Young House Love

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Deciding Between Painting Or Tiling A Concrete Floor

Last you saw our sunroom, it looked like this:

Ceiling After

Well, now it’s looking a little something like this:

SunFloor Ceiling After

Forgive the poor iPhone pic, but it’s the only one I snapped (just to text to my parents, actually) before Richmond turned into rain city yesterday. But you get the point, we’ve made some good progress lofting the ceiling (with the help of a professional framer who came out this week to make sure our roof wouldn’t collapse). But we’ll get into the story of the ceiling next week once the electrician has come and turned the (now loose) wires into junction boxes for two fans.

Today we’re talking about a floor plan. As in, a plan for the sunroom floor.

SunFloor Before

We’ve definitely been putting a ton of thought into it and debating the pros and cons of a few different methods. The easiest solution would be to stain or paint the concrete floor, kinda like we did to our first house’s sunroom.

SunFloor Stain

We originally stained that a semi-transparent “Tuscan Yellow” color and later painted over it in a glossy chocolate color (when we decided we didn’t want yellow floors anymore). The process is pretty straight-forward and it’s just about the easiest and most affordable way you can update a concrete floor.

SunFloor Paint

But the stain/paint shoe just didn’t seem to quite fit here at this house. For one, the concrete isn’t very pretty thanks to glue stains leftover from the carpet we removed (any semi-transparent options are out of the question since it would show right through).

SunFloor Stains

And even if we just painted the concrete with a solid color, the brick border – which is charming at a distance – is a bit scraggily looking up close with glue stains and even a few gaping nail holes and gouges from the old sliders that used to sit on them.

SunFloor Ugly Brick

We’ve also had issues with how slick the concrete is when it’s wet. Clara’s feet are often soaked from playing with her water table or plastic pool and then she slips and Sherry gasps and she screams. You get the picture. So something with a bit more grip that’s meant to be outside, like a rough patio tile, had us leaning in that direction.

The real nail in the paint-the-floor coffin was when we learned that painting the floor would effectively eliminate the option to tile it later. Paint prevents thinset from bonding to concrete, turning this tile-ready surface into a no tile zone forever (you can’t even use a solvent to strip the paint later since the solvent would also prevent thinset from bonding, so we’d literally have to hand-chip every trace of paint off the concrete if we wanted to undo our quick-fix of painting it). So as much as we were tempted to paint as a for-now solution (yay, cheap & easy!) we just couldn’t do it knowing that it would severely complicate future plans to luxe up the space with some nice outdoor tile. So in the throes of indecision, we went tile shopping…

SunFloor Beauty Tile

We were quick to fall in love with big beautiful tiles like that one above. But as we did the math on puppies like that (which was $6.29 per square foot) we realized that tiling our 200 sf+ space was probably going to be out of our price range. ‘Til we spotted the Labor Day Sale sign that said 20-25% off your total purchase plus 35% off tools and supplies (that promotion seems to be running through Labor Day by the way). Score!

25% wasn’t going to put that $6.29 sf beauty in our budget (not even close) but it did encourage us to hunt down some other options. We found three good choices that met our criteria. It had to:

  • be outdoor friendly (the guy at The Tile Shop suggested that we focus on porcelain tiles, which are known to do best outside)
  • have a rough texture (to prevent slipping)
  • be a lot less than the one pictured above (as much as Sherry loved that guy like it was her baby)

SunFloor Samples No Prices

We bought a sample tile of each (*although we’d actually purchase the middle one in a 1ft x 2ft rectangle, they just didn’t have that in stock to take home) and laid them in the sunroom near the deck. We wanted to see which played best off of the wood color, while also providing enough contrast so people would notice the super-slight-but-still-there step up into the sunroom (around an inch). Update: Although they each have other stone references in their names (slate, limestone, etc) these are all porcelain tiles since the tile pros said those were best for outdoor projects in our area – so it’s just called Mtn. Slate Iron because it’s modeled to look like slate.

SunFloor Samples With Prices

Our immediate favorite was Mountain Slate Iron because we liked how the deep color and brown undertones worked with the deck. The others felt too cool and washed out when the sun hit them. And it didn’t hurt that Mountain Slate Iron was the cheapest and had the most texture (making it the least slippery when wet). So not only were we sold on that as the best tile option, we were officially sold on just diving in and tiling now. It’ll be more expensive and more work than staining or painting, but ultimately we think it’ll elevate the space more while solving a bunch of issues that those options couldn’t.

