By Dave and Mary

Concrete Porch Floors

Mystery Solved - We Show You How They Do It

Mary and I had the opportunity to document how a concrete porch floor, concrete steps, and walkway are constructed. It is easy to take for granted the materials, processes, and labor that go into these structures and we want to show you how it's done.

You may be surprised how much effort goes into constructing these essential elements of a home.

We start with a bricked porch facade and porch roof on a two story home which has already been constructed. The concrete floor covering for the front porch will be approximately 8 feet above the ground.

Because this is new construction, a walkway from the driveway to the porch steps will also be framed and poured.


worker spraying concrete to expose aggregate concrete porch floor
Finished aggregate concrete front porch floor

Aggregate Concrete Porch Floor Construction Process

This is a particularly high bricked front porch. The brick facade actually covers a concrete block foundation which is easily seen in the photo below.


worker descending ladder into front porch cavity
Inside view of front porch cavity
Because of its height, a subfloor needs to be constructed to hold the concrete porch floor. Filling the porch cavity with stone or concrete block might be an option but it would take consider fill to raise the porch floor to the appropriate level.



The first step is to chip out the brick above the foundation blocks to create holes into which steel channels will be inserted. As you might imagine it took considerable time to create the holes for the steel channels.


individual chipping holes in brick to accommodate steel support channels
Chipping holes in brick for steel channels
Steel channels will support the corrugated metal sheathing onto which the concrete flooring will be poured.

steel channels to support porch floor
Steel channels and corrugated metal sheathing
The steel channels are inserted into the slots and spaced approximately 12 to 16 inches apart.


steel channels positioned on block foundation
Steel channels inserted into holes on brick and supported by foundation blocks
Once they are in position on top of the concrete block foundation, the steel sheathing is placed on top of the channels.


steel sheathing being installed over steel channels
Steel sheathing being installed



steel sheathing ready to receive concrete
Steel sheathing ready for concrete
Approximately four to six inches of concrete is then poured over the sheathing. A concrete pumping truck was used to help pour the concrete due to both the height of the porch and the distance from the street.

The pumping truck operator uses a remote control to guide the concrete hose which has a reach of over 100 feet.


concrete pumping truck offloading concrete
Concrete pumping truck



concrete being poured over steel sheathing
Concrete being poured on steel sheathing
Once the concrete is poured it is sprayed with a surface retarder (see box below) and then is covered in plastic to help the curing process. Since this is going to be an aggregate porch floor the plastic will be removed in a short time and pressure washed to expose the aggregate stone.


workers laying plastic over newly poured concrete on front porch
Concrete pumping truck

How Do They Create the Concrete Aggregate Look?

rugasol surface retarder In order to create an aggregate appearance the top layer of concrete is washed away to expose the stones within the concrete.

A concrete surface retarder is used to stop the setting of the top concrete layer without interfering with the hardening of the concrete below the surface.

Rugasol, like that shown here, is a common concrete retarder used on many concrete porches and driveways to produce the aggregate appearance.




When the concrete has cured, you have a beautiful aggregate concrete floor covering.



Need to know How to Build a Porch Over Concrete correctly? Check out our answer to a site visitor's question regarding building a porch over concrete slabs.




Mary and Dave, Founders of Front Porch Ideas and More
Hi! We're Mary and Dave, lifelong DIYers, high school sweethearts, and we both love porches. You've come to the right place for thousands of porch ideas.

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Mary and Dave, Founders of Front Porch Ideas and More
Hi! We're Mary and Dave, lifelong DIYers, high school sweethearts, and we both love porches. You've come to the right place for thousands of porch ideas.
--- Our Sponsors ---
Use the PCA Visualizer to design your screen door

Shop for Porch Parts at Vintage Woodworks.

The Porch Store

--- End Sponsors ---


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Thank you for being here!


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At no extra cost to you, we earn a commission by referring you to some products on merchant sites. See our disclosure policy.
We, Front Porch Ideas and More, confirm, as stated on our privacy policy, that we do not sell personal information.

All content here is solely for presenting ideas. We recommend consulting with a licensed, experienced contractor before you begin your project.
We make no guarantees of accuracy or completeness of information on our site or any links to other websites contained here.


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