Oil-based or latex paint tinting systems can be used to tint house paint, but food coloring is not the same as dye and will not change the color of white paint. To create a custom paint color, mix base paint and colorant at home. Wear a dust mask to protect yourself from the fumes.
White paint can set the tone for a space’s design direction with subtlety. When painting, it is advisable to tint the primer the color of the finished paint to reduce the number of coats needed. You can also tint the primer yourself by adding some of the colored paint to it.
Choose your color by figuring out the general color characteristics: warm, cool, neutral, or saturated. If the paint is waterborne, the food colorant should mix in, especially considering there are emulsifiers and other additives. Food coloring is very weak, so it would take dozens of coats and fade quickly. You can use acrylic craft paints as long as the paint is water-based. The amount of color change you want to make depends on how much you need to add.
By taking paint and tinting it with food coloring, you can get the color of your choice without risking a mental breakdown or child beating. Like a blank canvas, white paint can be mixed with various pigments to reveal infinite colors.
It is important to wear a dust mask to protect yourself from the fumes. If you buy a tin of white paint, split it into two containers and add a drop of food coloring, it may work and is safe to use.
📹 Can you put PAINT in CONCRETE to color it?!
Can you put PAINT in CONCRETE to color it?! I wanted to try a more unconventional method of coloring concrete that doesn’t …
📹 How To Mix Paint: Tips For Maintaining Color Consistency
Have a home painting project on the horizon? Learn how to mix paint for color consistency in this super short paint hack video.
Been in concrete industry for 27 years, there are well over 100 color choices of dye designed for use in concrete … latex paint will deteriorate the integrity of of concrete, and mortor … out door exposure to direct sunlight, freeze and thaw must be taken into consideration, mortar no strength when poured as thick as you present without reinforcement … very cool form mold you chose … concrete dye is much less expensive than latex paint … color dusting to contrast colors could also be implemented… concrete and reinforcement would increase structural value and longevity… clear concrete sealers could be applied during the curing process because concrete is porous and c an endure freeze and thaw … your finished product is beautiful !!!
Michael, I’ve watched a lot of your articles. This one is one that I can really take to heart. Years ago, my family encouraged me to make tombstones from concrete. Tombstones are expensive, but the main reason I was encouraged to do it was because of my artwork. My family thinks I’m talented. I’m not sure I agree, but I’ve done several for members of the family, and a couple for other people. My problem is that when I paint, then clear coat the artwork, I wind up refurbishing it every ten years or so. You, in your infinite wisdom, have given me an idea on how to make them more resilient and weatherproof. Thank you. If it works out, I’ll wind up redoing all I’ve done, but if it makes the family happy…
A modest amount of latex paint will give Portland based cement flexible properties and some water resistance plus make it plain stronger. Back in the early ’90’s (late ’80’s) we used to add latex paint to thinset to make it “modified” thinset for setting tile. If you use an “enhancer” it will make that darker as if it is wet.
I wouldn’t imagine that the paint would take away from the strength of the concrete too much, if at all, if it’s latex paint. There is a latex additive that’s used in thinset and stone adhesives. It increases adhesion, strength, and shock resistance while also reducing water absorption. You could do some tests 😁
There is a house near me built out of cement block that was built-in 1950 and he mixed paint. I don’t know what kind in with concrete and coated the outside. And it’s still there today. In perfect condition will never need to be painted. And he did the same on the inside but he added some sort of glaze because there is a sheen to it absolutely beautiful.
I’m going to pretend I have something of value to add to this article but rest assured what I’m saying has none. In 1994, I worked at a paint store, while there for the two years I was employed I learned there are two two types of paint. Contractors grade and retail. Contractors grade was clay based and typically came in flat white or a color that used solid based pigment. These types of paints hid the typical rush job of new construction. Reason I bring this up is, liquid pigment which is in most dark colors doesn’t dry like paint. Liquid pigment on its own stays around smearing itself for days and weeks. Don’t know if the chemical reaction of concrete would be enough to trigger a pigment into drying. Great article.