So as of last night, we’ve officially placed our order. Woot!

SunFloor In Store Poppa

The tile won’t be in stock for pick up ’til next week. And even so, we want to finish the ceiling overhead (i.e. beadboard installation, new fans, painting) before doing anything too precious underneath. But we’re relieved to have made a decision AND to have caught a sale in the process. The discounts took our tile down from $3.48 per square foot to $2.61. Clara was so excited she just had to call Elmo right then and there on her toy phone.

SunFloor Clara Elmo

Okay, that’s not really what they were talking about. Although she could easily play in those display showers all day, so I guess she’s showing a smidge of peripheral interest in our flooring decision. I’ll take it.

Comments

  1. Lauren @ Everyday Lauren says

    It already looks amazing in there. I love the lofted ceilings, and I chose that tile too! yessssss :) I’m starting to think like you two! By the time I get my own house, your style may just rub off one me…I’m not complaining :p

    XO Lauren

    Reply

  2. Tasha Roe says

    You guys have done a great job! Wanted to share our experience with slate. We hated it. :( Don’t get me wrong it looks gorgeous, but it is a nightmare to clean and keep clean. Ours was in our kitchen and hallway. Every time a new guest came over they always complemented it, but a broom was not sufficient to clean it. A vacuum was the only way to get nice and clean. The little nooks and crannies loved the dirt, dust, & gold fish too much. I’m sure it will be gorgeous whatever you do, just don’t want you to regret it.

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Thanks Tasha! This is actually a porcelain tile, not slate. It’s just designed to look like slate, so that’s why the name has that in there. We were surprised to learn that porcelain tile’s actually recommended more for exterior tile jobs than slate since it’s more durable/reliable in our climate! Just learned that last night (I was shocked because I thought slate was THE outdoor choice, haha!).

      xo
      s

  4. penny Neef says

    We are building a home and the contractor has just poured a brand new concrete floor in the screened in porch. I was thinking of staining now and tiling down the road. Can tile be laid over stained concrete as opposed to painted concrete? How long do you think we should let the new concrete “settle” before staining?

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      I don’t believe you can tile over stain but but I’m not sure (maybe certain types are ok?). I’d ask the contractor and do some serious googling just to be sure (GardenWeb can be really helpful for that info). As for how long it should settle, I’m afraid I have no idea on that either! Maybe ask the contractor since he poured it for you?

      xo
      s

  6. Diana Buchanan says

    Yes! I love the Mountain slate iron! The contrast will be beautiful! And the lofted ceiling already looks AWESOME! I’m expecting to see a ton more insta pics of the space once it’s finished because you guys will be out there all of the time!

    Reply

  8. Erica says

    You could say the brick boarder is like a Monet – ala “Clueless” style. From a distance it looks good, but up close, its a big ol’ mess! Love the tile choice!

    Reply

  10. Sophie says

    The ceiling looks amazing! I’m sure it’ll be a complete showstopper once it’s all done. Love the tile, the one you chose was my favourite of the three, too. Just as a curiosity, has removing the sliders/ceiling made any difference to the amount of light you get in the room that is inside beyond those windows?

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      It seems like we get a little more light that those screens (and dirty glass panes, haha!) blocked. We also get a much clearer and further view now, so that has been really nice!

      xo
      s

  11. Peggy McKee says

    Are you planning to lay the slate over the current concrete?

    Won’t this increase the “trip factor” going from wood deck to slate?

    What’s under the concrete? Wood decking? Can it take the weight of the new slate–assuming you are not removing the concrete?

    Forgive me, but I’ve never understood your porch floor.
    Best, Peg

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      It’s actually porcelain tile (just has slate in the name since it mimics that look) and yes, that’ll go directly on the concrete, creating a 1″ step up from the deck, but we think we can add a transition piece or something to make it nice and seamless (there’s already about 1/2″ step up and it’ll only get about 1/2″ taller). The sunroom has a poured foundation under it, so you couldn’t remove the concrete to find wood or anything, it’s like the rest of the house that sits on a brick foundation with concrete slab on top and then the room was built off of that. So, thankfully it can definitely handle the weight of the tile!

      xo
      s

  12. Kala M. says

    I love the Mountain Slate Iron too. That was my first choice even before I saw the price. That just makes it so much better. I would have thought Natural Stone tiles would have been best outside but those might be more expensive. I’m not sure since I’ve never really gone tile shopping. :)

    Reply

  13. Tori says

    Whew! Good to know about not being able to tile over painted concrete. We were going to paint our sunroom floor as a quick and cheap fix until we could tile it. Now we’ll just deal with bare concrete for a while!

