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She’s a brick house… But maybe she needs a facelift. 

Brick makes for a solid long-lasting home. A well-built brick home should last for at least a hundred years. With a little maintenance, it could last indefinitely. Without a little care, the weather will eventually take its toll, just like it has on the sphinx and the great pyramids of Egypt.
Brick is increasingly used on interiors as well. Oftentimes, it’s the same brick that you see on the outside, it’s just being exposed for that raw, unfinished brick look. On the inside of a building, the brick walls should last forever. If it’s the same brick as the outside, and it’s only one layer of bricks thick, you may want to put up another layer of wall for insulation and decoration purposes.

Benefits of Painting Brick

The benefits of painting brick are similar to the benefits of painting anything. It will look better and you’re adding a layer of protection to the underlying materials. 

New Colors

When you paint your brick exterior it will likely look a whole lot better than it did previously. This will hopefully improve the curb appeal as well as increase the resale value of your house. Exactly what it looks like is up to you and your imagination. You can paint it a red brick color or something completely different. We’ve seen brick houses painted black, yellow, white, and even rainbow colors. If your home has decorative features incorporated into how the bricks were laid, such as a different pattern of bricks used around windows or at the corners, it can be very eye-catching to paint those in a contrasting but compatible color. Emphasizing fancy brickwork can provide a dramatic improvement to the overall look and feel of the structure. This applies to commercial properties as well.

Protects the Brick and Mortar

A layer of paint will also add a layer of protection to your brick house. This is especially important for exteriors. Over the course of decades wind, rain, snow, hail, and extreme temperatures will take their toll on any surface. The older your bricks are, the more likely it is that they will need protection. Older bricks weren’t made using modern formulas and so might not stand up to the elements as well. I live in a building that is well over 100 years old. The bricks are crumbly and the mortar has been eroded in places by wind and weather. Thankfully most of the exterior was painted before any damage could tackle hold and those painted bricks are still firm and strong. The mortar that has been painted is in great shape, too, compared to where it wasn’t painted, like a few chimneys on the roof. Paint can make big difference with respect to how long your entire brick structure will last.

The Downside of Painting Brick

While there are certainly advantages to painting your brickwork, there are also disadvantages. Among those are the fact that you can’t easily remove the paint without causing damage and the fact that there will be additional ongoing maintenance.

It’s Permanent

Once you have painted your bricks, you can’t un-paint them. You can always paint them a different color, but you can never return to that basic beauty of an unpainted brick wall. Sure you can use a power washer or sandblaster to take off the paint, but, according to Bob Vila, this will damage your bricks and mortar. This is especially true for older brick that may already be less stable than desired.

It Needs Maintenance

Painted walls whether they are interior or exterior will always need to be repainted. Sooner or later the paint will chip, crack, get scuffed up, or fade in the sun. Weather will also degrade paint over time. So at the very least, it will have to be repainted.

Before You Paint the Brick

Like any painting project, you need to clean the surface first to ensure that the new paint will stick properly and old stains or colors won’t bleed through your new paint. Additionally, with brick, you want to check the condition of the brick itself. If there’s missing mortar, you need to do some tuckpointing. This is a process where you fill in the gaps in the bricks and the mortar with new material. It can be a very tricky process with older brick to find the right formula for the tuckpointing compound to make sure it will stick to the old bricks and mortar and also not degrade them. If in doubt hire a local expert who has done the job on homes in your area previously. Ask your neighbors if they know if someone trustworthy, as this can be a long, tedious, and expensive job. Make sure you get his done right before you paint on a layer of primer to seal things up once a for all.

Call in Pros

We prefer to leave the actual painting to the professionals at Excellent Painters in Denver, Colorado. They know all about painting over brick, as well as any other kind of surface you may have. They have the tools and knowledge to expertly paint your home’s interior, exterior, or both. They know how to prep the surfaces before applying the primer and they know what kind of paint will work best on any given surface.