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Porches & Decks

Paint or solid stain on porch floor?

6 years ago

We've gotten contradictory signals -- from our painting contractor, from the paint store, and from others, about whether we should use paint or solid stain on our front porch floor. (The contractor uses SW products.)

The house is 100 years old; the floor was painted standard gray but has been sanded mostly to bare wood, with some paint around the edges. What are the relative merits of solid stain and paint? Is the appearance different? Does one hold up better? Does one offer better traction? What about when it's time to re-do?

A separate issue is color. The porch ceiling is old medium-dark coated beadboard; the contractor thinks we should hence go with a brown/tan-family floor, but my wife is inclined to stick with a shade of gray. (The siding is creamy white with soft grayish-hunter shutters.) But our bigger advice need is on stain v paint.

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PRO

Designer Drains

6 years ago

My preference would be to stain your porch. After a few good year though, paint will peel and stain will fade.

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Comments (6)

biondanonima (Zone 7a Hudson Valley)
6 years ago
Following this thread with interest - we have an unpainted porch floor that needs either paint or stain as well.
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I also posted this on the porch site but am not sure which is best. What are the relative merits of painting v solid-staining a wooden porch floor? My house is 100 years old; the front porch floor has been sanded mostly to bare wood but with some paint around the edges. What looks better? What wears better? What are the future implications re re-doing it? What about the steps? Etc. I've gotten conflicting signals, both from my contractor and from the SW store. Thanks!
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s8thrd
Original Author
6 years ago
Thanks for your thoughts! My fear is that solid stain won't look the same as paint. Originally I was leaning toward stain, but somebody told me that it is a very flat finish, not like a traditional front porch. Have you found this to be the case?
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One Devoted Dame
6 years ago
My first instinct is to vote for stain, because I generally prefer stained wood, but the architectural style of the house really should dictate whether stain or paint is used, in my opinion. :-)
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s8thrd thanked One Devoted Dame
s8thrd
Original Author
6 years ago
Thanks! Could you clarify what you mean by the style dictating? I'm not sure precisely what a solid-stain floor looks like. Is it more casual/modern, with a painted floor dictated by a more traditional house? The house isn't super-fussy but it is a sort of cottagey colonial/craftsman-hybrid style, in a traditional turn-of-the-century neighborhood.
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One Devoted Dame
6 years ago
I would contact your local architectural historical preservation organization... They will know your neighborhood and your house's style, and should be able to give you trusted information. :-)

Alternatively, if you know any architects, I'm sure they could give you a quick answer. Heck, for all I know, it doesn't matter whether you paint or stain, lol, but with historic properties, it's always best to ask before doing something!
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