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Porch Redesign – Painting Concrete Porch or Patio

Painting concrete can be a daunting task if you’ve never done it before. Painting concrete that previously had outdoor carpeting installed on it can be even more challenging! One day I decided that I had looked at this failing carpeting long enough….so I ripped it up and revealed a decent looking concrete porch. Challenge Accepted!!!

Fortunately most of the glue that secured the carpet to the concrete came up with very little effort and was easy to sweep away and no solvent was needed. I’m pretty sure that carpeting had been there more than 20 years as many areas had already dislodged from the concrete. My goal was to completely change the look and feel of my front porch…so here’s what I did!

Step-by-Step Concrete Porch Redesign

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Tools & supplies

  • Behr Concrete and Masonary Bonding Primer
  • Behr and Glidden Porch and Floor paint – Oops Paint
  • 3/8″ Nap Microfiber Roller Covers
  • Behr Decorative Paint Flakes
  • Painter’s tape
  • Tape measure
  • Drywall T-square
  • Carpenter Pencil
  • Extendable Paint Pole

Total Project Cost: $60

  1. I swept and vacuumed the area to remove all dust and debris. If you need to wash down your area allow it to dry overnight to make sure there is no moisture remaining. 
  2. Using an extension pole, paint roller with cover and paint pan, I primed the entire surface and steps using Behr Concrete and Masonary Bonding Primer and let it dry for 6 hours since the day was a bit humid.
  3. Next I painted all surfaces with Behr Porch and Floor paint which I allowed to dry overnight.
  4. Decisions decisions…what type of design to paint the next color in…I decided to paint 4 squares in a complementary color and accent them with Behr Decorative Flakes. In order to do this I had to precisely measure each area to ensure each one was the same size, spaced correctly and the same distance from the front and back of the porch. Using a tape measure and drywall square I measured and marked off the dimensions for each square with a carpenter’s pencil. I used the square to fill in the lines between the corner markings.
  5. Using painters tape I taped off each square at the pencils lines and went over each area of tape make sure that it was completely in contact with the painted surface. Note: I selected painters tape that was specifically for freshly painted surfaces to avoid removing any of the paint underneath.
  6. Next I painted the first square using Glidden Porch and Floor Paint then sprinkled the decorative flakes while the paint was still wet. Then I removed the tape to make sure that it wouldn’t pull the paint off at the edges where the paint overlapped the paint. I repeated the process for for each of the remaining squares.
  7. I allowed several hours for the paint to dry. Once dry I swept each square to remove loose decorative flakes.

While the paint was drying I repainted most of the porch furniture with black spray paint to make everything look fresh.

Repainted Porch Furniture
Repainted Porch Furniture

Finally I reassembled the porch placing the freshly painted chairs and several plants in groups and ended up with my own little tropical paradise! 🙂

Money Saving Tip: Most hardware stores have paint that has been returned or that was never purchased after it was mixed. This paint is often offered at a substantial discount over paint where you select the color yourself and have mixed. Looking through that paint will often present many wonderful options. Just make sure it is the right type of paint for your painting task. For this project porch paint would have cost at least $25 -$30 per gallon and I used two gallons. I used Oops paint from Home Depot at a cost of $5 per gallon which I purchased a while ago in anticipation of one day completing this project (current cost of Oops paint at my local Home Depot is $9 per gallon).

This simple two day project completely rejuvenated the look of the front of the house and boosted its curb appeal! All for just under $60 since I had most of the tools I needed for the project.

The Projects Chick – Vicki McGill PCAvatar2

Posted in Bargain Shopping, Painting, Quick Update, Weekend DIY