Direct Colors DIY Home Improvement · Episode 8
Listen to this episode
Enclosing a patio is one of the cheapest ways to gain a room — but the slab underneath was finished for rain, not for living on. Shawna Turner on the texture, stamped patterns and salt-finish crevices that stop reading as charming the moment there is a roof over them, and why an overlay is often the honest answer.
3 min 33 sec · Download MP3 (4.9 MB)
For this job you need: EverStain™ · Concrete Powder Pigment
Not sure which is right for your slab? Send us the details — the free project consultation is a person, not a form letter.
The written guide on this topic, with photographs: Concrete Sunroom Floor Stain Ideas.
Editor’s note. This episode was recorded some years ago. The transcript below has been corrected where the facts have changed; nothing about the technique has been altered.
- Direct Colors no longer sells a concrete overlay. The technique is unchanged — a troweled cement-based overlay from a concrete supplier still gives you the blank canvas described here. Confirm it is compatible with whatever you intend to color it with.
- The photo galleries referenced now live in Direct Colors University; the Shifting Sand pictures are at Shifting Sand Concrete Stain Gallery.
- The sign-off’s RSS-feed line and social links have been dropped — the list included Google+, which shut down in 2019, and Twitter, now X.
- The series is no longer in production, so the closing reference to a twice-monthly schedule reads in the past tense.
- Housekeeping, applied to every episode in this archive. The spoken sign-off has been rewritten to point here rather than at the old directcolors.com/listen address. The RSS-feed line, the social-media list and any pointers to retired photo-gallery, blog or video pages have been dropped, along with pointers to pages that have since been retired or superseded by the links under What’s Next — in some episodes that removes a whole sentence or a short exchange. Every speaker says “design consultation”; the service is now called the free project consultation, and we have used the current name throughout rather than send you to a page that no longer exists. Run-on speaker turns, duplicated intro lines and obvious transcription slips have been repaired without changing meaning. Nothing bearing on technique, safety or product choice has been altered; those changes are itemized above.
Still accurate: the phone number, and the whole diagnosis — outdoor slabs are textured for grip, and that texture becomes a cleaning problem the moment the space is enclosed.
What to use for this today
The episode reaches for a concrete overlay, which we no longer make. That does not leave you stuck — the reason people overlaid was to get a surface that would take color, and today we solve that with products that go straight onto the slab you already have.
- Rough or salt-finish slab you want smoother
- Grind or profile with CitrusEtch™, then color — far cheaper than overlaying.
- Color a sunroom floor
- EverStain™ Acid Stain for a mottled reactive look, or EasyTint™ Tinted Sealer / Vibrance™ Dye for solid color fast.
- Seal it for indoor living
- AcquaSeal™ (low odor, occupied rooms) then ProWax Polish™.
If the texture is the whole problem, say so in a free project consultation — there is usually a cheaper answer than a new surface.
Full transcript
Amie Nolen: You’re listening to Direct Colors podcast Episode 8: Tips on Converting Patios into Indoor Living Space. If this is your first time listening, then thanks for joining us. Many homeowners would like to convert their existing outdoor slabs into sun-rooms and enclosed patios, but there are a few things to keep in mind about the concrete once the outdoor becomes indoor living space. Shawna Turner, General Manager at Direct Colors, is here with us today to talk more about patio conversions and what to look out for.
AN: Shawna, how popular are enclosed patios and sun-rooms generally?
Shawna Turner: Everyone wants more space in their home. Patios, especially in cold weather climates, can only be used for a few months out of the year, so it makes sense to convert those slabs into something that can be enjoyed year round.
AN: What issues do you see arising with existing slabs after they’ve been enclosed?
ST: Outdoor concrete is usually finished with more texture than your typical indoor floor, for safety reasons. Slabs can also have stamped or decorative finishes on them you wouldn’t ordinarily find in a home. Depending on the age of the concrete, the patio might have deteriorated or weathered over the years as well. All of these factors can make it more difficult to properly refinish the concrete to make it a more hospitable indoor living space.
AN: What options does a homeowner have to address these floor problems?
ST: Well, if the floor is in fact too rough, or has an undesirable textured or stamped finish, it can be refinished using a concrete overlay. Overlays are troweled on and provide a blank canvas for the homeowner to acid stain, integrally color, or do whatever they wish with the floor. Really, it’s like starting over.
ST: I recently had a customer call me with a sun-room project where the concrete had been finished using salt. What that means is rock salt was tossed on the surface and later washed out when the concrete was cured, leaving salt impressions in the surface. While that might be okay for a patio, it’s definitely not okay for an indoor floor. Dirt is nearly impossible to clean out of the crevices and it can look quite unsightly over time. He elected to overlay and acid stain the floor to address the problem. No question he made the right choice. I would also clean, patch and overlay damaged concrete for much the same reasons. There’s no place in a home for flaking concrete.
AN: What are some of the advantages of a concrete floor in a sun-room or enclosed patio versus carpet squares or other flooring options?
ST: Decorative concrete is an anything-goes kind of flooring. It’s easy to clean and requires very little maintenance. You don’t have to worry about water should flooding or heavy rains occur. Really it’s peace of mind in a space that might be a little more prone to calamity than other rooms in the house. There’s a great picture of a sun-room in the Shifting Sand gallery that I really like. It was an entry to our End of Summer Facebook photo contest a few years ago.
AN: Thanks very much, Shawna, for spending the time with us today. If you have questions, call one of our expert technicians at 877-255-2656 and we’ll help you select the best products and technique for your needs. If you prefer email, send in a free online project consultation and we’ll get back to you within 24–48 hours. Direct Colors DIY Home Improvement podcasts were produced twice monthly for your enjoyment, and the show notes live here in the Direct Colors listening archive. Thank you for joining us!
What’s Next
- The written guide → Concrete Sunroom Floor Stain Ideas
- Refinishing a sunroom floor → Concrete Dye Sunroom Floor Refinish
- Overlay options → Concrete Overlay Ideas
- If the slab is rough or weathered → Staining Old, Rough Concrete · Concrete Surface Preparation
- Shop → EverStain™ · Concrete Powder Pigment
