonry primer, and painted masonry needs washing and repair of cracks first. Once painted, masonry stays painted, so be sure you want it before you start. Breathable masonry coatings let moisture out from inside the wall, which matters where walls get both sun and damp.
Railings, doors and metal
Metal railings and doors in full sun get very hot, which makes a smooth finish hard. Rust has to be removed and primed with a rust-inhibiting primer. Doors are often taken down and painted flat, or painted early in the day.
Georgia's consumer office note
Georgia's Consumer Protection Division says certain specialty occupations, such as roofers, painters, drywall contractors and repair handymen, are exempt from state contractor licensing, and that most contractors are also subject to county or city licensing requirements. We give it in the division's words and say nothing about Valdosta's or Lowndes County's own requirements.
Putting the walk-around to use
Take this list with you when you walk around the house with a painter. Ask them to describe the prep and product for each surface, and to put it in writing. Our exterior painting page and deck and fence staining page go deeper, and the pricing guide explains how each surface shows up on a proposal.