Backporch Revamp

Our backyard is in the process of getting a makeover, at least the area right off of our back porch. Due to our dogs inability to walk calmly down the steps, their constant leaping from four or five steps up, has created an unfixable mud hole at the bottom of our stairs. That problem is getting fixed in about two weeks with some pavers. In preparation for that though, I wanted to get the covered patio concrete cleaned and stained/painted/sealed, as it was covered in muddy paw prints and tracks from the aforementioned mud hole :)

before
(click here to see with furniture)

BLAH, BLEH, BLUH!!  :(

After scouring over the shelves at Lowe's, I decided to use a solid textured paint in lieu of a stain, A. Because I've used the stain before and it didn't hold up well to lots of foot traffic, and B. its about a third of the cost :)

Here's the rundown of materials & tools needed:

1). Etching Powder: I could find a link for this, we had some leftover from our Garage Floor kit

2). A Bucket and stiff Bristle broom/brush

3). Paint Roller with long handle and rolls, I found the Wooster Microfiber rolls worked best

4). Floor-Tex Decorative Texture Coating, we had ours tinted to Tobacco

5). Floor-Tex Topcoat, we choose ours in the Satin finish, but they've got a high-gloss option as well

So here's the steps:

• Rinse down and clean any residue spots on your concrete
• Mix etching powder with water in bucket (one bag gets mixed with two gallons water)
• Working on an area of 10x10 at a time, use stiff bristle brush to apply etching solution

• Rinse each section as you complete, until entire area is done
• Let concrete thoroughly dry, we let our dry an entire 24 hours
• Apply Floor-Tex paint, I first used a 3 inch brush to cut in all the corners and go around all of the edges with a thick coat, before starting with the roller. I found it was easier to pour the paint directly onto the concrete and then use the roller to spread out, when I used the paint tray, it seemed like a lot of the texture was being wasted in the tray and not making it onto the floor
• Let each coat dry 4 hours as suggested, I ended up laying 3 coats, as this porch sees ALOT of foot traffic, and I want it to hold up really well
• We let the final paint coat dry 24 hours, and then came back and rolled on the sealer, using the same method as before, just pouring it directly on the floor and rolling out,don't worry, this will look cloudy, but it dries clear.
• Let dry and cure for a good day or two and then move back your furniture.

after

Me and the hub both really love how this turned out, it picks up with the tones in our brick, and really warms up the space, no more blah concrete :) We rearranged the furniture, it looked like this before, to give the kids more room to play right out of the back porch when it's rainy.

Now I just have to paint the railings, we decided to paint them black with the same paint from our front door, and I just have to hold out a bit longer for pavers down below, and we will be ready for some barbecuing!