Painting a Porch: What You Need to Know
Porches are beautiful, enclosed, and multifunctional home extensions. Some porches might outline the entire home, providing a shady place to sit outside, fire up the grill, or decorate with hanging plants. Others might simply extend from the front door, serving as a comfortable welcome area for guests. Some homes feature porches in the back, adding a degree of privacy to the space.
Whether your porch is big, small, wide, thin, up front, or out back, you want it to look beautiful year-round, but especially in the spring and summer when you use it the most. What better way to achieve this than by adding a new coat of paint? Before you start painting your porch, however, here are some important steps you must take.
Clear the Area Beforehand
This might seem like a no-brainer, but before you paint your porch, you need a clear canvas. Your life will be much easier when you don’t have to paint around furniture and objects. If you’re painting this season, build this step into your spring cleaning ritual. It’s the perfect opportunity to get rid of old things and rearrange your porch.
Consider the Material
Porches can be composed of various materials, the most common being wood and concrete. Different materials require different types of paint and techniques for the best results. For instance, homeowners with wooden porches may use either latex or oil-based exterior floor paint or deck stain to enhance and protect their porches. For concrete porches, only latex floor paint is advised.
Sweep and Wash Surfaces
No matter what your porch is made of, it needs to be as clean as possible before applying a new coat of paint. You should start by sweeping the floor and dusting surfaces. Then, if possible, pressure wash your porch to get a deeper clean and remove any growing mold or mildew. Be careful, however, as pressure washing your porch at close range can damage it, especially wooden porches. If you’re unsure of how to go about this step, hire a Raleigh power washing professional.
Remove Old Paint
If your porch was previously painted, you’ll want to remove the old paint job before adding new layers. This will allow the new paint to adhere directly to the surface, which will prevent it from peeling or cracking. Most Raleigh painting professionals use sanding tools and scrapers to get rid of the old paint.
Further Preparation
Like any other paint job, you’ll want to perform additional preparation work before getting started. Lay down drop cloths, tape off areas you don’t want to paint on, and coat the surfaces you will be painting with primer first, and let it dry.
Time to Paint or Stain
When it’s time to apply paint or stain to your porch, you can apply it with a roller, brush, or both. Rollers are useful for painting large, long areas with an even coat, while brushes can paint smaller, hard to reach areas like trim and between floorboards. If staining the floor, only one coat is necessary. Adding more layers will simply darken the color. When painting your porch, be sure to apply two coats. Let the first coat dry before painting the second one, of course.
Sealing Your Porch
Lastly, you may want to add a layer of sealant over your porch’s paint job, especially for concrete porches. Concrete is porous, meaning moisture can easily enter the material and damage it over time. Sealing your porch provides a protective barrier that prevents moisture from entering the material and also guards it against sunlight.
All of this might seem like a lot to think about for simply painting your porch. But it’s worth it. Following these steps will help your porch look great this season and for many years to come. And if you need help with any of this, Anderson Painting contractors are always happy to help. To learn more about us and all our services, call Anderson Painting today at 919-610-1855 or email us at info@andersonpaintingnc.com!