Happy 100th. Have been with you from the beginning. 😢😊 My Grandmother achieved a permanent red gloss finish in a concrete patio in the 1950’s . The concreter said it was impossible but she insisted that he do it her way. It stayed shiny and smooth even as the stairs wore over the decades. I wish I could remember how she said it was done. Cheers from Australia 🇦🇺 👍
Seconding the suggestion for a strength test! In these comments there’s definitely some opposing opinions from people, even those that say they are experienced and knowledgeable in their related fields. My full suggestion? At least 3 groups: Control (mixed to specifications, no pigments or modifiers), Spec + Pigment Only, and a Spec + Paint Only group. If you want to go nuts, you could do a 4th “Bold Color” group, and have it be Spec + Paint + Pigment. If you REALLY want to go full crazy, maybe make a total of 16 pavers doing the 4 groups, in whatever shape you want. Something cool that comes to mind would be puzzle pieces…16 pieces of 4 different colors of concrete, that all fit together to make a puzzle… that would be so sick, actually, seeing as you’ve obviously got the resources to make molds in specific shapes. If you do the math, and make the puzzle-pavers to the exact size that they’d take 1/4 of a bag of mix, you could do the test 4 times over, mixing 1 bag to spec, separating into 4, then adding your products. Doing the same test 4 times over would help just to make sure the results don’t vary too much from bag to bag. Then after all that is done, and it’s all cured, you could put your different colored puzzle together, then do whatever you want to strength test it, possibly drive over it, maybe drop other concrete things on it, maybe even get a pallet of concrete delivered and set it down on it 🤪. Man, now I want this to be how I do my own paver patio. Up for a collab?
I’ve added paint to concrete, it always turns out light. To make it richer in color, I take a water based sealer and add paint to that and it makes it all a lot richer. I’ve also put colored grout on top of fresh concrete to give it some color but nothing creates as rich a color as adding paint to the sealer.
Although you did well mortar is not concrete, readymix concrete companies has special dyes to get a colour that you want and have a variety of choices – but beware certain colours will over time fade with exposure to the sun, clouds will vary from company to company depending on who their dye supplier is. Throwing oxide over wet concrete after it’s poured will and I stress will fade completely and or starting breaking up in patches so I would avoid the oxide method. If you want colour concrete you are best to pour it normally then paint it with a concrete paint and paint every two years depending on what exposure it has to the sun and don’t forget to seal it for longer lasting colour .
So, as someone in the concrete industry, yeah we actually have a crap load of colors. It just depends more on your application. If it’s going on the outside of a building as a facade, then yes you are slightly limited, but if you’re doing something either more interior, or even on a small scale, then the color range is immense..
Congrats on 100 articles. Although I’m a woodworker and just jumping into CNC, your website is one of the few outside that I sub to. And incredibly, the one I have saved the mist articles to attempt. This is no exception! WTF!!! How do you come out with unique projects! Guess this article will need to be saved as well!!!
Great article Sir! Thanks for sharing it and your knowledge, humor, and skills! I’ve always wondered if I could just use paint as a tinter right in the mix! I just figured I would substitute its volume for the same amount of water it otherwise needed. Good to know that going darker/brighter would probably help with the tone shift after drying out! This should help me make some sweet Countertops this summer on my website for my Single Wide Trailer remodel! Thanks again! ❤️🫂🙏🤞🤘
I know they make powder dyes that are used with resin. Not having watched your vid yet, it seems like that paint would reduce the cohesion of the concrete mix. I would wonder if the powder dyes would not. P.S., if you’re protestant and not catholic, you actually should want a creamsicle shake. Jus’ Sayin’. 😀
Long before Acrylics, natural pigments, ‘Colourmix’ Dyes for mortar have been around for Thousands of years, such as those used in Scagliola plastering to create Artificial Mable and Sandstones. The Mortar basecoats of some “fresco” wall paintings were also dyed with natural pigments prior to the Artwork being applied. natural pigments in mortars were also used for repairing and restoring Terrazzo Floors, and for grout. It’s quite amusing that what you think is a ‘New Thing’, turns out to be Thousands of years old… 🤣
I’ve been mixing dry and liquid pigments to concrete, mortar, and grout for decades. By using pigments only, the properties of the mix aren’t affected. Using paint, latex, acrylic, or acrylic latex DOES change the properties. Sometimes, these changes are beneficial, sometimes not so much. Experiments to determine what is best for your application is probably a good idea. For the application you used it, properties are likely beneficial.
so you basicly painted the mix then let the mix harden after it was painted. a 1/1 water to paint mix probily would have made the color more pronounced without completely ruining the concretes integrity, if you use water based paints it will help mix in with the water but will absolutely need that top coat to protect it. an acrylic paint mix is definately best and im pretty sure mixing it in like you did is also best.
