The hardest-working painted surface on a house
A front porch floor takes rain, snow, salt, boots and furniture legs, and it faces up, so water sits on it instead of running off. Paint there has a harder life than anywhere else outside. A porch job also includes steps, railings, posts and often a ceiling, each with its own work. This guide explains what drives the price.
What the Kankakee station records
NOAA's 1991–2020 climate normals for the Kankakee station give the city 41.66 inches of precipitation in a normal year and 20.7 inches of snowfall. The wettest months are June at 5.21 inches of rain and May at 5.15 inches; July's normal rainfall is 4.65 inches, and January's snowfall normal is 8.1 inches. NOAA computed the precipitation normals from 18 years and the snowfall normals from 17 years of record inside 1991–2020.
Rain and snow on a porch floor mean water standing on painted wood and soaking into any crack in the finish. That's why porch floors usually need more frequent repainting than walls, and why their condition drives the cost.
How the city's code rates the conditions
Kankakee's residential code (the 2018 International Residential Code as adopted by the city) sets a design wind speed of 90 mph, rates weathering as severe and decay as slight to moderate, with a winter design temperature of 0°F. Those are the code's ratings, quoted as the city's code gives them. A weathering rating describes how hard conditions are on exposed materials, and a porch floor is about as exposed as painted wood gets.
Floor area and condition
The size of the floor sets the base. Its condition sets the rest. A floor with sound paint that's just worn in traffic lanes needs cleaning, a light sanding and new coats. A floor with paint peeling between boards, or bare gray wood, needs scraping, sanding and priming. Soft or split boards should be replaced first.
Steps
Steps take more wear than the floor and have treads, risers and stringers, each cut in by hand. Worn treads may need more prep than the rest of the porch put together.
Railings, posts and spindles
Like a stair inside, a porch railing takes time out of proportion to its size. Each spindle is brushed on every face, and railings and post caps need a finish that resists weather and hands. A porch with turned spindles all the way round can take as long as the floor.
The porch ceiling
Many porch ceilings are painted beadboard, which is slow to brush into the grooves and is worked overhead. Peeling or mildew there adds cleaning and scraping.
Floor paint, not wall paint
Porch floors should get a coating made for floors, which stands up to foot traffic. Some have slip-resistant additives. These products can cost more than ordinary exterior paint. Ask which product is planned, and how many coats.
Drying and traffic
A porch floor has to dry and cure before it takes furniture and constant foot traffic. Your front door may be out of use for a while, and another route in has to be arranged. Damp weather stretches that time.
Comparing proposals
- Floor, steps, railings and ceiling listed separately.
- Preparation for each, and how board repairs are priced.
- The floor coating and the railing paint, by name.
- How long the porch will be out of use.
Our exterior painting page and pricing guide explain more.