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Porch Ideas


angt29

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Hi guys,

Just looking to pick your brains.  I am remodeling a Newberg that was built when I was little, but never decorated or finished in any way, so it's pretty much a bare house.  I'm working on the exterior first, and am working on the porch portion right now.  On the outside of the stairs that lead up to the house, I am covering the stair walls with 'stone'.  But I'm not sure what to do with the stairs themselves, and the porch floor.  I thought about doing wood boards on the porch floor or something that looks like cement on it and the stairs. 

What have other people done for exterior walkways like this?  If you've done cement, what was your method to make it look real, and is there a thread to which you can direct me? 

Thanks!

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Cement-unsanded grout gives a smoother finish than sanded grout. I used sanded grout to make 40 ft of sidewalks. It might have too much texture for your steps and porch. That's why I'm recommending the unsanded grout.

i love either pavers or wood on porches.  My sister had given me large sheets of wide oak DH flooring but it was red mahogany, so I painted it gray and used it for a porch.

Here is one porch

Here is the sanded grout sidewalk. Picture really doesn't pick up the details though.

http://www.greenleafdollhouses.com/forum/?app=gallery&module=gallery&controller=view&id=127691

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What a cute little porch, Sable.  I do like the way the boards look.

Spackle's a good idea, as we have it in the house as is.  I'd have to experiment to see if I could get it the way I want it to look.

Thanks.

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So funny you asked this question..I'm stumped on the same problem and working in the same area..my problem is not only am I undecided but I'm trying to alter a huge Victorian to look whimsy tudor and the medieval houses didn't have raised porches with stairs lol so whatever I decide seems really weird. And as soon as I decide wood veneer I change my mind to brick or stone...eventually you just bite the bullet and pick one! Lol...FYI you can pick up a pack of paperclay or other air dry sculpting clay like DAS brand and use that for a plain cement look. You would just put wood glue down first and then apply a thin layer of the clay. I don't know if you're familiar with the paperclay look but then you could leave as is or sculpt bricks, flat stones etc. or there's the paper egg carton stone method but others here would have to advise about that, I haven't tried it. 

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3 hours ago, angt29 said:

What a cute little porch, Sable.  I do like the way the boards look.

Spackle's a good idea, as we have it in the house as is.  I'd have to experiment to see if I could get it the way I want it to look.

Thanks.

Careful, spackle and grout are two separate materials. Spackle will crack. Grout has polymers in it which binds it together to prevent cracking. If you drop dried grout it won't break, however spackle will smash.

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1 hour ago, Sable said:

Careful, spackle and grout are two separate materials. Spackle will crack. Grout has polymers in it which binds it together to prevent cracking. If you drop dried grout it won't break, however spackle will smash.

I haven't had spackle crack yet, and I've used it on almost every build I've done.  I haven't dropped any yet, but I would expect that would be nasty.

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50 minutes ago, havanaholly said:

I haven't had spackle crack yet, and I've used it on almost every build I've done.  I haven't dropped any yet, but I would expect that would be nasty.

Holly. I'm referring to making a concrete slab out of it, not using it as a filler, which it is perfect for.

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I would do wood boards on the porch if your house is going to be siding, if it's brick I or stucco I'd be more likely to go for a terrazzo or terracotta tile or some sort of stone tile, travertine, or limestone (look of course, not the real thing, unless Sable is helping.. :) )

On the stairs if you are doing the stair risers in stone or brick I would do either a limestone slab look on the treads or brick them completely. Google brick stairs for images of how the pattern works. You can even do a bullnose lip with egg carton bricks.

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Thanks for all the tips.  I think I am going to do wood on the porch floor.  The stairs are a little trickier, as they are fairly narrow and I can't imagine being able to fit stone or bricks very well on them.  As it is, I am making my own fieldstone 'boulders' out of clay, painting them to look real, and using Andi's Mortar to put them on the house.  I've completed part of it, and am very happy with the results.  I really like the look of brick stairs, but I'm not sure how it would look to mix bricks with the fieldstone look?  I was thinking of doing a brick walkway up to the house, though, so that would carry through the look, I guess.  I'll have to look at the patterns because I can't picture how that would work. 

I am not familiar with paper clay, but I have seen you guys post about it quite a bit.  How does it work or differ from real clay?

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8 hours ago, angt29 said:

Thanks for all the tips.  I think I am going to do wood on the porch floor.  The stairs are a little trickier, as they are fairly narrow and I can't imagine being able to fit stone or bricks very well on them.  As it is, I am making my own fieldstone 'boulders' out of clay, painting them to look real, and using Andi's Mortar to put them on the house.  I've completed part of it, and am very happy with the results.  I really like the look of brick stairs, but I'm not sure how it would look to mix bricks with the fieldstone look?  I was thinking of doing a brick walkway up to the house, though, so that would carry through the look, I guess.  I'll have to look at the patterns because I can't picture how that would work. 

I am not familiar with paper clay, but I have seen you guys post about it quite a bit.  How does it work or differ from real clay?

Sorry I wasn't clear in my last post.. I meant to say if you are going to brick the stairs.. brick them entirely.. don't do stone on the risers.. :)

 

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Paperclay is a wonderful material to use. I have used it to make sinks, a soaker tub, counter top and a large bag to exhibit smaller bags.  It rolls out easily with a rolling pin. Then you can drape it around a form to make a sink or tub.  Roll a sheet of it to carve flagstone. It is self drying with minor shrinkage. I wrapped it around books to make the bag.  

image.jpeg

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Samantha, I should have done a better job of describing the stairs.  The entire base of my dollhouse will be covered with fieldstone, and the stairs that lead up to the porch kind of detach.  They have walls on either side of the stairs, and the walls themselves will have fieldstone, so that leaves the stairs themselves to figure out what to with the step surface, risers and treads. 

Wow, that paper clay stuff looks easy to work with.  Does it dry pretty hard?  Is it brittle when it dries?

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8 hours ago, angt29 said:

Samantha, I should have done a better job of describing the stairs.  The entire base of my dollhouse will be covered with fieldstone, and the stairs that lead up to the porch kind of detach.  They have walls on either side of the stairs, and the walls themselves will have fieldstone, so that leaves the stairs themselves to figure out what to with the step surface, risers and treads. 

Wow, that paper clay stuff looks easy to work with.  Does it dry pretty hard?  Is it brittle when it dries?

Oh, I see,... :D

In that case I would suggest, continuing the field stone around the risers and doing a slab stone look on the treads.. like limestone or granite.  Like this.

Image result for field stone stairs limestone tread

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Samantha, I LOVE that!  I think I will do that for the stairs.  It will solve the problem on what to do with the treads that jut out a little bit from the riser (couldn't figure out how to handle that with stone).  I like the plain look of the slab step, but the continuity of the stone.  Thanks for posting!

Joanne, I look forward to seeing your floor!

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I just used the dollhouse wood floor sheet from hobby lobby (40 percent coupon too lol ).  Hen used left over stain from my house.  Minwax Mission Oak.  The stone is egg cartons and I have not done any painting on them yet   Thanks   

 

 

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Thanks.  I like the stain color, and I think I have some leftover in the basement. :)  Wow, those stones turned out great!  I'm new here, and I've read people mention the egg carton bricks a lot, but hadn't seen them.  They look very real!  Looking forward to seeing the finished product.

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