You can add a small amount of acrylic paint but not really enough to get a solid bold colour, add too much it will crumble after curing. Ive tried with concrete pots pretty hard to get vivid colours, helps to start with a white cement, pigment powders are the only real way and even then it weakens the concrete (for bold colour).
When I was a kid, there was house next door that had all the concrete dyed sort of a pink color. It was built in the late 40’s. I was told that the owner wanted to make the concrete look like red brick. The story I got was that he hand mixed all the concrete, including the driveway, the porch, the steps, and the foundation which was made from self-made solid concrete blocks, all dyed red. By the time I came about in the 60’s the once red concrete had faded to a Pepto-Bismol color. The mortar he had died black had turned to an army green color. The old guy who built it died long before we lived there and his widow grew old there, so I never saw it when it was new. What I did notice, was that a lot of the concrete was spalling and cracking, the driveway was almost completely broken up, as was the surface of the 12×20 or so porch. The rest of the houses there all had solid concrete, we always figured that either the paint he added to the mix weakened the concrete or caused it to age poorly or it may just have been poorly mixed concrete. The real problem was thought that the paint faded and got so much lighter fairly fast. The place was maybe 15 years old back then, and by the 70’s they were doing repairs and removing the external concrete in favor of all new masonry. The foundation got repaired and painted to hide what by that time had become mostly mildew green streaked faded pink with most of the mortar missing between the blocks. In the 80’s they jacked up the house and rebuilt the whole foundation with new block work and a proper floor.
I had a friend when I lived in FL, that colored cement for a living for a cement company. He said they used a dry powder to color it. And just a little tip, you can put some car wax on the form first, then spray it with gel coat. Wait until it dries a bit, then pour in the cement. This is how we made cultured marble counter tops. When you remove it from the mold, if you did the wax right, it will release smoothly and give it the same look at the epoxy. Then, buff it to the shine you want. But, that looks great! I’ll bet people would buy those.
The local university’s team colors are a sort of kelly green and white. About 1970, my grandfather poured a rebar-reinforced green driveway for one of the local fraternities using powdered malachite as the dying agent. I seem to recall he also spread a fair amount of dry powdered malachite onto the surface before and after screeding to saturate the colour at the surface. As far as concrete goes, it was very green when finished. The fraternity moved to a different building about 1996, but the green driveway is still extant at the old address but is definitely a lot less green than it was in my childhood, although considerably more green when wet from rain.
Very Cool. very very green 🙂 We have iron oxide and other oxide powders to add to concrete to paint it. Red iron oxide for, well, red concrete, black iron oxide, yellow iron oxide, blue (copper?) and so on. And you can mix those too to get the right tone/color (orange from red and yellow, for example). FYI 🙂
You did not check for hardness and durability over regular concrete. Latex paint should make the concrete more durable. Also some colors will fad over time. Just make sure you get a fad resistant color. My father found some colored power you sprinkle on top while you are trialing the finish. Maybe you can do that with paint.
You say you are doing this to concrete, then you add the paint to mortar mix. Not the same! Mortar usually has lime in it, concrete does not. If you get color without durability, then you just have a large paper weight. However your mold and lettering turned out to be very cool. I would guess that mixing these two products would result in degraded mortar (concrete) and degraded durability of the paint. Lets take another look at this after a year in the sun. Did you make this article because you are running out of ideas for articles?
Bro, just put 4 sand, 4 gravel, and any dye color on the crafting table and you will get the concrete powder, put it in water and just get the solid concrete!! …….you can skip SO many steps….. what a noob…………… lol joke aside, nice article! It was really cool seeing your progress IRL! Well played 😀
PLEASE HELP 😊 I want to paint a design onto my cement steps. With acrylic paint and small paint brushes for detail. Im painting the face of the steps so you see the design facing you as you walk up them. What should I apply as a base coat BEFORE painting on my design. Also, what sealer do I apply at the end. I live in an area that snows. Thank you.
