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. Vanessa says

    I am SO glad you picked that one. I loved it before I read you had chosen it. I think it will look beautiful. This is going to be one heck of a BBQ/Party deck!!

    Reply

  2. Steph says

    This is SO cool and I got super excited when I picked the same tile as you. (Is that weird?) #greatminds.

    I am sad to see the brick border go but understand why when you show the closeups. Poor brick border. :(

    Finally… why did I not know there was a Tile Shop near me? Why am I just finding this out now? I need to reevaluate my life or at the very least my kitchen backsplash.

    Reply

  4. Sally says

    We have porcelain slate-look tile on our screened-in porch and it looks great. It has held up beautifully for 10+ years!

    Reply

  5. marbella says

    great choice petersiks! Can’t wait to see it. It would be awesome in a staggered brick… have you decided how you’ll lay it yet? I’d suggest checking out a schluter product for the outside edge to taper your tile down to the deck. An inch may not seem much but it’s definitely a trip hazard especially for small people running about. The Reno Ramp or Reno V might work. http://www.schluter.com/137.aspx

    Reply

  6. Sarah says

    My house has tiles that were put on the front steps which have now semi-crumbled. I think they were just the cheapest the owner could find to cover something up. I want to replace them or remove them but I’m not sure what I want to do yet or if I’ll try to tackle it myself. I’m interested to see how you adhere the tiles to the concrete and what you will do around the edges.

    Reply

  7. katie says

    Very exciting progress – congrats! I have to confess tho I was secretly hoping you’d be tackling painting your stair rails, etc. soon. I’m living in a ~10yr old house with so much honey oak colored woodwork it gives me nightmares & was hoping to start painting next week. I value your research & expertise so much I was hoping to see/hear your recos & experience before I jumped in myself (i.e. prime? or just paint w/primer? use the Graco sprayer to avoid brush strokes? oil based for super durable finish? etc.) Any tips you have would be welcomed

    Reply

  8. kim says

    I’m a little disappointed that you didn’t go with a real stone floor. I know its a little more but it would look so much better and the extra is totally worth it.

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      We were actually advised against it (told in our area porcelain does better) so we went with the tile pro’s recommendation. It was definitely in his best interest to upswell us (aka: to push slate or quartz) so we really appreciated his honesty.

      xo
      s

    • Eva says

      kim, porcelain actually has the highest breaking stregth of all materials available, so they did well going with that instead of natural stone. Due to porcelain’s dense nature it is also essentially non-porous, making it almost impossible to stain. Natural stone, on the otherhand, even the strongest granite, is porous and would need to be sealed to keep stains at bay. Also due to natural stones porous nature, it does not do as well in cold climates as it can cause the stone to crack in freezing temperatures. Since it is man made, the porcelain tiles are also more uniform in nature than natural stone so install is easier and there is less waste.

      A good quality through-body porcelain is best for this application :) they did good

    • Kim says

      OK I live in Canada, and my husbands a landscaper of hard scapes, so I kind of have an idea about natural products. And since you don’t have a lot of frost in your area I don’t see why cracking would be a problem. If you had used landscaping stone tiles with a proper base instead of products from a tile store, it would have worked just fine.

    • marbella says

      Kim, as you know and stated below, landscaping stone (that wouldn’t have an issue with cracking) is much thicker than regular floor tile, far more expensive, and more difficult to install well as a DIYer.

      Not to mention that there is already a 1″ difference in height between the concrete and the adjoining deck, so if S&J had gone with that there would be an even greater height difference, probably well over 2″. There would also possibly be a weight issue (not sure if that concrete slab is ground level since the deck is right there and above ground?)

      Just making this a bit more clear for other readers who might not understand the difference between natural stone tile and exterior hardscaping stone products.

  9. Kimberly says

    I had a feeling y’all would pick the cheapest option, and it’ll probably look really nice when it’s complete. But dang, that Rust Slate African tile is gorgeous. I’d have picked that one, since it seems like the rust matches the deck so well.

    I love the lofted ceiling. It will look wonderful when finished :)

    Reply

  10. Emma says

    anyone else see that picture of clara in the shower on facebook and think “WTF when did they completely gut and redo the bathroom and put in that amazing huge shower?!?”

    no? just me? hmm.