    Reply

  14. Alison says

    LOVE the ceiling and the color of the slate. We have similar slate on our patio that was installed by the previous owners. It is beautiful but on a hot summer day the tile gets too hot to walk on with bare feet. We don’t have the same problem with the lighter colored slate that is elsewhere in the yard. I realize that most of your floor will be shaded but I imagine there will be part of the floor near the perimeter that could have sun beating down on a hot summer day. Or maybe porceline tile will conduct heat diferently than natural slate? I don’t know. Just a heads up to look out for that and keep some flippies on the deck!

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Thanks Alison! I think he mentioned something about since it’s porcelain it won’t hold heat or cold as much as natural tile, but it’s still a dark color so I bet it’ll get hot when it’s hot (our concrete does and that’s not even that dark) so I think we’ll have flip flops on when it’s a scorcher! We’ll report back on that when it’s in for sure!

      xo
      s

  15. janice says

    This is really interesting. I have two questions please:
    1. is there any concern with winter – contraction, expansion, freezing/chipping/cracking? (I’m in MD and am wondering about a better surface for our carport)
    and 2.
    having said the above, I would like a better surface for the carport because I painted half of it and WOW! is it slippery! Not only for the 2 legged variety either – my chihuahuas are having a difficult time when they come flying in from the yard. OUCH.
    soooooooooooo, question 2 is actually – would etch work on the paint? I would think it would rough it up maybe…? Give it enough tooth for the tile to adhere? (If freezing won’t be an issue)

    Thanks both! :)

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      I thought so too about etching it (we were leaning towards paint now and tile later for a while) but everything we read said no (apparently some solvents that would strip or etch it would hurt the thinset’s bonding ability, so even if the paint is off the surface sort of repels things like thinset if that makes sense). They literally said chipping or sanding it all off by hand would be the only method other than adding a whole new subfloor (ex: sheets of hardybacker, which would have built ours up too much). As for the concern with winter, the tile experts told us that porcelain is the best for that stuff here (even better than slate) so we followed their recommendation. But I’m not sure if it’s what’s right for MD.

      xo
      s

  17. Jessaca says

    I really loved the middle choice! How do the tile hold up in extreme weather year after year? I can’t remember what kind of snow storms you get, but here in the midwest we’re known for them.

    Reply

  19. Mia says

    I hope you find a way to incorporate in the lanai a bit of the tree that was growing through the deck. I’d offer ideas, but I am just not that creative:)

    Reply

  20. Christina says

    The sunroom ceiling is looking better already, and I love the slate tiles! We have slate in our entry and kitchen and have enjoyed the natural feel that it brings inside.

    I’m moving into a new house soon that needs quite a bit of updating. While your current projects look great, how do you keep living with all the things that aren’t so hot (I’m thinking of your kitchen floor, for example)? With our last renovations, I found that I struggle with trying to take on all the projects at once. Do you just try to spend as much time in the spaces you’ve already improved?

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      I think we’re just used to it! Haha! Our first house taught us a valuable lesson when it took us 4.5 years to finish it. We learned that nothing happens overnight and making a house yours really takes time and evolves as you go. So we’re surprisingly cool with living with things in their “before” stage while we work on other areas… we know we’ll get to them eventually!

      xo,
      s

  21. Jeffiner says

    My husband and I used slate tiles when we remodeled our bathroom, we even put them on the floor of our walk-in shower. They look gorgeous, and aren’t slippery at all, but slate rusts (its the iron). We thought we sealed it well (2 coats), but there are still rust stains on the tiles and grout that we periodically scrub off.

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Oh no! This tile is actually porcelain (it just has slate in the name since it’s modeled to look like slate). I’ve never heard of slate rusting though. That’s so annoying!

      xo
      s

  22. Rachel says

    Great timing guys! I have wanted to tile my concrete front porch for some time so I will pay close attention to your install. Perhaps then I will get up the nerve to really do this.

    Reply

  25. deb says

    Have you thought of a pool deck material? Lots of colors, and not slippery. We used cool-deck on our Florida pool lanai, i think it was called, 13 years ago, and it is still great looking. The texture would cover the bricks.

