Thinking about painting the foundation of your house? Check out our DIY foundation paint project – we love how it turned out!

Painting Foundation Of House
For years we have wanted to paint our concrete foundation.
Our foundation had lots of clay mud build up on it.
It also didn’t look finished like my neighbor’s house did right next door!
Now that we are full swing in our backyard makeover project.
We decide to squeeze in our foundation painting project prior to the patio installation along the back exterior wall & both side walls.

Can you paint your foundation?
This was the first question that we asked.
We assumed you can paint the foundation of a house since we’ve seen it done on other homes in our neighborhood.
We have actually painted a form stoned exterior in one of our rental properties so this was our second DIY exterior painting job.
Exterior Foundation Paint
We have so many other aspects to this backyard makeover that I did not pre-plan the paint type or paint color.
The weekend we started, I called my local Sherwin Williams to see what type of paint they recommended for our project.
I recognized the gentlemen on the phone who gave me great recommendations on other projects like our mudroom, dining room & guest bedroom.
He asked lots of questions like how old is the foundation, is it poured concrete, etc.
They first recommended a paint called Luxon.
He said it was very thick and would fill it all in nicely.
I knew that we planned to use our paint sprayer so I asked if we could use this type of paint in a sprayer.
The answer was no.
He said that the other option was a paint called duration which I’m familiar with.
Can You Use Duration Paint on Exterior?
Even though this is an interior paint, we have used duration paint as exterior paint two times now with success so I highly recommend it.
Duration is the best paint for exterior foundation walls if you are using a paint sprayer.
We did the satin duration finish to make it easy to clean.
He recommended a 15-19 tip at 2000 PSI.
We had about 700 sq foot and we used about 5 gallons.
Concrete Foundation Paint Color
Why I had not thought through the foundation paint color prior to actually getting started is beyond me but I guess I had always assumed that I would paint the foundation similar to the siding color.
That is what my neighbor had done and that is what our landscape designer also showed.

Plus our largest foundation wall is mostly under the deck so it’s completely shaded.
I went to the store and took a sample of our exterior siding.

The first color that I saw was called modern gray and it matched the siding perfectly.
We have this color in my master bedroom and bathroom.
I called my husband to get his thoughts and his immediate reaction was that it was too dark.
And he was right, sort of.
This color looks somewhat dark on stark white walls but when it’s sunny, its actually not that dark.
I feel like paint colors inside vs outside are completely different because of lighting.
Sherwin Williams Shitake
I found a color similar to modern gray but just slightly darker called Shitake.
30 minutes and 15 paint samples later, I was still totally stressing over the color.
I didn’t want the color to be to light and look dirty so I made the call to go with the Shitake paint color.
On my way home I googled the paint color online and it seemed like it would be a bit darker than I wanted so I decided we would only do 1 good coat vs 2.
I got home and put the paint sample up against each of the 3 sides of the foundation and it looked great, even under the deck where it was shady.
But you know how paint colors look different on the sample card vs the actual paint color on a wall?
So I was still stressed.
It was not until it started going on to the walls that I saw it and it was PERFECT.

Not too light, not too dark.
Check out the video of our foundation painting project
How to Paint Exterior Foundation Walls?
We started by powerwashing all the dirt and grime off the walls.
We just used water.
This look about 3 and a half hours for 700 sq feet.
It already looked SO much better without the mud & grime!

Next we prepped our paint sprayer.
Full disclosure, the paint sprayer preparation does take awhile.
But once you get it set, it will make the job MUCH easier.
We also had to tape and cover hose bibs, electrical outlets etc.
Then it was time to spray.
The paint sprayer makes it very easy to paint a house foundation.
You want to go from top to bottom and side to side to ensure you don’t miss a spot.
We weren’t sure if 5 gallons would be enough to do 1 coat but it was and it looks amazing!!!

Would I do this again?
Absolutely!
I highly recommendation foundation paint for your home.
Stayed tuned to see the full backyard makeover reveal!

Check out our other DIY projects:
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