Painting Brick: Give Your House A Facelift

You can give your house a perfect new facelift, by painting its bricks. If you want to do this all by yourself, you will find this article very interesting.


When a house is made of poor quality bricks, or the bricks suffered damage over time, giving it a new paint may be the right decision. You can cover the stains, or the cracks, and the new paints that are sold these days can really make your project look wonderful.


A word of advice, before you start: once you paint the brick, you will need to maintain it for years to come, so choose this solution only if your brick is no longer in good condition.


Why does the brick receive damage? One cause is efflorescence, a type of white staining, due to salt deposits. Water is rich in salt, and, when it gets in contact with the bricks, the salt remains after the water has dried. You cannot remove these stains with plain water.


The recommended tool is a stiff brush, or you can use a muriatic acid solution. You will need some protective equipment while doing this, because the acid can harm your skin, and you also need to keep in mind that not all efflorescence will be eliminated through this method.


Before getting down to painting the brick faade of your house, you will need to remove all efflorescence from its surface through the aforementioned methods, and then eliminate all the dust from the cracks. After that, seal all the holes with siliconized acrylic caulk. This is a tedious task, that needs to be repeated a second time after a few hours. Mend the joints that are loose and check the chimney caps for holes and cracks.


Another problem for brick is accumulation of mildew. You will have to remove the mildew with a bleach mixture and a brush. After you solve this issue, consider priming the brick, as it will enhance the results of your painting. Latex primer is recommended and it can be used on masonry buildings. The areas that had efflorescence are the first to be primed and they need to be coated twice.


Now, related to the painting job. You can use conventional paint in a color that suits the general design. 100% acrylic latex paint is the best, whether is flat, satin, or semi-gloss.


Another type of paint that you can use on your brick house is elastomeric paint. This is a rubberized paint with a lot of acrylic content. This paint is good to use as waterproof coating for masonry elements. Also, this type of paint works best for covering cracks, as it has the ability to enter about 1/8 inch into any hole, due to its elasticity. For maximum effect, apply two layers of elastomeric paint. Read the instructions or ask at the store which is the spread rate, so you will know how to apply it.


A word of caution is necessary about lead paint. This type of paint is dangerous for health, so do not try to scrap it by yourself, and seek a lead professional that can do the job under safe circumstances.


If you want to do a great job with painting the brick on your house, it is best to ask a specialist how to apply the paint. Take the time to choose a good color, as it will be harder to change your mind, after you already coated half the house. And last, but not least, keep in mind that this type of home renovation will cost you some serious cash, another reason to get maximum results.

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