Guides

Weather guidance for jobs that depend on the forecast.

• When to Pressure Wash a Patio: 8 Dry Hours and No Frost Overnight

  Washing a patio needs little from the weather. What comes after does: contact time for the cleaner, days of drying before sealing, and no freeze while the slabs are wet.

• Too Cold to Paint a Fence? 5°C Is the Floor, 10°C Is Safer

  Fence paint stops working below 5°C and needs a dry fence, a dry few hours after, and time to dry before the evening damp. How to find that day in autumn.

• Matt Varnish Gone Cloudy? Keep Humidity Under 60%

  Why spray matt varnish frosts white on miniatures, the temperature and humidity to aim for, the gloss-coat trick that prevents it, and how to rescue a frosted model.

• What's the Best Weather for Spraying Weedkiller?

  The temperature, wind and dry window weedkiller needs to work, how long it takes to become rainproof, and why autumn is a good time to treat perennial weeds.

• What's the Best Weather for Spray Painting Metal Garden Furniture?

  The temperature, humidity and dew conditions for spray painting metal garden furniture outdoors, and how to time the day so the finish stays smooth and the rust stays gone.

• What's the Best Weather to Overseed a Lawn in Autumn?

  When to overseed a UK lawn in autumn, the soil temperature grass seed needs, and the weather to look for on sowing day and in the fortnight after.

• Is It Too Humid to Prime Miniatures?

  How humidity ruins spray primer, the humidity numbers that matter for priming miniatures, and what to do when the forecast is against you.

• Best Weather to Prime Miniatures: 15–27°C, 40–60% Humidity

  Spray prime outdoors at 15–27°C with humidity between 40% and 60%. What goes wrong outside that range, and how to find the next day it lines up where you live.