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Charlton......because they can! We have the precious gift of freedom in this great country of ours to do as we wish within legal limits! Based on that they can paint brick, vinyl siding, woods, stone, steel, and any other material that paint can stick to!
I too am not a fan of painted brick but respect the choice of the owners that do!
Unless you have a garbage HOA infringing your rights.
I'm generally not a huge fan of painted brick, but that picture you posted looks nice! The chipped paint in that scene adds character.
I like the wall too.
I'd never paint my brick house, but there is a house in my neighborhood that is painted and it looks nice. I think it depends on the style of the house and the color of the brick. I've seen some pretty ugly brick.
Painting brick is often a contentious issue within some circles, especially with the Historic Preservation community. And in general terms and for legitimate reasons, it can be a bad idea to paint some brick with some coatings. But that isn't always the case, nor is painted brick a new "aberration".
And from an architectural perspective, painted brick aesthetic.... is by definition .... a matter of taste as well. For example I generally am not a fan of painted brick. But then again, I've seen many old buildings, especially homes, where the character of the "aged" paint coating, peeling like the photo of the white wall in the first post, was actually quite attractive in an "old world" way.
But the primary technical issues with painted brick are two fold:
1) Once it is done, it is very difficult to undo. Brick has a rough porous surface and the application of paint becomes semi-permanent. So any subsequent desire to remove the paint becomes difficult, tedious, and risks permanent damage to masonry and/or mortar. In the case of "historic" masonry the risk of damage during any removal is exacerbated due to the poorer durability of many bricks made before the mid 1800s.
2) Masonry is porous and is supposed to breathe. It is not waterproof, nor is it supposed to be. Some types of coatings that are water impermeable can cause damage to masonry and other adjacent/related materials as moisture is trapped within the masonry structure.
Below is some more information on painted brick, the issues, how to approach removal/maintenance, and the history:
Bottom line, most masonry should probably not be painted from a technical perspective, but from an aesthetic perspective it may be an attractive option. In my personal opinion, one of the best looking painted brick options is when it does look weathered and slightly peeled like an old building in the French Quarter
I'm generally not a huge fan of painted brick, but that picture you posted looks nice! The chipped paint in that scene adds character.
Note: You can also restore brick to it's original color by sandblasting it.
Not to be argumentative, but please see my prior post with links to the issues and risks with paint removal. Sandblasting and even "pressure washing" can cause irreversible damage to brick, especially older brick. Once the hard outer skin of the brick is breached, the softer inner brick will rapidly spall and deteriorate.
Never sandblast brick or wood, as it will very likely damage the material beyond redemption.
Those who believe (1) newness is always better than aged, and (2) uniformity is better than diversity and variation, will never see the beauty in appearances such as the one pictured.
I also like the look of the brick wall however I have to agree that painting an entire brick house doesn't make sense to me. One of the main reasons we decided to build an all brick house was the fact that we wouldn't have to paint it every so many years (and the fact we like the look of brick). I've seen the builders paint the brick on some of the higher end homes ($1M plus) and I wonder why especially when there are so many shades of brick to choose from.
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Sandblasting is the worst option possible.
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Who'd a thunk it?
