Bricks, Masonry, Asphalt and Concrete - Cleaning, painting outside brick

Well we have about finished up the inside of our house. We are going to powerwash the outside brick on our home. It was built with used brick and you can see in the picture. If powerwashing the brick doesn't do the trick, we are considering painting the brick. There are some homes in our neighborhood done really well. If we deceide to paint it, what do we need to do? Clean, seal, and use a special type of paint?

Our house (http://discussions.fordforums.com/attachment.php?postid=69888)

:confused:

Anyone have any thoughts or ideas?

Why would anyone paint brick? This is a hot subject here in the Denver area, where we have a lot of turn-of and midcentury redbrick homes. The ones which have never been painted are more sought after and command a higher price.

Well, a little different climate here in Houston. First we are going to power wash the brick and see if that makes it look better. The house was built in 64 with used brick, so it has tar and mortor on some bricks. It looks a thousand times better in the picture than it does in person. Like I said, there are some homes in our neighborhood that have painted their brick and look really good. We have just spent about $20K redoing the inside of the house and adding a half bath. We would like the outside to look as good as the inside. We have a Mahagony door on order with square glass in the middle of the door. We are thinking about taking out the tree on the left side of the walkway, putting in new bushes and was have accent lighting.

How much maintenance are you willing to do? Brick is literally a "no maintenance" building material. Once you paint a brick, it becomes a permanent maintenance issue.

Take the time to clean the tar and paint off the areas affected, and you'll still have a lovely brick home.

Good luck!

www.southsidebuilders.com

How about sandblasting the used brick. It makes a beautiful soft texture and leaved the brick look intact. No upkeep, just a great new look which will stay timeless....

I was always under the impression that sandblasting brick was not a very good idea on the extrior, because it takes down the hard baked surface which is created when the brick is fired in a kiln. This will cause the brick to absorb more moisture, and If you have freexe thaw cycles shaling or spaulding is likely to occur.

Of course if your painting over it a primer sealer may solve this problem..

Anyhow there is a place called Universal Weather Stripping in Detroit Michigan who sells all types of masonary cleaners etc..

I dont have there number handy but they are on Schoolcraft Dr.

You might call them.

good luck

Jim

I agree with Insulman, you don't sandblast exterior brick. If you do you take off the "fireskin" or wear surface, and it will spall.

I appricate the comments. Just got back from a week of sking so I will be a few weeks before trying the power wash with some cleaners. I don't think sand blasting is a good idea and have heard the same reasons given above before too. I agree that if we can get the brick to look great, then painting won't be done. However, if it doesn't look good, and I know painting will require repaint and more maintance latter. Still don't really know the best way to go about it. If I do end up painting, I do want to make it a little maintance as possible. There really isn't to much brick on the front and on the left side it is covered by the car port and the right side doesn't really matter as it isn't really seen.
Thanks,
Rob