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shesaidc2

Porch floor painted and slippery!

shesaidc2
11 years ago

We just bought our house this summer. The porch floor has been painted (gray) I think there is some leftover paint in the basement we could use to touch it up, which it needs in some spots, esp. the steps. BUT! This winter? super slippery. I am not sure what the paint is that is down there, but any amount of snow/ice/rain heck even sometimes in the summer I noticed it, it's like a slip and slide... very helpful. Clearly porch floors are painted regularly, this is our first time dealing with one.

Is this likely the sheen of the paint, something wrong with the kind of paint... or just always a problem? Obviously you want the paint to be smooth looking, but not slippery! Clearly I am not doing any repainting right now, but others with painted porches what do you do about slipperiness or is there some reason you don't have a problem with it?

Comments (10)

  • columbusguy1
    11 years ago

    Porch floor is wood, right? If its concrete, you can add some sand to the paint to increase traction...same for the steps. The same trick might work for wood, not sure.

    You might try a flat paint rather than gloss.

  • karinl
    11 years ago

    For us it's steps, not so much porch because the porch is covered. Wood. We repainted last summer with a Sherwin Williams product called Shark Grip in the paint. It's better, but not yet perfect. It's still a bit on the fine side. Our next try might be to put actual sand in the paint - SW sells some for that purpose (although, ordinary sharp sand maybe...)

    Other fixes include those black asphalt strips I've seen in use, or other types of treads, but of course anything that permits moisture to accumulate and stay underneath accelerates wood rot. It's an ongoing project.

    Karin L

  • columbusguy1
    11 years ago

    What I do with my concrete steps is sweep them with a broom so the snow doesn't accumulate too much, and use ice-melt on them...I sweep the porch also-at least the part leading to the door. :) My porch faces west, so usually it's not too bad, but there are times when it is. When it snowed last week, I swept the steps three times--but it beat waiting for it to get deep enough to shovel!

  • shesaidc2
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    Oh i see... the solution is to actually go out in the cold and do something about it! UG! :)

    yes if/when we clear it's better but any little wetness and thus ice and it is VERY slick.
    We do keep salt right there, a guest today helped himself to spreading some for us as he nearly slipped coming up! Ek!

  • sunnyca_gw
    11 years ago

    Wonder if those things you can put down in bathtub, come in circles, daisy like flowers with centers you use between,etc. They are for areas with lots of water(bathtub) but don't know how well they would hold up outside. Cheaper than most of ideas tho & I think I have seen them in beach motifs(shells, etc) & couple of other shapes & several colors. My tub has sand colored ones, dad's shower white circles in 3-4 sizes, so he wouldn't slip & fall. You would have to be sure area you put each one was very smooth so no edge getting loose easily. Think they have a name but can't think of it off-hand.

  • geokid
    11 years ago

    We learned this the hard way ourselves. We had our porch floor painted and it was super slippery. Scary slippery. Our temporary solution was to get a long rubber-backed runner from the stairs to the door and those stair treads for the stairs. But we did eventually repaint and added a grit additive. I don't remember what type exactly, but we asked the paint store what they recommended. It's like fine sand (but it's not sand) and you just add a package to your gallon of paint. It worked great! Our mailman even commented to us how much happier he was with the porch.

  • brickeyee
    11 years ago

    Apply sand to the paint before it dries next time.

    Mixing it in is not nearly as effective.

  • karinl
    11 years ago

    That's a good tip, Brickeyee. Even the Shark Grip has been a bit of a disappointment and I bet it would have been more effective sprinkled on top than mixed in.

    Flip side is, the rougher the finish, the harder it is to sweep dirt etc off it in summer, or leaves in fall. But life and limb should win out over aesthetics in the end.

    Per Geokid's idea, rubber-backed carpet or any carpet might work for temporary placement, especially in our climate - it's only an issue for a few weeks and wouldn't be down long enough to rot the wood. Maybe nothing rots when it freezes anyway.

    Then, says the practical part of my brain, where do you store the wretched things the rest of the year????!

    Karin L

  • shesaidc2
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    The winter weather here has been particularly interesting, with snow then ice then rain then transitioning back to cold and snow.... So I would worry a little about rot (esp. where the paint is currently chipping)... but might work for this winter at least.... Will take up either the sand or some other recommended grit from the local hardware store and try and improve it next summer.

    Thanks again!