We have a patio that is 20+ years old. It is stained from leaves and mildew. It also seems to have small grains of sand coming off it. We recently installed a patio cover and would like to clean and seal it. I have tried cleaning it with muriatic acid and also Simple Green and neither worked very well. My wife would like to apply vinyl or some kind of tile but we don’t know if that would work given the hot/cold of being outside besides the blowing rain and snow on it. Do you have any suggestions of a cleaner/sealer or if tile would work? -Randy

Hi Randy,

There are several options available that could serve to really dress up your patio floor. One of the simplest would be to use a concrete stain. They’re easy to apply, won’t peel, and are available in a wide range of colors. You could also cut decorative score lines in the surface of the concrete before staining it using a circular saw and an abrasive blade for a unique custom look. Use a guide board to keep your lines straight. Porcelain tile is another very nice looking material that should hold up well. Choose a tile that is fairly nonporous, so it won’t crack when it freezes, and is slip resistant.

Good luck with your project!

Tags: , muriatic acid

One Comment on “Dressing Up a Patio Floor”

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1. Deb T Says:
   January 1st, 2008 at 2:42 pm

   I am not sure what kind of tile you have but I had great luck with something that I used on concrete. It was a simple bleaching cleaner ( perhaps youve already tried it I am not sure of the ingredients) that was made by Behr. A word of caution when staining, be sure that the tiles are very clean. I had a mess when trying to stain with semi transparent concrete stain. There are many steps to go through. If your tiles are natural tiles like sand stone, they have to be sealed every year and I am not sure if it can ever really get clean. And on another note, while Behr makes some great products I DO not recommend thier semi transparent stain. Even when used as directed.I am no pro but I have done my share of remodelling. I would try the concrete cleaner first again depending on what the tile is. If its that bad it cant make it any worse?

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