To paint the bricks

[BradM]

^ That looks nice, but I can only imagine how long that would take doing it by hand.

Get your friends and fire up the bbq pit. I wouldn't do it by myself.

[Chili]

There are a couple of houses in my hood that have painted their brick and it turned out looking way better (including my next door neighbor). Though it's worth mentioning, these homes were built in the 60's and some of them have some pretty horrible brick colors / patterns.

I have zero input on maintenance and all, but it doesn't seem like it should be any more work than every other painted (non-brick) house in the US.. This is the first place I've lived where most homes are brick or stone faced.

[Gasser64]

Painting the brick is a terrible decision. Can you put siding over the brick instead?

Sounds kind of expensive. Then again maybe not. I'd be curious if it adds any insulation factor, say if you got aluminum backed siding.

Never paint bricks. Its like alimony in New York. Its a constant bitch that will leave you a lifetime of regret.

If you don't mind, please elaborate on your experiences with painted brick. I figured that is what most of this thread would consist of, and it seems your take is the popular one. But is it somehow worse than say, a painted wood fence? Does the brick itself have some kind of negative effect on the paint?

I'll be looking into scootro's stain idea for sure. And yeah its the wife that had the idea in the first place. I always thought it looked nappy, but I had planned on just upgrading to a bigger better house someday. My bricks are a lighter tan color. Maybe there is some form of a white stain I can use. Help with the texas heat just a little bit.

[scootro]

Many homeowners operate under the mistaken assumption that the only way to change the existing color of brick is to paint it. In fact, professionals don’t recommended painting brick because paint disguises brick’s natural character. If you’re interested in changing the look of your home's existing brick, look into having it professionally stained. Both exterior and interior brick can be stained with the right amount of preparation. Brick stain is commonly used on fireplaces, exterior brick walkways, fire pits and home exteriors.

Properly applying brick stain can be a tedious and time-consuming process. It’s difficult to keep from getting stain on the grout in between the bricks, and in the event that such an accident happens, it can be extremely hard to remove stain from the grout. So, it’s possible that you may end up with an undesirable result.

[UserX]

Look into German schmear.

[Gasser64]

Found this stain. Looks like its spray on. Change the color without all the pitfalls of painting the brick. We'll probably go with Canyon Clay color.

https://www.spray-net.com/paint/brick/

[scootro]

Found this stain. Looks like its spray on. Change the color without all the pitfalls of painting the brick. We'll probably go with Canyon Clay color.

https://www.spray-net.com/paint/brick/

that's not a stain it's painting the brick and mortar joints.

don't be lazy do it right!!!

[Gasser64]

that's not a stain it's painting the brick and mortar joints.

don't be lazy do it right!!!

Well after reading your comment I thought maybe I'd missed something so I went back and looked over that page again. Unless they're just outright lying, it does appear to be a stain and not a paint. They do say it lets the brick breathe which seems to be the primary cause for concern when it comes to painting bricks, instead of staining them. So you'd definitely want to stain and not paint. But maybe you can point out where you they're trying to pull the wool over my eyes.

I'm not going to be brushing on any stain. If I do stain the brick, it will be sprayed on. I don't have the time to paint every brick individually.

[BradM]

Well after reading your comment I thought maybe I'd missed something so I went back and looked over that page again. Unless they're just outright lying, it does appear to be a stain and not a paint. They do say it lets the brick breathe which seems to be the primary cause for concern when it comes to painting bricks, instead of staining them. So you'd definitely want to stain and not paint. But maybe you can point out where you they're trying to pull the wool over my eyes.

I'm not going to be brushing on any stain. If I do stain the brick, it will be sprayed on. I don't have the time to paint every brick individually.

You don't have friends and family the will come help you stain?

[Ruffdaddy]

I love the look if painted brick when done right...but it may very well be a fad. And of course it will need to be refreshed every 5 years or so...but so does a wood house.

[BradM]

Painted brick screams rental with foundation problems.

[Ruffdaddy]

Painted brick screams rental with foundation problems.

Oh I see what's coming. This is your Segway into talking about how a house with wheels doesnt have foundation problems and that's the way to go.

Next up you'll be building wooden dumbell racks.

[Gasser64]

I love the look if painted brick when done right...but it may very well be a fad. And of course it will need to be refreshed every 5 years or so...but so does a wood house.

If its a fad its a pretty long lived one. I've been seeing them for at least the last 20 years.

As for friends helping out, eh yeah I could get that going. But maybe my excuse is lousy and I'm really just lazy and don't wanna. Never liked house work or carpentry of any kind. Just ain't my bag. Its the monotony that gets me. As for the foundation, that is pretty much what started all this. Bricks cracking and whatnot. Figured why the hell not, the outside needs improvement.

I'm about to have to shell out some bucks to get the foundation fixed. Been reading through the old foundation threads here and gathering up info. Decided to go with a company called Structured Foundation Repair.

[Ruffdaddy]

Existence does not equal fad.

Shiplap has been around for a very long time, but it wasn't a fad until recently thanks to Chip and Joanne.

[Chili]

If its a fad its a pretty long lived one. I've been seeing them for at least the last 20 years.

As for friends helping out, eh yeah I could get that going. But maybe my excuse is lousy and I'm really just lazy and don't wanna. Never liked house work or carpentry of any kind. Just ain't my bag. Its the monotony that gets me. As for the foundation, that is pretty much what started all this. Bricks cracking and whatnot. Figured why the hell not, the outside needs improvement.

I'm about to have to shell out some bucks to get the foundation fixed. Been reading through the old foundation threads here and gathering up info. Decided to go with a company called Structured Foundation Repair.

I don't know anything about their work but apparently their 'yard' is somewhere near me, as I see them on the road often. By and large, they drive like a bunch of assholes, especially considering they're usually towing heavy trailers with a bunch of shit..