How to Paint a Porch

Painted porches are a beautiful and practical way to welcome visitors to your home. A fresh coat of paint can go long way toward improving your curb appeal and adding value to your home. Painting a porch is easy as long as you use the right tools. Paint is inexpensive and you can easily paint your porch in a weekend, making it an ideal project that will give you great results for a long time to come.

The first step in painting your porch is choosing your paint color. The color that you choose will depend upon the statement that you want to make. The most obvious choice in color for your porch is a color that matches the exterior of your home. For instance, you probably don't want to paint your porch a garish purple color if the rest of your house is neutral.

It's a good idea to stick with muted shades for porches; although often times a deep red porch can be a beautiful accent to an otherwise boring home exterior. Darker colors will make your porch feel more grounded and help it to stand out, while lighter colors will keep it feeling light and airy. Use your best judgment when choosing the paint color and try not to go over the top.

The most important part of painting your porch is choosing the right paint. You want to purchase a paint that is specifically designed for painting floors so it will hold up to foot traffic. Many people make the mistake of using regular latex paint on their porches and within a year or two the paint has worn off and is peeling making for a less than attractive entryway. You can avoid this problem by buying floor paint.

Floor paints are often premixed in popular colors like green, brown, red and gray. If you want a custom color of floor paint you can get it mixed at your local paint store just like you would with regular latex paint.

Next, you will need to pick up painting equipment. For painting a porch you should get a long paint roller handle (similar to a broom handle in length), paint rollers with a long nap, and a paint tray to pour your paint into. You want to choose a longer nap on your rollers so that they apply a nice, thick coat of paint that will stand up well to foot traffic. You will probably also need to pick up a couple of paintbrushes for doing detail work like edging or painting banisters or railings.

If your deck already has peeling or old paint on it you will also want to get some sandpaper and perhaps rent or buy a belt sander to sand off the old paint. Any old paint does not need to be removed completely, but it should be sanded down to a smooth surface. Even if there is no old paint on your porch you will want to try to remove any imperfections and make sure that the porch is clean before you begin painting.

After you have gathered together your supplies and prepared the surface you are ready to get painting. Start with the difficult areas like edges, stair risers and banisters first. Once you have finished painting all the edges and details, you can use your paint roller to apply a thick, even coat of paint to the remainder of your porch floor and stairs.

You may need to apply several coats of paint to get good coverage. After you have applied all the coats of paint that you want the only thing left to do is sit back and watch the paint dry, then enjoy your new, revitalized porch.