The steps to the side door of my studio are finally finished! I completed the final step yesterday – painting the concrete steps. I am so relieved to have completed this project. It took me a while to figure out exactly how I wanted to complete the specific steps. I probably knew I wanted to paint the steps early in the project, but figuring out exactly what product to use was a challenge for me. So I’ll tell you exactly what I used and why I made that decision.
But first, check out the finished steps here.
I still need to cover the exposed OSB areas on either side of the steps where the trim was previously removed, but for now at least those areas are waterproof.
Like I said, I had a really hard time deciding how I wanted to complete the steps. Deciding on the color of the risers wasn’t difficult at all. I simply used the same paint that I used on the rest of the house, including the stone portion of the house, which has held up great for several years now. For the risers I used Sherwin Williams Duration exterior paint with a semi-gloss finish. However, there are far fewer considerations when painting risers than when painting steps. Obviously, the risers are not subject to the same wear and tear as the actual steps because they are rarely touched. But people will actually walk over the steps, so I have a lot more invested in that decision.
During one of my many trips to Home Depot I saw this product called Granite Grip. I had never seen this before, so I came home and read a lot about it, including the process required to use the product and customer reviews.
The whole process seemed stressful to me. You have to clean the concrete very well, preferably with a high-pressure cleaner. Once it’s dry, you’ll need to etch the concrete with a chemical. Once that’s washed off, you’ll need to let it dry thoroughly and then prime. And finally you can apply the Granite Grip. But from the reviews I’ve read, it’s a very thick product and needs to be applied with a special roller cover (and adhesive roller cover) that I didn’t even know existed until two weeks ago. Reviews were mixed, but the people who liked the product followed the steps meticulously, and many of them seemed certain that the people who didn’t have success with the product probably skipped steps and didn’t follow the instructions exactly.
So I bought all the products needed – the Granite Grip in a dark gray color (one of the commercially available colors), the etching chemical, the special primer recommended in the instructions and the adhesive roller cover. But after a long day of working on the steps (I was still building the steps at the time) on a hot day and working in direct sunlight, I decided I didn’t want to do all of those steps, so I gave it all back.
Two days later, I decided that I should never make these decisions at the end of a work day when I’m exhausted, just like you should never go grocery shopping when you’re really hungry, so I went back to Home Depot and bought all the products again.
But I was still unsure. At first I was unsure about the color. I really didn’t want dark gray levels. One of my main goals was to create a unified structure from these porch steps to the steps I will later build on the new bedroom door, all visible from the front of our house. And as you know, I’ve also been looking for a new solution for our porch. The porch is made of wood (cedar to be exact), but after trying at least four different exterior porch sealers/stains, I wasn’t happy with any of them. They all seem great right after the porch was resealed, but that new, beautiful look doesn’t seem to last long.
So I went online again to see if there were any other products I could use not only for the concrete steps but also for the porch. And in my search I came across Behr Porch & Patio Floor Paint.
I actually have experience with this product. I used this to paint the wooden floors in my studio. This is what they looked like right after I finished the studio in October 2024.
And these floors have held up surprisingly well. I was so impressed with the durability of this paint. My studio is a very high traffic area, but this color stood up to it all. So far I haven’t had to repaint any of the high traffic areas. It has withstood my abuse as I brought lumber, plywood, tools, etc. while working on our bedroom suite. It has withstood Matt’s wheelchair as he uses his exercise bike three hours a day. It has withstood a large, rambunctious dog who won’t let me touch his feet (so trimming his nails is out of the question) who loves to play here. It is the best Paint I’ve ever used on a floor.
I painted this floor in June 2024 and then started building cabinets and finishing the studio and you all know I am a very messy DIYer. And yet two years later the floor still looks great. It needs a thorough cleaning but the paint still looks great.
But this is indoor use, and I wasn’t sure about using it outdoors. My biggest concern is that painted surfaces can be slippery when wet, and I don’t want to make my steps a potential slipping hazard when it rains. But then I noticed that this product also has an anti-slip formula. It’s basically the same paint with a sand-like product mixed in to give it more texture.
I finally decided to do this. I returned the Granite Grip and the rest of these products…again…and I bought my tried-and-tested favorite primer (Zinsser shellac-based primer) and a liter of anti-slip floor paint for porches and patios. And since this product can be mixed in any Behr color, I chose a color that would work not only on these steps but on the porch as well. I will apply this to all three areas so they are aligned.
Yesterday I showed you how I prepped and primed the concrete pavers. This is what they looked like after being primed.
I let the primer dry overnight and then the steps were ready to paint. Since this area is so small, I didn’t even bother with a roller. I simply used a brush to apply all of the paint. I applied the first coat and then let it dry for a few hours. Then I applied the second coat, but this time I used more of a sweeping method instead of the brush so that the brush strokes aren’t visible. I also had the idea of applying a little exterior paint in a lighter color to create a more mottled look.
But after trying this on three pavers, letting it dry, and then sitting back to look at them, I decided the look wasn’t worth the extra effort. After letting it dry and then looking at it from a distance, it really didn’t seem to make much of a difference.
So I abandoned that idea and just painted the steps with the solid color, using the bounce method with the brush on the entire area.
I am very happy with the result of these steps. It was a lot of work, but I really enjoyed working with different materials. Since I’m so used to building with wood, it was completely different for me. However, I loved getting out of my comfort zone and learning new things. There was a lot of trial and error, but now that I’ve gone through the entire process from start to finish, I think I can complete the next steps more quickly. And luckily the steps to the bedroom door are in the shade most of the day. Working in direct sunlight on this side of the house was really tiring. I had to wait until about 8pm last night to get good pictures of the finished steps as this area is exposed to direct sunlight from sunrise to sunset with no shade whatsoever.
I’m particularly pleased to finally have real steps on this door. Here’s a reminder of what I had before. I used simple cinder blocks to get in and out of this door.
And here is the door with the new, finished steps. Now I just need to get the door repainted. Look at how much the door has faded since I painted it. But this door also gets more sun than all the others.
Now that the steps are fully completed, I can’t wait to paint the door and do some landscaping on both sides of that door! I think it looks cute now, but I can only imagine how cute it will look once I have some plants and a freshly painted pink door.
