Staining/painting exterior brick

[MustardTiger]

My wife has dropped several hints that she wants the brick refinished in some way on our house.

Details: 2000 sq ft house, ~55 years old, exterior is all brick and isn't really attractive.

Still, I have seen some painted brick that looks terrible and it seems to be opening up for maintenance that wouldn't be otherwise necessary down the road.

What do you guys think?  Any viable options that aren't super expensive?  I don't mind the labor of a long project as I have summers off, but don't want to spend a ton of course.

[Deano]

Unless you live in an area where it never gets below freezing, you should never paint brick. Brick has to "breathe"-paint stops that. The only way to properly do it is to use traditional lime stucco. It breathes so it doesn't kill your bricks. It's expensive though....

Paint kills brick-in some places it only takes 5 years for the damage to really set in.

[sandandsun]

Don't do it.  You'd be adding a ton of expense/maintenance for purely personal aesthetic reasons... If you hate the way the house looks that much, can you downsize/move?

[MamaStache]

Plant something with vines that will grow and cover the brick

[Spork]

This is my own personal pet peeve.  It's a preference, so don't let me color your decisions too much but...  I absolutely hate painted brick.  Brick is awesome partly because you don't have to do much to maintain it.  As soon as you slap a coat of paint on there... you're locked in.  You never really can go back and unring that bell. 

[MustardTiger]

I never really want to move from this house as I really like the area and its 1 mile from work.  I see your point, and I will try and echo this sentiment to my wife.

[TomTX]

Painting brick is bad. You may trap moisture causing rot in the house. You can NEVER go back. To many (most?) people, painted brick looks crappy and cheap.

If it is dingy, what about pressure washing to get it looking new again? Just don't get the tip too close, you can erode the brick.

How about growing some flowers/shrubs/trees/grape arbor/whatever in front of the brick to camouflage it?

[phred]

I would never paint brick.  What is wrong with your brick?

I would go down to the hardware and get a gallon of face brick cleaner and a scrub brush with a long handle.  Wife should help since it's her idea to "do something"

[GuitarStv]

To echo the other comments . . . don't pain the brick!  The whole point of brick is that it doesn't require maintenance.  Why would you spend money to create a regular maintenance problem for your house?

[DoubleDown]

I also did not want to paint our brick, and used this brick stain on our house instead. The results were fantastic, it made the brick look like new again, and it was not expensive (it cost about $65 to do the front of the house where we have brick). It's supposed to last a long, long time (I've only had it about 3+ years now, it still looks the same as when I stained it). They have several colors to choose from to preserve the natural brick look you want.

http://www.dyebrick.com/

[TheFrugalFox]

I also did not want to paint our brick, and used this brick stain on our house instead. The results were fantastic, it made the brick look like new again, and it was not expensive (it cost about $65 to do the front of the house where we have brick). It's supposed to last a long, long time (I've only had it about 3+ years now, it still looks the same as when I stained it). They have several colors to choose from to preserve the natural brick look you want.

http://www.dyebrick.com/

Thanks for this - want to dye the concrete coping around my pool - this looks like it will do the job and great that it is free shipping world wide. Now just have to wait for our post office to stop striking....

[Kman0010]

I would echo what has been said here. If painting the brick is something you absolutely want to do, make sure the new coating has a high vapor permeability rating. This will allow vapor to pass through the brick and paint system easily. Without it, you are likely to see spalling of the brick in several years and deterioration of the mortar as moisture becomes trapped at the barrier between the brick and the coating. 

An alternative is to add a limewash to the brick (a mix of lime and water). This will ensure that coating will be breathable. I will warn you that lime washes are cheap to make but require yearly applications. Here in Charleston, SC it's common to see this finish on many historic masonry buildings. There are also highly permeable silicate paints that are readily available from KIEM and other manufacturers, but this is more a permanent application as the coating bonds to the substrate.

[dragoncar]

I would echo what has been said here. If painting the brick is something you absolutely want to do, make sure the new coating has a high vapor permeability rating. This will allow vapor to pass through the brick and paint system easily. Without it, you are likely to see spalling of the brick in several years and deterioration of the mortar as moisture becomes trapped at the barrier between the brick and the coating. 

An alternative is to add a limewash to the brick (a mix of lime and water). This will ensure that coating will be breathable. I will warn you that lime washes are cheap to make but require yearly applications. Here in Charleston, SC it's common to see this finish on many historic masonry buildings. There are also highly permeable silicate paints that are readily available from KIEM and other manufacturers, but this is more a permanent application as the coating bonds to the substrate.

I'm about to paint some interior (non structural) brick.  Am I right in thinking this won't be a problem?  Worst case, I'll just take out all the brick facade.

[Kman0010]

I would echo what has been said here. If painting the brick is something you absolutely want to do, make sure the new coating has a high vapor permeability rating. This will allow vapor to pass through the brick and paint system easily. Without it, you are likely to see spalling of the brick in several years and deterioration of the mortar as moisture becomes trapped at the barrier between the brick and the coating. 

An alternative is to add a limewash to the brick (a mix of lime and water). This will ensure that coating will be breathable. I will warn you that lime washes are cheap to make but require yearly applications. Here in Charleston, SC it's common to see this finish on many historic masonry buildings. There are also highly permeable silicate paints that are readily available from KIEM and other manufacturers, but this is more a permanent application as the coating bonds to the substrate.

I'm about to paint some interior (non structural) brick.  Am I right in thinking this won't be a problem?  Worst case, I'll just take out all the brick facade.

Yes, spalling is less likely to occur on interior brick in a conditioned space where there is little to no moisture movement. It's the cycles of wetting and evaporation that promote deterioration.

[greytbigdog]

I just had to add a +1 for DO NOT paint the brick!

My house is painted brick and it had to be repainted last year.  It was incredibly labour intensive to get the surface prepped for painting, and we are expecting to have to repaint certain areas every couple years because of the spalling issues mentioned above.  Most of the houses in my neighbourhood are painted brick and the ones that do not get regular maintenance look terrible.

[Snowboard junkie]

I have a building that had previously painted brick that I had to re-paint. 

I agree with the concerns re: moisture damage and significant prep time, however, it can look quite good when done well and depending on the condition of the brick, it may be a viable option to replacing it. 

[Sibley]

Late to the party here, but do not plant vines or ivy. The plants over time will seriously damage the wall - mortar, brick, etc. I've seen buildings with bricks that are loose or falling out because the mortar is so degraded.