Painting A House Foundation — Is It Worth The Time And Effort?
As I’ve spent time working on my outdoor projects, I’ve given a lot of thought to our house foundation. I get asked on a pretty regular basis if I’m going to do anything to cover it and what I’m going to cover it with. Will I add my DIY faux stones to the foundation? Will I cover it with something else?
The answer is no. I won’t be covering the foundation with a faux stone or anything else that requires that much time and effort. But I would consider painting it so that it’s all one consistent color and looks like I actually put some thought into it rather than ignoring it. When I was researching the products I wanted to use to paint my studio side steps, I read through at least a hundred customer reviews and looked at all of the pictures, and I came across these two customer-submitted photos that really got me seriously thinking about painting the foundation on our house. Both of these looks so nice, and I’d love for our foundation to look similar.
Instead, ours looks like a complete mess, like it has been completely forgotten or ignored.
I think it would look so much better if it were all given a coat (or two) of paint. It would give the house a much more finished look. I did a quick mockup of the side door area with a dark gray foundation. I have no idea if this is the color I’d actually use, but I was thinking it would look nice in a color that’s just a few shades darker than the color of the siding.
I think one reason we have so much trouble with dirt sticking to the foundation like it does is because that’s just bare concrete. It’s rough and porous, so the dirt really grabs on. It’s really unsightly. And I know a lot of this problem will be eliminated once I get some planting beds topped with mulch around the foundation so that it’s not just bare dirt, but I don’t think that mulch will eliminate the problem completely.
Not only would paint give it a more finished look, but it would also create a finish that dirt won’t stick to quite as easily as it does to bare concrete. Again, I’m not sure what color I would choose, so this probably isn’t what it would actually look like. You just have to imagine that the color is actually a few shades darker than the paint color on the stone and siding.
The color of the siding and stone is Sherwin Williams Mindful Gray (SW 7016). On the website, that looks like this…
So three shades darker is called Dovetail (SW 7018)…
Four shades darker is this color called Gauntlet Gray (SW 7019)…
And five shades darker is this color called Black Fox (SW 7020)…
I think once the foundation is pressure washed and dry, the painting would go fairly quickly. There’s a lot of width that needs to be painted, but I don’t think any of it is more than 12 inches high. And I could always do it in two stages, tackling the front and visible sides of the house first, and then concentrating on the back of the house at a later date when I begin working on backyard projects. For now, I’d want to do the area in front of the bedroom and closet (i.e., the really dirty areas in the photo above in this post) plus the area under the living room windows, the breakfast room windows, and around my studio on the front and side (shown by the white line in the photo below).
I don’t know when I’d actually be able to get to this. For now, my front porch project has been pretty busy, and I’ve only given myself until my birthday (June 21) to work on outdoor projects before I turn my attention back to indoor projects and get the storage closet in our bedroom suite finished up. So it probably wouldn’t even be until this fall when it starts to cool off that I’d be able to do it.
But what do you think? Is it worth the time and effort to paint the foundation and give it all a clean, consistent look all the way around? I’m leaning towards “yes”. And if I’m going to do it, it really needs to be done before I start bringing in any soil and plants to create planting beds. I think it would be worth it. How about you?
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Addicted 2 Decorating is where I share my DIY and decorating journey as I remodel and decorate the 1948 fixer upper that my husband, Matt, and I bought in 2013. Matt has M.S. and is unable to do physical work, so I do the majority of the work on the house by myself. You can learn more about me here.
I painted our foundation with a “elastic” type of paint from Home Depot. It made a big difference. Immediately, looked so much cleaner and gave a finished look to the rest of the house. It’s been 10 years ago and it still looks great. No peeling, cracking and dirt easily washes off.
We dug a narrow trench in front of it before painting so there’s no exposed cement. We planned to extend the concrete out about 4-5 inches later and opted to “temporarily” run a row of paver stones around instead. They are still in place, and help to keep mud from splashing up on the siding. Gravel might have worked, but we didn’t want to have to dig it out later.
BTW, a color just a shade or two darker than the soil works best. You want it to blend in with the surrounding soil.
Yes, but. I think painting the foundation is a great idea, but IMHO adding another color to the new bedroom door area is too much. Gray siding, pink door, blue shutters, brown step, white and possibly another color on the pergola ceiling is a lot in such a small area. Maybe repaint the steps gray or match the foundation to the siding?
I don’t think she’s planning to paint the new bedroom door pink. Leaving it white and adding blue shutters will blend it with the windows.
I’m, she just painted it a pink hue
I painted the side studio door pink. 🙂 The bedroom door will be white with blue shutters to make it blend in with the windows.
I thought the same thing Susan… adding another color to the rest of the colors would be a lot around the side door. Dovetail, only 3 shades darker, might be better as it might not be too obvious of another color, and the elastic paint sounds ideal in respect to the dirt washing off.
Yes, especially from a maintenance perspective.
I think it’s definitely worth doing but only when you get those beds in place. Otherwise I fear you will be up with the same issue of it getting dirty when it rains. The fact that you will paint it darker won’t deter the dirt from showing.
I would take the time to paint the foundation now, while you’re working on it. Then it will all be done and you won’t have to “get back to it!”
In our area, it’s considered a no-no to paint the foundation and leads to a lifetime of painting it as often as the house. We get a lot of rain, but we do use cedar mulch and don’t have any dirty areas on the foundation. I’ve noticed that when someone inherits someone else’s paint decision, they often paint it the color of concrete to try to get back to the original neutral look. Concrete is a green-gray. After you pressure wash you may decide it’s not worth the effort to paint, but if you do, I’d stick with something very neutral and mid-range in depth of color. Or you could decide to seal it instead.