Cool lil project! …I would definitely try this for small projects. Where did you get the Guiness lettering etc.??? I have poured thousands of yards of concrete… and I’ve learned some cool tricks from You with the Rapidset products. I’d be willing to bet the strength was lessened a small amount…if it was latex . Acrylic is known admix for concrete…so maybe an acrylic based paint would be better for strength. 🤷🏻 That would probably make a great article of regular pigment, latex, and acrylic Rapidset strength tests. I Appreciate your 100 articles congrats Michael!
Hahahahahahaha. This is awesome dude. In the beginning I was like ..that SHOULD work, as long as it’s latex paint, since it’s water based. Oil based paints…gonna have a bad time. 2 thoughts! 1. You can use white cement instead of regular Portland cement. It should hold a more vibrant color than. 2. As it is NOW tho, it totally looks like one of those valentine chalk candies!
This specific green recipe for home players: Omnicon 6900 green concrete colour powder. White base cement mix. Take the mass of cement in the mix (maybe 1/4 of total mass of dry components). That mass would be counted as 100% for your pigment. You want to use around 3-5% of that mass for pigment. Any more and it will be too dark green. The mass of the aggregate doesn’t matter. Using regular gray portland cement may end up too dark as well. Could be fixed with generic titanium dioxide around 15-20% (white pigment). But it wont be the same as white base for light green concrete. Yes, that mix would stay the same for next xx years and wont run down the walls with green stripe every season (some lessons are expensive as f). Yes i am best concrete colour combiner in my village and also certified forklift operator. This stuff is heavy.
Water cure? I’m unfamiliar with concrete and I know there are times when you need to water cure … but I’m clueless. Do you have a article that explains it? FYI, I can’t do even a pint of Guinness. It’s too heavy. I can do most of a pint of Black and Tan. Again I look like a wuss. However, I can drink a 5th of great Irish Whiskey no problem! Guess I’m just not a beer girl. I noted that when you demolded, that it wasn’t entirely cured. Apparently that’s not a problem. As for the finished product, it’s awesome! Good to know that you can color concrete with paint. Perhaps I’d go a few shades darker having seen the outcome. But this is totally great how it is!
I put latex in concrete many years ago. Probably at least 8. It worked. Color is still there but it’s in a heavily shaded area. I would think the sun would bleach out the pigment over time. Also it takes a crap ton of paint depending on the color. I found it more effective to pour the concrete and then scrub the paint into the top most part of the surface before finishing it. Made the paint go further.
YES you can BUT it’s not recommended. The paint will not come out as the original color, effects integrity and is way more expensive than just buying regular concrete pigment. That being said, is live to see what you do with this pigment. A+ article and great dialogue, subscribed 🤠The color will be Vivid with no color loss
I’m not trying to be a keyboard warrior….But… I find your article entertaining. I’m just concerned about your health. A dust mask is not expensive, anything is better than breathing in that dust which likely has chemicals in it to help it set. You’ll likely never have any noticeable effect from inhaling it, but why find out?
Yes have been wondering if acrylic paints that are based off pva could be used this way and also improve water proof characteristics of concrete street etc ? The Italians have been doing this for centuries Terrazzo flooring of all colours with intricate designs (with concrete?) I believe ? However I think they add dry pigments ? Enjoyed perusal from Australia 🇦🇺
Brother, it’s my first time perusal your website and I just subscribed..I believe the part the really reeled me in was pouring the epoxy to it..I thought you was just gonna leave it at “not ” it’s full potential and stop short of the epoxy..but when you broke it out and said promises to yourself be damned…I was thinking yes go for the 2 point conv, go for it on 4th and long .. and wow if that didn’t make that shamrock come alive..lol..
For smaller decorative pieces and/or vibrant colors I would look into white cement. It’s a bit harder to find, but not super expensive for smaller volumes. You can also get white sand and perlite for the larger aggregate – and your whole mix will be white (and lighter also). With that white base you can easily add any color you want. Adding color to normal gray mix you will have a very hard time producing a vibrant color if that’s what you are aiming for, you get more muted gray’ish pastels. This article shows that pretty well. Pastels can be nice, don’t get me wrong – but a white base certainly makes hitting the final color you want much easier.