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      We thought about that too but we didn’t know if it defeated the purpose of the veranda being our nice shades zone (we can just step out onto the deck for lots of sun).

      xo
      s

  12. rok says

    I’m just going to throw this out there: think running pattern. I’ve come to the epiphany that square tiles in a running pattern is SO much better on a floor.

    Reply

  13. Livvy says

    We want to renovate our bathroom, and are interested in tile. Do you think that the Mountain Slate would be a good pick, or would you be more inclined to do small tiles with lots of grout? It’s for a kids bathroom :)

    Reply

  15. Amanda Cook says

    I really freaking love this blog. I’ve been reading every day for about 2+ years, and I’m still so excited about watching all of these projects unfold. This particular project is uber awesome. Thanks so much for letting us in on the details of your adventures. =)

    Reply

  16. Avery says

    We just bought our first house and I love that we get to renovate along side the DIY King and Queen! We are doing a lot of the same stuff in our house and it is so helpful to see how you guys plan and make decisions about each project!

    Just curious to know if there are any updates on the other house you guys are designing?

    Reply

  17. Cheryl says

    Wow… that tile is absolutely beautiful.

    I hate to be a bummer, but I do want to regale with with a tale of caution. My three year old daughter gave herself quite a concussion last year when her feet slipped out from underneath her on porcelain tile at the local pool. The tile they put in was specifically created for pool-side uses and meant to be anti-slip, but I can tell you, it is slippery as all get out.

    Granted, it is probably less slippery than painted concrete, and of course, you’ve already placed your order, and I hate to be a party pooper, but if you really are concerned about slipperiness, tile can be really tricky with little wet feet.

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Oh no! So scary! We heard someone else say they were at a pool with slippery tile that was supposed to be anti slip too! We actually sprayed down all three of our samples to be sure (our pick was the least slippery of the three and about 50 times less slippery than the cement) so that gives us some peace of mind.

      xo
      s

  18. Sarah R. says

    I absolutely love where this is going!! I think a finished outdoor living space is so often overlooked, yet so valuable. You guys seriously give me so much to look forward to as I spend my days chasing kids, wiping bums, and doing laundry.

    Reply

  19. Lisa says

    Wow, I’m so jeleous of this project. I can’t wait to see the results! Good tile choices, we have the middle one in our kitchen and entryway!

    Reply

  20. Katie says

    We just used the exact same tile in our mud room/entry from the garage. we absolutely love it. we did a dark grey for the grout and the end result is perfect.

    Reply

  21. Shannon says

    Great choice. My eye immediately went to that tile.

    Now – a question for you guys. We have a wrap around porch that circles our entire home and the floor is concrete. We’ve discovered how ridiculously slippery it is and with a 2 year old and another coming next week (!), I’ve been wondering if there are any solutions to make it less slippery beyond tiling (that would cost us $$$$$$$$$$$$). During your research, did you come up with anything? I’m so afraid of little ones falling on their tiny adorable heads.

    Reply

    • Eva says

      Shannon,
      A small quarry tile (6×6 or 8×8) would not be very expensive and be less slippery than concrete. Keep in mind that all flooring is slippery when wet. But going with a smaller tile, with more grout lines will give you more grip and getting something with more grip will make it less slippery. Also quarry is available with various textures, almost like rough sandpaper, and in various colors, it is also very dense which makes is very durable for the outside. You can also go with brick, although it can raise your floor quite a bit.

  22. Lucy S says

    I’m sitting here in my rental home in Germany (hubby is in the US Army) and thinking, I can’t wait to move back to the USA and get a needs-love house of our own!! All you two do so inspires me over here. And, I can’t help but feel nostalgic watching Clara get bigger as it all plays out. Thanks for choosing the profession for you both that shares so much with the rest of the world. Hugs from Deutschland… (recently from Virginia…).

    Reply

  24. Sarah C says

    I apologize if you’ve already answered this question, but I was wondering if you have any plans to make the “columns” more uniform. They seem more like “corners” now on the ends and the middle one is a little puny compared to the others. I’m remembering Jon’s work on house #2’s porch which turned out nicely and he certainly has a knack for woodworking. I’m loving the loftier ceiling and look forward to the final result!