I would paint the foundation to match the siding so it visually disappears. The difference between the stone and foundation will be even less noticeable once some shrubs are planted in front. I’d try a test of the siding color on the foundation then stand at the street and see how it looks. The dark gray seems to chop up the house.
I completely agree to matching the foundation paint to the siding color. We did this to our house (one-level ranch style) and it made the foundation disappear and made the house look taller.
100% YES!!! Making this change would enhance your house so much and make it look clean and maintained as well. It’s kind of like wearing in a pair of dirty old shoes with a dress lol. Paint is going lighten up outside so I would lean toward the darker shades. Getting ready to do the same thing on the house my husband inherited. Can’t wait to see what you do!
There’s no perfect answer my notes on paint colors to minimize maintenance: Inlaws accidentally discovered the color of their dust. I went to dust the area house-sitting and discovered years of dust that was unnoticed that’s the only time the color trick worked. I’d say get a grey or dark color that is close/complements the mildew that grows. The dirt will still happen. You do see the splash up built up on the painted Austin stone. You can choose Dark/black mulch is colored with carbon, so everything fresh black mulch touches after application turns sooty or looks like mildew.
YES! but picking up all of the debris would be an even better start!
Agreed. These photos make me want to come over and tidy up so badly.
Do you think adding gutters to your roof line would divert the rainwater from creating the splash effect on base of your house?
Yes, adding gutters will absolutely prevent the splashing. Plus the splashing can undermine the foundation. And 6 inch gutters do not need cleaning out as often.
It would help in some areas, like the bedroom area. But the foundation below the closet window is almost as bad, and that’s not an area where gutters would go because of the roof line.
Definitely!
Our foundation is parged – basically a morter of some sort smeared over the block to look a little more finished. Colorant was added to the morter. You might kill two birds with one stone if you looked into this idea!
Definitely worth it! It will be a nice “finishing” touch. (See what I did there?) 🙂
I think I would paint it the siding color so it all blends. The darker chops it up and makes the house look short.
I would contact a foundation company and ask them. I know when we bought our house in Fort Worth, we were told to water our foundation because the shifting of the ground and the foundation would crack. I am not sure if that is an issue in Waco or not. I would want to clean it up too if it were me.
Originally,I thought painting was a waste of time and money. Then you switched my vote. If it would help to repel the dirt that splashes on it, I would DEFINITELY paint the foundation.
Yes, is the answer to your questions. It is never a waste of time, energy or money when making your house your home. Ours needs redoing as the house is coming onto 30 years of age, but the stuff they used back then has held up to all the rain and sun East Tennessee can throw at it. You won’t regret it and you probably won’t have to do it again which is always a plus. Fall is the best time for that kind of painting, and I can’t wait to see how it goes.
Cheers to you and Matt!!!
FYI I had the same problem a few years ago with dirt splashing on to my foundation. To resolve, I pushed all of the mulch away from the foundation, approximately 8″ (so now I had exposed dirt. Please note that my dirt layer was much lower due to it splashing on to the foundation. If yours is not, you will have to remove some dirt to accommodate the gravel). I then placed a thick layer of gravel (I don’t recall the thickness but I did use all of the gravel bags that I purchased as I didn’t want any leftovers). I then topped off the gravel with a thick (4″) layer of mulch. Problem resolved for me. Good luck!
Is it worth the time and money? If you look at the picture of the studio door, you need to bring in soil to raise the level of the flower bed up to the surrounding concrete. If you plant foundation plantings after that, how much of the foundation would actually be visible?
I had my white cinderblock foundation painted several shades darker than my siding before I redid my foundation plantings last summer. It made such a such a difference. I’m so glad I did it. Before, everytime I drove up, all I saw was the red clay spattered cinder block. My painters used SW Super Paint Exterior in satin finish. It’s still looking great a year later!
And I see that someone mentioned gutters. I had larger gutters installed right before the painting and landscaping. That definitely helped with the splashing and caring for the shrubs below the overhang
All nice and clean would look great until it rains. But even after a rain, a consistent color would look better than what you have now. Are you going to get the stone made for your porch before your birthday? That day is coming up fast.
I just read all the comments. Some interesting ideas were brought up like putting gravel next to the foundation. Waco is like the Ft Worth lady said in that you need to “water” your foundation. Mockup a lighter colored foundation and let us see that before you do anything. It is getting too hot now to be outside so finish up your porch and worry about the foundation in the fall. The one lady mentioning all the different colors was a good suggestion.
Have a good week.
I’m working on the stones now! I really hope to get it done by my birthday.
When I had my house repainted 3years ago, I had him do the foundation as well. It had never been done (house was built in 1985, we bought it in ’87)…it is definitely worth it. And I didn’t even know it was – or should be – a thing.
Gauntlet gray is beautiful. My son, who works 3rd shift painted his bedroom this color to help him sleep during the day.
What about painting it the color of the shutters?
Did I miss something? I thought you were making cement molds of the stone to match the house? When you painted it black, I did like the painted effect. But not black, of course, the color of your house. If you pressure wash it, the next day paint the entire front, should only take a few days, been there, done that. Paint rollers are your friend. If you are going to cover that bottom with flower beds and dirt, why go through all the work and trouble to put cement molds across the front. Paint it and be done, when you do the flower beds, you are not covering up all that hard work you put in.
The stones are for the front porch skirting, not the foundation around the house.
Gutter ideas offered here would prevent a lot of mess.
Painting it? Yes. Make it ‘disappear’ by matching it to what is above it. Keep it simple. Otherwise, it will look
patchy. When the time is right, apply two coats, and do all the areas that need it.
Yes! It grounds the home. I like the darkest color, but I am sure you will choose will be great. Good luck!
Absolutely, yes, it would be worth it. Plus, knowing that it’s painted could give you a sense of satisfaction and look so much better in the mean time.