Painting Concrete
Last year we ran into a dilemma with our patio concrete floor. The indoor/outdoor carpet was quite worn from years of traffic and so we decided to remove it. Once it was gone, we found ourselves looking at a bare, gray concrete floor that was uneven and rough. To make matters worse, every time someone entered the house through the patio, a track of concrete dust and sand was left behind on the wood floor of our family room. Since we were undecided about how we were going to cover this floor, I began to look into a quick and inexpensive fix. I found that painting the concrete floor was the cheapest fix I could find.
“Painting concrete is normally only considered when it is required to cover an existing slab. For instance, after a crack has been repaired and then a concrete colorant can be used to cover the blemish.” http://www.concretenetwork.com/concrete/decorative/painting.htm
If you would like to try this, here are the steps we took.
Clean the floor and Repair
Using the hose, spray the concrete floor to remove most of the dirt. After it has dried, vacuum it to further remove any dust and loose sand. Concrete filler can be purchased at any home improvement store or local hardware store. Use this to repair any cracks in order to prevent further damage.
Make A Pattern
Using masking tape, create a pattern. We created a block pattern to resemble 18 inch by 18 inch tiles. You can mask just about any type of pattern you want.
Painting
You will need to purchase exterior house paint that is suitable for concrete or stucco. This is usually very inexpensive paint. The amount you will need is based on the amount of concrete your are going to paint. You can also have this colored to match the exterior of your home or any other color that you want. I also purchased a bottle of paint flecks. These are small multi-colored flecks of paint that come in a shaker bottle and can be purchased in several different colors.
Starting in the far corner, use a roller and begin painting the pattern you have created. You will need to do a small area at a time. While the paint is wet, begin shaking on the paint flecks. This is easier when done by two people, one paints while the other flecks. Remove the masking tape as you are going along. Let the entire floor dry for at least 24 hours.
Seal
When completely dry, put on a sealer which can be done with a roller. Since we were planning on this to be a temporary fix, we used inexpensive cans of clear spray sealer and just sprayed it on. Again, let it dry completely before walking on it.
This solved our problem and we no longer had dust and sand being tracked into the house. Over a year has passed since we completed this project and our painted and speckled concrete floor still looks great. In fact, it looks so good that we haven’t even thought about changing it. It has held up extremely well considering the large amount of traffic it handles. Some people even thought that we had laid down tile. Painting concrete floors is an easy and inexpensive project that will hide any imperfections. The entire project cost $24.00 and looks like it is going to last for quite a few years.
If you have ever painted a concrete floor and have some more suggestions or ideas, share them with the rest of us here.
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