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      We are waiting to finish the ceiling and then we’ll evaluate how potential changes to those columns could meet with the ceiling (we don’t want to beef them up too much if they intersect weirdly with he ceiling). We also thought adding lantern sconces to those rectangular columns would make more sense of them.

      xo
      s

  25. Samantha says

    Hi guys,
    My only caution would be that slate in an area that is open to a lot of moisture may cause the slate to begin to look “rusty”. We have slate tiles in our master bath shower and on the floor and we’ve had to replace a few because they are turned a rust color. Im no expert on any of this, buy you may want to look into whether that type of slate is best for outdoor use.
    You all are an inspiration!

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Thanks Samantha! It’s actually a porcelain tile that’s modeled to look like slate (hence the name) but perform like porcelain (which is great for outdoor projects without rusting) so we’re grateful for that!

      xo
      s

  26. Karen says

    Everything you do is gore-juss!

    Question: Did ya guys do that lofted-look for some building safety reason or is it for aesthetics only? I know nothing about construction, just really curious!

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Purely because we thought it would open things up and look great! Haha! Thankfully it doesn’t compromise the security of the roof and it feels so much bigger now!

      xo
      s

  27. Jessica says

    One way to add interest to square porcelain tiles is to lay them offset (like brick so the grout lines don’t line up) and on a diagonal. It requires more work because of all the cuts, but looks great. Super cool tile by the way!

    Reply

  29. Penny Smith says

    Did you get the rectangle or the square? (if that was what the way the sample there means-it’s offered in both)

    Reply

    • Penny Smith says

      (or is it just a continuation… is it nuts to think of cutting each one in half so you have rectangles? Love that look!! :) )

    • YoungHouseLove says

      It just comes in the large square (they just have the same sized sample boards so sometimes a tile and a half is on there). We like them as big as possible so we’re planning to keep them square and do a staggered bricklayers pattern.

      xo
      s

  30. Laurie Pags says

    Whoops! I painted my concrete floor as a temporary solution as it was more ideal to replace all the flooring at once when we remodel the kitchen. *head bang*. Thanks for the tip!

    Reply

  31. Michele says

    So exciting! It’s going to look great. I had a thought of your old house, the new owners can’t tile the sunroom since you painted the floor :(

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Yeah that’s true! I think the paint was good for that room though since it was more connected to the house than the outside world (it had one small door and steps down to the patio as opposed to being open to a deck on all sides). So you probably wouldn’t have wet feet (we never slipped there even when Clara was tiny). I think it’s just the location of this one that makes it prime for tile :)

      xo
      s

  32. Chelsea says

    We have something very similar in our kitchen and we love it! My 3 year old son can run on it right after its been mopped and doesn’t slip at all and it’s a breeze to keep clean. We went with dark grey grout as well. What are you guys planning on doing for the grout?

    Reply

  33. Elizabeth says

    Absolutely beautiful, the progress is astounding! Cannot wait to see the floor installed.

    FYI – I was trying to click on one of your advertisers/sponsors (smock.) and the link isn’t working. Just thought I would let you know!

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Thanks! That’s the second time in a few days. The URL keeps changing for some reason, so we think it’s something on their end. So sorry for the trouble though! I think if you google smock paper their site should pop up :)

      xo
      s

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Our tile guys gave us a tip to use a 3′ level and as long as the bubble doesn’t shift too much in those large spans when you’re using large tile like this it’s great. You can also use self leveling concrete or build up the thinset in some areas if you need, but we think ours wont need that.

      xo
      s

    • Eva says

      For outdoor use like this, a perfectly level floor is not the best. They should make sure it slopes AWAY from the house so when it rains or they hose off the area, the water drains away from the home,

  35. Georgi says

    I love how the sunroom/porch is turning out. When I first thought about it I thought nahhh! But it looks great, and I love it.

    Reply

  36. SLG says

    I was going to ask about how you did your research on this, but then that turned into a bigger question in my head: can you do a post sometime on tips for researching home improvement stuff?