    Reply

  26. Kim says

    I’m anxiously following this project because we are finally in the finishing stages of our covered deck/porch makeover. We have the same type of ceiling with the beams lofting up to the pitch of the roof. I finally got my beadboard ceiling! But man was it a PAIN to put up! However, we did not attach to the beams, we did it between the beams because our ceiling is much lower than yours I think. We were afraid it would feel too closed in if we brought it down further and really liked the exposed beam look. I had originally planned to paint the beadboard a nice blue, as the tradition is, but ended up going bright white like the beams because it’ll be easier for touchup in the future.

    Oh – and we had one heck of a time finding outdoor rated beadboard. We could not afford the vinyl beadboard made for outdoor ceilings. We debated on using the plank packages from Lowes/Home Depot, but it would have been too many cuts. We ended up with the beadboard plywood from Lowes – 3/8 inch I think. Everything else we looked at said “not for outdoor use” or “indoor use only”, etc. It was a true labor of love, I think, because it’s taken us almost 3 months to finish this project! Of course, high heat, humidity, full time jobs and 3 year old don’t help any :) Ok, sorry so long but good luck and can’t wait to see the ceiling!

    Reply

  28. Mamaw says

    Love your tile choice! We have textured tile throughout our house (as in no carpet to be found in this house) and we love it. You’ll love it too. Love how this room is progressing.

    Reply

  29. Roxanne M says

    Hilarious! We used Mtn Slate Iron on our porch of the house we just sold. We just knew it was ‘the one’ when we saw it at the Tile Shop (though we did get a sample too).
    I now feel instantly validated knowing that you guys are getting it too! It was a great tile and we had no issues with it being slippery (and we get a LOT of snow in MN!). It held up great for us and hopefully for the new homeowner for years to come. I loved the color, reminded me the most of stone. We are redoing our screened in porch also. Maybe we’ll get it again! :) Can’t wait to see the progress on yours! Ours is only in the beginning stages as we just closed on the home. First step was to get rid of a hornet nest..ick! and ow!

    Reply

  30. Perry says

    -Do you plan to put insulation under the new ceiling to keep things cooler under there? (between the rafters) Maybe spray foam insulation?
    -How do you plan to deal with the transition between the tiled floor and the deck boards? Even a small height difference is a tripping hazard..
    -Not installing any lighting? Just fans? Little pot lights would look nice. Nicer than than just lights on the fans…
    -Also think about installing speakers while you’re in there ;)
    -Please rethink white fans…white fans look cheap.
    -I am liking the vaulted ceiling!

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Thanks for all the tips and questions Perry! We’re constantly changing our minds, but as we make final decisions we’ll blog about everything as it happens! So you’ll be able to see how we deal with the transition and the lighting and the fans and the insulation once we’re sure and we get those done (who knows where we’ll end up!). We have heard from folks that pot lights can look like strobe lights in a room with fans overhead, so that’s why we’re avoiding them – but we might add some lantern-like sconces to the columns!

      xo
      s

  32. Melissa says

    The very reason I found your site was because I was researching how to stain a basement floor, your site came up in the search and I fell in love with yall. So, needless to say I love the idea of the staining, but so get why you wouldn’t choose that option in this particular situation. Love the tile you chose, can’t wait to see the result. ;o)

    Reply

  33. Jennifer says

    It’s crazy how slippery concrete gets with wet feet. My son got a concussion a couple of years ago when he ran into the neighbor’s garage with wet feet.

    Reply

  34. Shelley @ Green Eggs and Hamlet says

    Wow, LOVE that Mountain Slate Iron. I was considering painting our sunroom floor and my husband wants to use exterior rubber tiles but now I think maybe we should compromise on some pretty porcelain like yours. So good to know about not being able to tile once the floor is painted – thanks!

    Reply

  35. Sarah says

    Love the tile you picked! That one was my fave too!

    Also, love the Eminem song. It is the first song on my play list for when i’m running! Gets you pumped!

    Reply

  38. Dizee says

    Love your choice in stone!!

    We have something very similar in our bathrooms and kitchen. It still can be a little slippery for litte feet (or mine when I step in the dogs’ bowl and track water everywhere).

    We also did a beadboard ceiling in our dining room. Love it!!

    Reply

  39. Ana Silva says

    I would have chosen Mountain Slate Iron as well. What a beautiful tile. Quick question. Are you all still doing budget breakdowns? It seems to me that since you all have moved to more expensive expenses/DIY you no longer share what things cost. Is it just me or is that true? Like what you all actually end up spending. I don’t think your readers will mind to know you’re not as cheap or frugal as when you started. I mean you have to grow financially and as a DIY couple; that is expected. Otherwise projects can’t be as fun! Love you guys!

