At once simple and sophisticated, painted checkerboard floors have been popular since the eighteenth century as an inexpensive way to imitate the marble floors of classical buildings.
Painted checkerboard floors are timeless and will add character and a sense of space to a porch.
Use Benjamin Moore Floor and Porch paint, a reinforced finish that is designed for floors. To create a more non-slip surface, add a small handful of clean, fine granular sand to each gallon of floor paint. Keep the colors close in tone.
Note: The Checkerboard Porch Floor project is excerpted from the book, Exterior Style.
Step-by-Step Instructions
- Prepare the wood by washing it with a TSP (trisodium phosphate) and water solution. Rinse thoroughly and allow to dry completely.
- Sand lightly with fine sandpaper and use a tack cloth to wipe the wood free of dust.
- Prime and paint two coats of the lighter of the two colors over the entire porch floor. Allow to dry completely.
- Using a chalk line, snap a line lengthwise down the center of the porch. Center your measurements and your pattern on this line.
- Mark 1-foot intervals across the width and along the sides of the porch. Use the chalk line to snap lines between them, creating a diamond pattern (see photo above). Note: Unless you want a busy effect, keep the diamonds fairly large. We used 1-foot squares.
- Tape off the outside edges of every other row of diamonds across the porch.
- Apply two coats of the second color inside those diamonds. Remove the painter's tape while the paint is still wet.
Supply List
Supplies:
- Trisodium phosphate (TSP)
- Fine sandpaper
- Tack cloth
- Chalk line
- Low-tack painter's tape
Paint:
- Benjamin Moore Floor & Patio Finish
Colors:
