How to Remove Paint from Concrete | Ep. 176

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Katherine Jones, in Cherokee Village, Ark., wants to know the best way to remove paint from the concrete on her 60-foot-long front porch.

She doesn’t want to use a harsh chemical stripper that could kill the shrubs and grass around the porch.

The freshly painted concrete looks great and easy to clean, but not long after it starts to blister or bubble. This is why we don’t recommend painting concrete.

Here’s how to remove paint from concrete.

For a porch this size, rent an orbital floor sander and choose a sandpaper that’s not too coarse. You want to remove the finish and not grind the concrete. This will be the easiest way to get the bulk of the paint off.

Then, you’ll have to use some elbow grease to sand the areas the sander can’t reach, like around handrails and columns.

There are citrus-based strippers that are non-toxic and aren’t harmful to plants. This type of stripper will help in the areas where the sander can’t reach.

Also, consider renting a soda blaster. It works the same as a sandblaster but uses baking soda instead.

Skip to [23:12] for the full segment on the Today’s Homeowner Podcast.

Also on this episode:

Best New Product

Simple Solutions

Use a soda bottle to water freshly planted shrubs. (3 Echoes Content Studio)

Improvised Lawn Sprinkler — The next time you need to water newly planted grass seed, trees, flowers or shrubs, and you don’t have a sprinkler, you have a few options.

You can go out and buy one, borrow one from a neighbor, or you can make one from an empty soda jug.

Drill three or four 1/8-inch-diameter holes in the side of a plastic, two-liter soda bottle.
Wrap some Teflon tape around the bottle treads and then screw on a female-to-female hose connector.
Attach a garden hose to the hose connector, place the sprinkler in the yard with the holes facing up, and turn on the water.

Watch: How to Make a Sprinkler for Your Lawn or Garden

Protest your fingertips with latex gloves. (eduardolopezcoronadophoto)

Rescuing Used Rubber Gloves — Before discarding used latex gloves, snip off any fingers that aren’t too badly damaged or dirty, and use them as slip-on fingertip protectors when spreading glue, smoothing caulk or spraying paint.

Some termite warranty companies don’t cover your house if you have spray foam insulation. (stock.adobe.com)

Question of the Week

Q: My wife and I are building a new home. I was planning to use spray foam insulation, but after calling several termite-bonding companies, I was surprised that most were hesitant to cover homes with spray foam. Some flatly refused coverage. Why is that, and what other options do I have?

A: Some termite-bonding companies don’t cover homes with spray foam insulation because of inspection issues.

If you have fiberglass or Rockwool insulation, an inspector can just pull the insulation away to look for termite damage. With spray foam insulation, they can’t do that because it sticks to the wood.

Some southern states have modified their building codes to require a termite inspection strip. This strip is installed above and below the foundation slab and allows inspectors to see termite damage in homes with spray foam insulation.

Talk to a local building inspector and see what they recommend to do on a new home build.

Skip to [31:59] for the full segment on the Today’s Homeowner Podcast.