Back patio door replacement + tips to Paint Smarter!

Back patio door replacement + tips to Paint Smarter!

• 11.12.2024

This spring I had my driveway and back patio replaced with new concrete (read about that here). It was an expensive project and it had quite a few domino effects and other little things it encouraged me to get done around the backyard. One domino was this strange back patio door we’d had with a 5” or so ledge you had to step (or trip) over. I had the concrete guys cut the ledge down to the grade, but then the old door was too short! I found an antique one on Facebook, probably around the same age as my others (1937 home with all the original doors). I’ll spare you the installation saga (it took two handymen and a custom brickmold trim order to get this thing installed right…) but I also really took some steps to do the painting of the new door and trim right, and I’m sharing a few tips for smart paint purchasing, storage, and recycling in this post.

This post is sponsored by PaintCare, an organization with a ton of resources to help you paint smarter and recycle paint!

Back Patio Door and Trim

For the interior of the door, I color-matched the color on the rest of the garage walls and trim. I did the math and knew I only needed about a quart. PaintCare has this great post with info on what goes into how much paint you need, plus links to calculators.

As you can see, this area needed some paint touch-ups and cleaning anyway… yuck.


I love painting doors laying down. :)


So much better…! And I love that the door has a window to let light in and give a view through to the back patio eating area. (The new hardware doesn’t hurt, either… I love Nostalgic Warehouse and this entry set was similar to what we have on the other side door! So cool.)



For the exterior trim and door, I used leftover exterior paint from when we had the house painted in 2020. I had saved it pretty well so it was still good, although I’ve recently learned several more tips for storing paint better which I’ll share in more detail below… my favorite is the plastic wrap seal tip!


This paint job dried FAST cause it was a sunny afternoon as I was doing it. Remember, always paint dry into wet to lessen brushstrokes!

5 Tips for Smarter, Eco-Friendly Painting

Finally, let me share with you the 5 great tips to Paint Smarter! As much as 80 million gallons of paint is leftover and unused in the U.S. each year… these tips will help you reduce paint waste!

1. Buy Right

It’s not always easy to plan how much paint to buy, but there are great tools out there and some good rules of thumb you can read here. The price break for the next larger size (gallon vs. two quarts, or 5-gallon vs. two gallon) always bugs me, but it’s still better to just buy the right amount rather than a better “value” but then having extra paint you have to store or dispose of!

2. Store Right

PaintCare has some great tips here about this. Rim drainage, using painter’s tape to limit the pouring direction, using a rubber band instead of the edge of the can to remove excess paint from the brush, and using saran wrap to create a seal are my favorites! Also, make sure you label the room/use and date on your paint cans in a place that won’t get damaged.

3. Use it Up

Use extra paint as primer for another project, to paint a closet, or other creative use which will protect your walls or wood items and reduce waste.

4. Give it Away

Give it to a friend, donate it to a local artist group, or put it on Facebook Marketplace for free--someone will definitely want it!

5. Recycle the Rest

If you still have extra, you can recycle it!! PaintCare has drop-off sites in quite a few states (including Oregon) to make it super easy. They have convenient year-round locations where you can take unwanted paint, stain, varnish, and other accepted products for reuse or recycling. Find a drop-off site near you by using the PaintCare drop-off site locator. There were two within like a mile of me!

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Thanks to PaintCare for sponsoring this post. Check them out and find a paint drop-off site near you!