It’s amazing what an afternoon’s work (and can of special paint) can do. Here’s to tackling something that most people would overlook or ignore (including myself). I mentioned last week when I wrote about the glassblock window frames that another project was sneaking into my shots. And that project is… not-too-exciting-but-still-nice-booming-drumroll…
The painted foundation.
The poured concrete foundation of my home is fortunately in very good shape (for being 70 years old). It doesn’t rise very high out of the ground, instead only exposing about 8″ of itself all the way around the house between the soil and the siding. In the front yard, for instance, only this much of the foundation peeks above the soil. I won’t go as far as to call that a flower bed.
What are the odds of that azalea coming back to life? It’s taken a turn for the worst.
The thing is, at one point the plain concrete foundation had been painted black. I have a feeling it was in the early 90’s, when the shutters on the then white house were also black, and a painted black staircase led to the front door. But in those past 2 decades, the base of the house has endured it’s share of weather. Especially the foundation along the driveway, from which the black paint had almost been entirely removed and the cement itself is a little more roughed up than in other areas. From this angle, the you’re getting glimpses of the unfinished (but now finished) glassblock window frames, the cracking driveway and the unpainted foundation, which is kind of like a triple-dog whammy of embarrassment for me. And all that after showing you the deceased azalea… rest her little soul.
But let me defend the foundation situation for just a sec: If I take a minute to do some calculations, snow must have sat in the driveway for 4 months out of the year for 20 years which means the black paint was possibly frozen for 80 months or approximately 2,440 days. Brr. So it’s no surprise that the paint has been peeling and fading away, whether they used the right paint or not; repainting it just to neaten up the foundation and general appeal of the exterior of my home seemed like a good (and easy) project to take on.
Armed with a rough scrubby brush, paint scraper, and power washer, I went to town on the foundation and lower siding (anyone else purposefully plan misty projects for 90-degree days?). In some areas, I had been able to scrape all of the remaining black paint off, and if it had been so effortless all the way around, I probably would have left it neutral and natural cement instead of painting it. But because it didn’t work out quite that way, I formulated a plan to paint the foundation the same shade as the trim, the not-quite-white-but-close Silver Leaf that I used on the garage trim and door a few weeks ago.
I had plenty of the latex-based exterior Silver Leaf paint to use, and the foundation wouldn’t need much anyway, but a brief investigation told me that I shouldn’t use latex on cement (nor should I prime it, which I had also planned to do anyways in the mindset that sealing things up makes for a happier existence). Latex was banned (so to speak) for breathability and possibility of peeling reasons. I should also note that different rules apply if your foundation is brand-spankin’ new, so it’s worth your time to see what’s right for your house if the foundation was constructed in the last year.
The many advising sites I looked at (none of which I can recall because I didn’t bookmark them) recommended sticking to a masonry paint with my 70-year-old foundation, and the folks at Home Depot recommended one by Behr that I was happy to find priced at $19, even less than of a traditional gallon of Behr paint.
They even managed to tint it to match Silver Leaf, even though it hadn’t been one of the colors listed in a paint coordinating stick-to-these-colors-or-be-disappointed-with-our-tinting-abilities pamphlet.
I gave the powerwashed and scraped foundation a few days to thoroughly dry before I painted, but as I began, I was pleased how easily the masonry paint went on the cement. Much thicker than I expected; I only needed one coat, and I’m sure that’s the first time I’ve ever said that.
The overall change is minimal but really nice. Fresh. So fresh and so clean-clean. Check out the side of the house how (with the glassblock windows all done too, hurray). Only embarrassing driveway cracks to take care of this fall.
The front of the house looks white-years better (little purposeful pun because of the white paint). Lame. OK. How about a little before and after?
Before:
Oohs, ahhs. And the azalea is still as dry as kindling.
Anyone else finding themselves doing odd spring cleaning like repainting foundation in the summer breeze? Just me?
10 Comments
Can we get an ‘action shot’ next time you spend gobs of hours lying on your side next to your house with a scraper in hand in 90 degree weather? My guess is you looked about as plumb tuckered out as that poor azalea!
Absolutely. I’ll remember to do that. When I paint my foundation again in 20 years :)
This looks so great! It appeals to the eye and you did a FANTASTIC job!! BTW I love your blog, and I check daily for updates! It keeps my mind thinking up new projects for me to start!!
Thanks Morgan! Glad you like it and SO glad to hear you like Merrypad!
That looks great! Oh yeah I am so in this mode too but mine may be nesting…of course I don’t want to clean anything I just want to build tons of things that we don’t need and avoid what needs to be worked on such as the nursery and guest room which requires cleaning first!
Seriously I can’t imagine how uncomfortable that was…you deserve a massage!
Hi Jami! You know, regarding the squatting and painting thing, it wasn’t so bad; the paint went on really fast and I kneeled on a towel, so it was a lot less labor intensive than, say, painting a ceiling. What kind of things are you wanting to build that supersede designing the nursery? That sounds like loads of nesting fun for a nesting mama.
I have the same issue, but my foundation is starting to flake off and is chipped in places. Would that have to be repaired before using this type of paint? I’m afraid to power wash as it would possibly cause more damage to the foundation.
Thanks.
I had the same thoughts when I was prepping to paint mine. Power washing didn’t bust away the foundation at all, just the loose paint, but my foundation itself is in good shape. If yours is weak, you might just want to try with a scraper and light sandpaper? I removed a lot of the paint that way the paint that was loose, and then painted over. I can’t attest yet to how the paint that was over the pieces of old paint will hold up… maybe I’ll know by springtime after snow has sat against it for awhile.
Looking for advice…painted my foundation black last year…love it..washed siding off this year..all this white milky sludge came off into black foundation..scrub with brush and soapy water. Didn’t come off…have extra paint to recoat but don’t want to do this every time I clean siding..open to suggestions
Ugh, I’m sorry to hear that Audrey! Was it paint “powder” that splattered down onto the black surface? Or alum siding powder coating? What was the finish of the black paint? I suspect if it was matte that might be part of the issue, high-gloss is a bit easier to clean. Do you think that now that you’re aware of the issue, it would rinse off if you were to immediately spray-rinse the foundation at the same time you’re cleaning the siding?