Painted driveways

[Pmount]

What are the reasons people here have painted driveways? Is it purely for the good looks or did it start for a "reason"? Does the pollen make the concrete dark and stained? In past homes all over the country I have always done my garage to make it easy to clean and nicer looking. In AL I did power wash the driveway a couple times maybe out of boredom or just to clean it up. You don't see this in normal cities, seems to be a retirement thing but it does look nice.

Phil

[MikeV]

We did it because of the discoloration of the cement. Knowing now that the cement is not the best I would do pavers. The cement they use chips, cracks and pits with age so the painted driveway while looking good shows the chips etc much more.

[Pmount]

Here in southern MN the rock they use in the concrete will actually explode and leave holes in the concrete or just suddenly break and leave a hole, just happened in my painted garage floor, upsetting for sure

[applesoffh]

We did it because of the discoloration of the cement. Knowing now that the cement is not the best I would do pavers. The cement they use chips, cracks and pits with age so the painted driveway while looking good shows the chips etc much more.

That's the reason we had ours painted. The concrete was stained shortly after it was poured due to heavy rain coming off the roof. we had leaders and gutters installed then decided to do the driveway.

[jebartle]

A friend told me that he was spending his kids inheritance, giggle!

[graciegirl]

I have seen several that were just beautiful, but don't choose to want ours painted. Some look real haggard and aged after being here for awhile. And so do driveways.


Matter of personal taste,


I am a big fan now of painted (epoxied) garage floor. The garage is your basement and storage room and the epoxy makes it easier to clean and makes it look more finished.

MaryB has the most beautiful driveway a person could wish for and it matches her nautical décor.

[Pmount]

Yes, I like the garage done, just figuring out if I want to take that next step. . Nice that once we move in- I guess we have to buy first- we can decidebut I know I will do the garage right away!

[sesack1]

It is really a good idea. If you have it done right, it will seal the concrete and keep the concrete from getting soft and stained from auto fluids and tire dirt. It will be much easier to clean. Decorated driveways also make your house different from others and make the neighborhood more classy. Also easier to find your house after going to the town square. I used Edison concretions and am very happy with my painted driveway. Be Happy

[villagetinker]

We used a clear coating (Sherwin Williams) with shark skin to coat the garage. This give a wet look to the concrete, and the shark skin keeps it from being slippery. As stated above, easy clean up. NOTE: be sure what you want, in many cases it is difficult to recoat or change a coating once applied.
As for the driveway, we waited for 18 months, then decided to have the driveway "stained"/painted. Driveways by Jay did the work, and Jay is a true artist. The result was better then I could have ever imagined.
Hope this helps.

[RickeyD]

What are the reasons people here have painted driveways? Is it purely for the good looks or did it start for a "reason"? Does the pollen make the concrete dark and stained? In past homes all over the country I have always done my garage to make it easy to clean and nicer looking. In AL I did power wash the driveway a couple times maybe out of boredom or just to clean it up. You don't see this in normal cities, seems to be a retirement thing but it does look nice.



Phil


Overindulgence is the norm here. But, it does look nice.

[Challenger]

Live in a CYV. We can paint our driveways , but had to get agreement from residents on one color/ with specks, plain with a beige hew. Those that have chosen to paint look somewhat better than bare concrete, which has stains from tires , plants, oil and other eements. Painted becomes slippery when rain comes. Not a serious problem.

With no design elements allowed on driveways we have a very neat look throughout the neighborhood

[Jayhawk]

We did it because of the discoloration of the cement. Knowing now that the cement is not the best I would do pavers. The cement they use chips, cracks and pits with age so the painted driveway while looking good shows the chips etc much more.

Good point about the chips and cracks. We used Amy Newsome Concrete Designs and she will repair her work for 10 years under warranty. As a matter of fact, she is in my driveway right now repairing the little triangle piece in the corner that broke. We had T&D come by and pour new concrete (which they also did for no charge) and she is fixing the paint to look like new. We had ours done over a year ago. If you paint, use Amy. Not only quality work, but she obviously stands behind it.

