Primer and Paint

CMV stayed an extra day and decided to apply the first coat of primer to the new floor in the porch. The wood that we used (pine) is really going to soak up the paint, so a good layer of primer is essential.

We are taking a week off from going to the cottage, so we will apply the second coat the following week. We should be able to start painting on Sunday before we leave. We would be able to actually paint on Saturday, but by waiting an extra day, we give it the week to dry with no one walking in and out of the house.

We returned and painted the floor a dark green. The color was originally intended to be our accent color for the exterior of the house, but I am not sure we are feeling the same way at this point. We have decided to hold off on replacing the siding, so we might not change much. The painted floor is going to show the evidence of wear and tear along with normal foot traffic. It may force us to give it a touch up every so often.

Building and Installing the Floor

I had a basic idea of what we wanted to do for a floor in the porch. I drove up to the cottage on Friday and stopped at Home Depot on the way up. I wanted to buy the pine planks for the floor. We had decided to use 1x3 boards and run the the narrow length of the porch.

We also decided to keep this as a floating floor. We think that we might need to pull up the floor from time to time. If we attached it, we run the risk of cracking the concrete floor, and eliminate the ability to clean under the wood.




I started out by laying runners and then cutting the planks to the proper length. After a dry fit, the planks were screwed into the runners from the underside. The finished section was then turned over and lowered into place. The first section is five feet in length.





The second section was prepared in the same manner. The last plank of the first section was set so the runners of the second section lock into place by sliding underneath the first section. The second section measures slightly less than five feet.




The third section is slightly longer then three feet. It simply sits on top of the second section. I do not have a way to lock this section into place without driving some screws into the runners of the second section. I hesitate to use screws, as these would be visible. If we feel that it is necessary to secure this section into place, I will go back and screw it down.



I built caps at the front door and at the doorway the leads to the hallway. This has helped with the movement of the last section. These two caps are not part of the section; they are individual pieces that fit under and against the section.

The next step in this project is to paint the floor. We will need to prime it first and then cover it with a tough finish.