    I’m kinda new to the DIY/home improvement world, loving it, and every new project starts out like this: “uuuuhhhh…”

    Fer-instance: floors. Would like to replace flooring in certain areas of my house. I have very little idea where to start finding even semi-accurate info about cost, maintenance, installation, what’s DIY-able and what’s not, and all the other questions I don’t even know to ask. A “how to research stuff” post would be awesome!

    Reply

  39. Eva says

    Im in the tile business myself and suggest you make sure the porcelain you select is through-body porcelain not just glazed porcelain. The through body one is best incase it chips, so you will not see it as well as hold up better in cold temperatures where the floor can freeze. I also suggest you get all the samples wet and run your hand through it. The best one as far as slip resisitance should offer some “grip” and not let your hand slide around too much. Just dont actually test it with your foot through, putting weight on uninstalled tile, even strong porcelain, can break the tile.

    Reply

    • Eva says

      Another great thing about the through-body porcelain is that you can have the edge bullnosed, for the section by your one inch step. some tile stores will do this for you, you can also do it yourself with a sander, but you need to be very careful to wear the right mask and it it away from the home as you dont want to breathe in the fine porcelain dust. :)

  40. Garrett says

    Great tile choice! Agree with the others, liked that one the most as I was reading and could see why you chose it.

    Suggestion: Tile the floor in a diamond pattern, not square to the sides and wall. I’m not a designer, it just popped into my head and I think it will jazz up the floor and maybe even prevent trips (since the visual pattern changes where the lip is). May be more work to cut more tile though… Good luck!

    Reply

  41. Kristen Baird says

    That is going to look amazing and be such a fun space! Was it a national chain having the discount this weekend or a local place? We have some big projects we would like to start, and with those kind of savings, this weekend would be a great time to start!

    Reply

  43. Esther says

    Are you guys going to fix the “columns” before you lay the tile? The narrow slivers of wall that were left after you removed the glass doors look just like that– tiny slivers of wall. It would look so much better if you changed them to actual columns, and it would make sense to do that before you tile. Please tell me that’s part of your plan.

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      We were actually thinking about possibly adding lantern sconces to them but we are also debating boxing them out. The issue is that if we build them out too much they will awkwardly intersect with the ceiling (right now everything meets the ceiling in a perfect rectangle and fattening them will dig into the room and make the ceiling line irregular. So we’re planning to finish the ceiling and then see how we feel (tiling will be later so we have some time).

      xo
      s

  44. Laura says

    My heart just sunk! My husband and I recently tiled our front steps. For years we dreamed of tiling them in slate (we installed slate in several areas of our home)…until we went to The Tile Shop earlier this summer and fell in love with those large wood grain/blue tiles you posted! We scrapped our slate plans and bit the bullet. So happy we changed our minds!

    Reply

  45. Jennifer says

    The concrete garage floor in our home had been painted by the previous owners. After 10 years in this home and 2 recoats to freshen it up…it started chipping away – badly. Little paint chips were everywhere! Last week we paid -more than I care to remember- to have the floor sandblasted. Not only did it cost a fortune, the fine sand/dust is very difficult to completely get rid of. But now we have a beautiful sparkling clean concrete floor to start over with. No more paint for us. Being a garage we aren’t going to spend the extra $$ on stain but instead just a wet look sealer. The tiles we installed on the patio 4 years ago…now that was definitely worth the extra cost. You will LOVE yours and I love the selection you made.

    Reply

  47. Debbie V says

    Is that a heater under the window??? If so,sweet!!! Looks really great, it’s probably going to be one of your favorite places when it’s all done…

    Reply

  49. Mel says

    GAH! I LOVE the big beauties that were $6.29. They look like ripples on a pond or the rainbow colors that swirl on the surface of a soap bubble. So sad they had to stay at the store. :<

    Reply

  50. mp says

    It’s a comfort to learn I’m not the only one with weird brick issues on the porch floor. I’m planning to eventually have my porch screened and will do an epoxy coating with the mineral sprinkles — my mom did a tan one on her carport when she partially screened it, and it looks terrific.

    Reply

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