:bigbow:

[capecoralbill]

Just bite the bullet and get pavers, it is what you really want. One post above said they needed an approval for the color, but patterns or images, initials and other personalizations were not allowed. I think a neutral solid or speckled paint would look ok.

[Shirleevee]

Overindulgence is the norm here. But, it does look nice.

Leaked golf cart batteries blemished the concrete and it could not be cleaned. Painting vs. pavers for my home had a $$$$ of $4,500 difference. As for "tacky", it depends.

[Pmount]

So there must be two different ways to do this. Paint or an epoxy of some sort. I use a two part epoxy in my garage. Yes I think either could be slick when wet. I always put a traction compound in the garage mix, assume it is an option here too. Maybe I will get lucky and find a preowned already done. Appreciate all the responses, I learn new stuff everyday on here!

[patfla06]

We had an epoxy garge floor in Tampa.
If you have a car with high performance tires it ruins
the floor. The heat from the tires make tracks.

[Pmount]

We had an epoxy garge floor in Tampa.
If you have a car with high performance tires it ruins
the floor. The heat from the tires make tracks.

Are you saying only the epoxy makes tracks or both paint and epoxy? I have to assume that those tracks from hot tires show up on bare concrete too? The earlier comment about shark skin has me intrigued, never have heard of it. Will investigate.

[laceylady]

We did our garage ourselves up north with kit from Home Depot. Lots of black tire tracks, etc. Here, Amy Newsome did our garage floor and no tire tracks or marking show.

[JoMar]

We had Decorative Concrete do both our garage and driveway. Both were sealed before the epoxy with traction additives was done in the garage and the driveway was painted with the same additives. Been here almost a year and have had no issues with either. I believe there are a number of really good companies that do this type of work, but make sure you get a bunch of referrals and call them since I believe there are a number of not so good companies as well.

[Lovey2]

It's not just here. But, maybe it IS a Florida thing. I had my driveway cut to look like flagstone and stained in SW FL in 1991. I sealed it every year with a clear coat and eventually changed the colors of the slate as my tastes changed and I changed the color of the house. The people who eventually bought our house loved it. It was just a given that we would do it here. Of course, now we wish we had gone with pavers from the start...oh, well. Eventually....

[loolah]

I did my garage floor and love it. It makes things so easy to keep clean. And the finish give sit a glossy look which I like. The driveways seem to be a different issue. As I understand it each area may have restrictions on what can be done and in some villas sections a petition must be signed by a majority of the residents and submitted tot he ARC to have work done. Then it is restricted to certain types of painting. I had mine done and like it as well.

[HimandMe]

Is it good just to put a clear seal on the driveway or not?

[villagetinker]

Is it good just to put a clear seal on the driveway or not?

Please do not just put clear on your driveway, you will probably end up with a very nice looking VERY slippery surface. I did a clear coat in my garage (purchased at Sherwin Williams LSL), and I told them I needed to be sure the finish was NOT slippery. They sold me shark skin additive, looks like really fine sand. The product that I used make the concrete look WET, so I ended up with a medium grey finish, and the shark skin works great.

As for the driveway, you will need to check and see if this is suitable for outdoor use, then you will need to determine if this gives a wet look or dry look when applied and dry. Be sure to use the shark skin, or you will end up with a slippery driveway.

We had our driveway 'stained', by driveways by Jay, and the result is a beautiful design, and the drive way is NOT slippery. I suggest that you ask around to neighbors, etc., and also walk on painted/stained driveways to see how slippery they are. The coating that was applied to ours will ne a clear coat in 6 to 7 years.
Hope this helps.

[jnieman]

We are adding a bird cage and wondered about painting the floor. Since it will be exposed to the elements I don't want the color to fade and the beige turn pinky colored. Any ideas on that?