Y’all.



Y’all.

WE HAVE POWER.

WE HAVE INTERNET.

WE (MAY) HAVE AMAZON DELIVERIES TODAY.

Greetings from the icy tundra that is Texas. Life is good. Snowy—but good.

And in amazing news? The sun is shining. The squirrels are running up the trees. The bunnies are hopping on the ground. The gas stations might be getting gas.

AND THE SNOW IS MELTING.

Thank you, thank you, thank you for all your e-mails and messages and kindness.

The idea for this post came from all the porch sweeping.

See, we don’t have snow shovels.

So instead?

We swept the porch.

(total aside: We broke the broom. Apparently, brooms aren’t meant for snow).

But amidst all that sweeping, I noticed our painted concrete porch under all that snow. When we finished painting it TWO years ago one of the biggest questions people always ask is:

Is your painted porch holding up?

And what better test for a painted porch than a snowstorm?

What do you think? Did the porch make it through the icy blast of cold and ice and snow?

Just a reminder.

In less snowy times, here’s where we started with the brick porch and brick steps.

This was where the front porch meets the front steps. And in awkward masonry news….

…..THEY ARE TWO DIFFERENT COLORS.

At first, I planned on replacing the brick. Maybe just the brick on the top? That wouldn’t be too expensive? Right?

Ummm.  Have you ever priced replacing brick?

IT IS A FORTUNE.

And I don’t have a fortune.

I have kids going to college.

It was even more expensive because the brick isn’t exactly level and between the cost of ripping the existing brick out and leveling the surface and installing new brick? I could have taken all of us on a cruise to the Bahamas.

Here’s the after.

Here are the details and some of my best front porch brick painting tips.

WHAT COLOR PAINT DID YOU USE?

When painting the brick floor outside, we used Cityscape SW 7067. I actually love that entire paint strip. I also looked at Grizzle Gray SW 7069 and Peppercorn SW 7674, but Cityscape was the perfect light gray to go with the paint color on the house, Rushing River SW 7746, which you may recall we painted a couple of years ago with Sherwin-Williams Emerald Exterior Acrylic Latex Paint.

DID YOU USE A PRIMER?

No. We just applied the paint directly to the brick.

WHAT PAINT SHEEN DID YOU USE?

The Porch & Floor enamel comes in a Satin sheen and is tintable to many colors. I love the Satin because wanted to create the appearance of brick that isn’t glossy.



WHAT PREP DID YOU DO TO GET READY TO PAINT BRICK STEPS?

We thoroughly cleaned the brick and swept it to make sure there was a clean surface for the paint to adhere to. We also made sure to remove any loose debris or mortar so we had a smooth surface to paint.

CAN YOU PAINT BRICK STEPS?

Yes. With the proper prep and the right paint, you can paint brick steps. It’s been a year since we painted this porch and these steps and the paint has really held up.




HOW LONG DID THE PAINTED BRICK STEPS TAKE TO DRY?


It was a sunny day, so the paint dried to the touch within one hour. It’s recommended to wait for four hours before you recoat. We didn’t walk on it for 24 hours to make sure it set up properly.  We didn’t move the benches and planters back onto the porch for several days.

HOW DID YOU APPLY THE PAINT TO PAINT BRICK STEPS?

We started brushing the grout lines first to make sure they were covered. We took a medium-sized paintbrush and painted the grout lines and around the bottom of the fence on the front porch. We then used a roller or a paintbrush for painting the brick floor outside and the rest of the flat surfaces. On the vertical surfaces, like the front of the steps and the brick foundation, we used a brush.

All those questions.

All those answers.

But the real question?

When the hard times hit and the snow fell and the ice came and the house looked like this.

When the sun came out and the snow started to melt….

….DID THE PAINTED PORCH ACTUALLY HOLD UP?

YES!!!!!! YES IT DID!

And just between us—this is as far as I was willing to go for a porch picture.

It was too cold outside for this Texas girl.

So happy for the sunshine.

So happy for the melting snow.

So happy that our porch made it through.

And so happy for the squirrels and birds…

…and snow bunnies just like these.

PS Thank you again for all the sweet notes and e-mails. YOU ARE AMAZING.

 

 

 

 

 

The post How The Painted Concrete Porch Held Up appeared first on Thistlewood Farm.

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