Might a darker shade of green make the end product more green ? I took that your proportions of 1/2 water and 1/2 paint was thought through before you made that decision. In the comments, there was talk of glow in the dark, and brick shaped concrete blocks. Great ideas for my next and larger project. I still am curious about the strength of the concrete issue. Has that been tested, and any advice on that part of using paint in the concrete mix. Latex paint, I presume ??>:
Interesting project. I can see doing this for non-structural concrete applications. It turned out great. But for structural applications (e.g. a garage floor, sidewalk, etc.) I would have some strength tests done first to see if it will still meet the code. Concrete doesn’t just dry. It cures. It creates chemical bonds as it cures. It is quite possible that regular paint could somehow interrupt the chemical bonding, thus weakening the concrete. A chemist would know more details of the curing process. Ed Schultheis, PE Mechanical design engineer and manufacturing consultant for 35 years
NO! it is not Shamrock green, or Kelly green; it is only a Pale pastel, like an after dinner mint.. Fail !! Put the paint ON it, not IN it, eh? and, Then add the black and gold.. (the heat of the concrete curing prob degraded the color, eh?) the clear coat improved it A LOT, but I wanna see what the green on top with the clear coat would look like! regards..
Um. I hate to be that guy, really. But I’ve been doing concrete for decades now and I’ve poured or made every color in the rainbow out of concrete. By simply adding concrete color dye, powder, acid’s, integral color, stamped, troweled, or even sprayed. And its a lot better than compromising the matrix of the concrete with house paint.
I’ve always done this for scale models of houses, some times and some paints act as a resin and gives better finish and strength. For the end result having vivid colors you need to apply stone or concrete varnish otherwise it will appear washed out, resin also works. For real use concrete i’d buy pigments. Btw oldtimers in Europe used PVA glue as resin in terazzo floors, and some mixed water based paints in stucco.
I buy mesh steel and make the shape of giant boulders. I add pigments to concrete to make the boulders look real. I can even fake a quartz vein. I start with a few 2x4s to get a basic shape. Then i wrap it with the steel mesh to my desired shape of the finished stone. Theni mix up my buckets of different colors and mud it all on. They usually weigh a couple hundred pounds when done but a real boulder the size i make would weigh 4 or 5 tons.
At first I thought you should definitely mix your water and paint. And when I saw the shamrock out of the mold you can see more of the pigment had risen to the top.(back of the shamrock) But after the clearcoat the variations gave it a better look than if the color was even. One of Bob Ross’s happy little mistakes.
I have worked concrete for years myself. We’ve actually had a person with your idea want to do his sidewalk in his favorite team colors. He had us poor the main poor in died concrete per our request. Then we saw cutt the logo and other stuff he wanted. Then we suggested him let us use chalk to die his last color and use overlay for bonding agenda between the colors. BTW, 30 years later it’s still there and he doesn’t like the team now 😂😂😂.
I wouldn’t use that concrete for anything you expect to last. Concrete is a chemical reaction, not just a dried conglomerate of stuff. Since you have to ask the question, you don’t know the chemistry and how any particular type of paint could affect it’s properties. There are tons of concrete dyes that have been developed to not cause unforeseen chemical reactions… Like never curing on the inside, heating up to the point of possibly causing a fire…. I just don’t trust it at all for anything more than a gimmick.
if you wanted very dark green, I’d have painted the mold with the pure paint just before filling the mold with the concrete so the concrete would have absorbed pure paint on the right side. it would have been tinted mortar with a thin peel of paint. I don’t know if I am being clear here. I love the result. this being said, when you listed the natural tincture one can put in mortar you forgot a lot of them. natural paint need natural tincture and a lot of mineral tincture are used in construction. you have all the rainbow colors, you definitely can paint your mortar the color you want. but: as the mortar id naturally grey, I’d put some white to brighten the colors. thanks for sharing!
As an experiment or concept, this works fine. On a costing engineer’s level, I would not approve of it if it were to be for just a well protected item like the one you show here. Will remain indoors all the time and not subject to the effects of weather. Why should this item have the same colour 1/2 or 1 inch beneath the surface? That would be a wasteful usage of paint. A paint and its colour is only skin deep for visual appeal. It really doesn’t matter what the colour of surfaces not visible to humans is. On a costing engineer’s level, I would not approve of it if it were to be for just a well-protected item like the one you show here. Will remain indoors all the time and not subject to the effects of weather. So the entire mass of concrete need not be the same colour. However, this would be a great idea for surfaces that undergo renewal frequently. or is subject to severe wear. Staircase ramps, for example. I have seen several steps in disrepair, especially surfaces that are subject to frequent use from repeated exposure to feet and footwear. To have concrete with the same colour beneath the surface is a wonderful way to avoid showing wear of the surface. Artificial waterfalls where the water hits the base. Over time the surface erodes but to have a new surface that is the same colour as intended in the beginning would be a great thing to have. So the pluses – concrete/cement areas subject to wear Minuses – areas that are very rarely or never subject to wear.
