Stained Carport

Stain can beautifully transform the look of concrete with very little effort. I helped a friend renew the look of her carport with stain. This can be done with concrete stain with beautiful results that will last.

However, she had two partial cans of wood stain so we decided to go with inexpensive; we only purchased masking tape. It was a small carport so just a few rolls were needed.

We moved everything out of the carport, swept it, and cleaned it up some. We didn't try to remove the stains already on the concrete as they would add dimension to the look. We then measured and taped off the concrete in 18 inch squares. (The concrete was not as clean as it appears in this photo.)

This can be done to follow a wall or you can do it in a diamond-style pattern. We followed the long house wall as it was easier to mark. After sticking down the masking tape we used old rags and the left over wood stain to stain the concrete (wear rubber gloves!).

The stains we used were medium dark colors and we applied them with old, soft rags in a circular motion. We worked quickly so each block could be blended with its neighbor. The staining went rather quickly.

We did this project in summer so the drying time was minimal. Once dry, we simply pulled up the masking tape.

This is a wonderful look and makes an old carport look good again. Since we used wood stains and no topcoat, 3 months later the look has 'softened' up some. That is a good match for her house since it isn't new, but if you want to keep the bold, new look you should use stain made for concrete and a topcoat.

Just make sure the topcoat you choose won't make the concrete slippery when it is wet.