If you have a brick home, then you may think that you are stuck with whatever colour of brick your house was built with. The reality is that you can make changes to the exterior look of your brick home with some carefully applied paint. There are a lot of pros and cons to painting brick, and you need to take careful consideration before you leap in. Here is a list of what we think homeowners should consider before they go ahead and paint a brick facade, as removing that paint at a later date can be difficult and nigh impossible.
Pro: Refurbish Old Brick
Due to atmospheric conditions, bricks can change colours over the years – though they do not fade naturally. If different areas of your home are exposed to different things, then the colour of your home may end up looking a bit odd. Painting is a great way to elevate old brick and make it look new. It can also update a house that was built when different colour and style of brick was more popular.
Con: Lots and Lots of Prep!
When you are going to paint your brick home, you will need to do a lot of prep to get it ready for painting. You need to remove all the dirt and any algae from the brick before you can paint it, which can be quite labour intensive considering that brick is porous. There are products available on the market that will help you do this and coatings that go over brick before you paint.
Pro: Easy to Maintain
Brick walls are notoriously tricky to clean. That is not so regarding painted brick. While still more difficult to paint than a flat painted wall it is still easier to clean than unpainted brick which holds onto debris, dirt, and can easily host bugs.
Con: Maintenance
Once you paint your brick once you need to continue to paint it when it starts to fade, chip, and peel. If you do not do this, then your brick can fall into disrepair, and you may need to remove the paint and start from scratch. Make a point of going around your house every so often to see if touch-ups are necessary on your brick to keep it looking fresh.
Pro: Protection
Paint helps protect brick walls from moisture intrusion as well as mould growth. As long as the prep and paintwork are done correctly (professionally), then it will help protect your home from the elements.
Con: It’s Permanent
You can technically strip paint off the brick, but it is incredibly difficult to do, and you can still end up with flecks of paint trapped inside the brick. Once you paint, it is essentially permanent so make sure that it is what you want before you paint your bricks.
If you want to paint your brick house, then you should hire a professional to do it, to ensure that it is done right. At Demiri’s Painting, we do residential painting, commercial painting, and exterior painting. Contact us today, and we can get started improving your home!