You could probably get a much more intense bright green color if you just used the liquid pigments that the guy at the paint store uses to make custom colors (instead of using pigmented paint). The paint mixer guy adds just a few drops of the concentrated pigments to mix with the paint. Perhaps you can buy the green pigment (only) at the paint store.
I used cement powders of various colors in varnish I believe, long ago, especially the red as it was the same color as 150+ year old paint on antiques. I’d do a small area at a time & hit it with a torch to burn the paint giving it 150 years of wear. Some steel wool & a clear coat. May have been shellac as alcohol was used to thin it. Never did it the other way round.
Hey Michael, love your articles and could SWEAR I saw you in the Canton MI, Home Depot once. How about a article testing strength comparisons of the concrete with different ratios of paint vs no paint? That would be really interesting. Another article idea, depending on strengths, how about something like countertops, etc. that could be done using the paint, maybe marble looks and such.
That’s crazy I found somebody who actually thought about this too! I had this idea about 20 years ago and just never tried it. I was worried it would mess with the consistency and strength. But that came out really nice man!!👍🏼👍🏼 Oh, And Happy Hundredth article! (You did say it was your 100th article right, lol) Congratulations 👏🏼✌🏼
rather than using paint, id recommend using dry pigments, they will go further, and wont mess with the chemistry of the concrete as much as adding a liquid would. a powdered paint is going to work just like the stones in the mix, something you can also try is using colored stones in the mix or even some of the glasses. for something this small you certainly dont need rebar, but stuffing some chicken wire in there will help keep that stem from cracking if it gets dropped. (styrofoam also can work as an internal filler to help cut down on weight you just have to prevent it from floating which the chicken wire will do)
You know what you should try is concentrated food dye! It’s usually an alkyl ide water based product. You could get better color for volume of foreign substance and this foreign substance should be more compatible with the concretes chemical reaction. then do an episode to actually test or get tested the strength issue and do a comparison!
That looks really cool! I am curious about the strength issue though. I made a giant 30 inch diameter, 3inch thick disc for a base for an outdoor 3 tier water fountain that had white marble chips embedded in the top. I would love to do that again but with a colored cement disc. In fact, I think I will!
You would be much better watering the paint down first, concrete color is either a powder or liquid, the liquid ones are like the consistency of ink, and literally stain everything, also when coloring concrete really isn’t a wrong way to do it, if it’s colored when you’re done and doesn’t just wash off it’s a success.
Awesome! Never thought about using paint to colour concrete! You can buy pigments for concrete pretty cheaply though, and then you aren’t altering the amounts of water needed. Also, for larger molds, I’ve seen people do a double pour. A thin/runny layer with pigments (start with white cement, white fine sand so it gets in all the details and has no bubbles, and you aren’t working against the grey colour already there) And then a firmer “backfill” with aggregate, fibre, mesh, reinforcement, whatever. Doesn’t have to be pretty, because it is never seen!
You can have any color of concrete you want without adding paint… you add a color hardner and a release of what ever color you want…however this is on a commercial level and is mixed in a concrete truck for large projects…you can buy the hardner and release from any concrete supply company and added it in yourself for a diy project…
Awesome! You’ve answered the question I have thought about for a long time. I have mixed mortar mix with a water based acrylic driveway sealer to make asphalt driveway repairs. When repair and re-coating asphalt, the most expensive components are not the sealer emulsion, but the crack fillers and divot fillers. With mortar mix added to the driveway sealer, it can be poured or squeezed into any cracks from 1/16th inch to 1/2 inch wide or it can be poured to fill any depressions. Adding a clean “play sand” to the mixture can thicken the mixture to trowel grade that can be applied to deep divots or wider cracks. After the cracks and divots are filled, then the whole driveway is sealed with sealer with just a small amount of mortar mix to provide a non-slip surface. My 95 foot driveway, that was installed in 1962, looks like it was installed new last summer.