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      We just haven’t bought all the materials yet, but we’ll do a full budget breakdown when we’re done just like we did for our last house’s backsplash! We’ve been trying to share costs as we go (like deck cleaner and stain, our foyer light, our bathroom faucet, our Nest thermostat, paint for doors & trim, etc). This blog started with a 17K kitchen reno that we ended with a full budget breakdown so we like spilling those details to help others wondering what things might cost.

      xo
      s

  41. Jessica says

    We used these tiles last year on our outdoor patio. They are awesome and not slick at all.
    Lowe’s Style Selections 16-in x 24-in Carmen Brown Glazed Porcelain Floor Tile

    Reply

  42. Carla says

    I’m guilty of not reading all 200 comments, but I was wondering why they used brick around the cement pad and why the patio floor is raised a couple inches above the wood deck.

    I’m sure you get used to it, but are there ways to make it less of a tripping hazard?

    Also, my husband and I are buying our very first home soon and are looking for a nice fixer upper. How can I find out guidelines on the kinds of home projects that require a permit?

    I love that patio space. It’s my favorite DIY of yours to date!

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      The sunroom has a brick foundation like our house so our guess is the border of brick is just a continuation of the foundation and it made sense to set their sliders on it? As for the slight ridge around it, after we tile we will evaluate it and might add a transition or something to smooth things out. As for what you need a permit for, go to your county’s building inspection office (or your county’s website) and they should have a pretty detailed list.

      xo
      s

  43. Carla says

    By the way, we currently rent a very cute but teeny 275 square foot cottage, so our home isn’t much bigger than your patio!

    Reply

  44. Catherine says

    Beautiful tile choice. We have a stone tile similiar to this on our back porch. One “lesson learned” don’t have a potted plant that you water regularly directly on the tile. If you do, put one of those things that raises it off the tile. I had a large plant that I had on our tile and with a long period of watering and having the water slowely seep out in the same spot without evaporating from under the pot…it made the stone “peel.” The top layer peeled off. I have learned to always elevate plants to let them drain better.

    Also where water comes out of the gutter it is doing this. I imagine you wont have this problem as much since you are creating more of an outdoor semi-enclosed room.

    Love the blog and look forward to more inspirations from y’all!

    Reply

  45. kaylan says

    this outdoor space transformation has probably been my single most favourite reno you’ve done. it’s shaping up to be so gorgeous and so functional, not to mention improving your house value. can’t wait to see the finished space!

    Reply

  47. Andrea says

    Hi folks: your plans look gorgeous as always and I’m envious of your skills — my DIY jobs never quite turn out the way I anticipate, whereas yours always seem so successful!

    But I have a question. I was thinking of ripping up old, stained carpeting and painting concrete floors in my home pre-sale, so I was struck by your comment that painted concrete makes it impossible to tile later.

    Went looking for corroboration, and that doesn’t seem to be true: http://www.johnbridge.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=40362 — that is, you can mechanically remove the paint and then tile as normal.

    Can I ask where you got that information? I know you’re set on tiling, and I think it’ll look beautiful in your space, so I ask for my own edification, not as an effort to change your mind.

    Love your site, regular reader, and very much appreciate all your hard work!

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Oh yes, sanding or chipping it off (or laying new subfloor) were the only alternatives we heard – but no easy methods (like brushing on a paint stripper) would work. So for us having to sand it all off or chisel it off sounded like a nightmare. We chatted with tiling pros, a contractor friend of ours, and saw a few threads on Garden Web that all said the same thing :)

      xo
      s

  48. Jill says

    I absolutely love following your blog!! I am in the middle of a complete home renovation, and as it is about to get the best of us, we enjoy every second of it. Well, besides the current drywall mudding/sanding repeat nightmare we are in the middle of…… :) As for your tiling project, we just completed one two weeks ago. I did quite a bit of research because I was hesitant on tiling outdoors, but we bit the bullet and ended up going with a rough textured slate-looking porcelain tile. I am in love with it!!! It turned out 100 X better than I could have imagined! Good luck on yours.

    Reply

  50. Theresa says

    I ONLY use porcelain tile on all my projects, in or out.
    The best quality of this tile besides “slip” and “elements” is the fact the color is throughout the tile.
    i.e. drop something and “Oh No!” it chips it won’t be as noticeable as ceramic that only has color on the surface.

    Reply

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