Painted Brick in Houston (Roma: homes, neighborhoods, to live in)

[travelguy_73]

Originally Posted by gwarnecke

Thanks - I'm considering lime wash, I think it would be a great fit for our house (late 80s sort-of-colonial, sort-of-French). For what it's worth, though, there are a lot of white-painted homes in our area, but I haven't seen any lime-wash ones.

Another complication is that, in addition to brick siding, we have brick flooring on the porches and brick accents on our driveway, so I'd have to figure out what to do with that. And we have a beige-colored knockdown texture on the pool deck, which looks fine against the current brick but would likely clash with limewash or white paint.

Maybe I'm better off talking my wife into a different project, haha.

When most people think limewash, they think whitewash over red brick. But there are all sorts of other color options. I would google around and see what you find in beige tones.

As for the porch and other brick accents, you could also limewash them, but you might find the contrast of unwashed brick to look really nice.

[Oskar_Z28]

Gonna watch this one. Wife wants to paint / whitewash the brick since all the kids in the hood are doing it. I am more of "leave it alone" mentality. But if I was convinced to do it, it would be light lime wash or something like that.

[creekstone]

Several homes in my town have painted their brick some shade of white. There are three on one street. I think it is a fad that will not age well. And I think it is already over done.

Once you paint brick, you've created a new maintenance situation. At some point, it will have to be repainted. That's a lot of paint. And since the color of choice is typically some shade of white, it shows dirt and mold more easily than bare brick. So it has to be cleaned more often.

You might consider simply changing the color of your trim. It can make a huge difference in appearance. My last house had a pinkish brick with off-white trim. A designer (my daughter) noted some dark brown striation in the brick and used that as a trim color choice. It toned down the pink aspect of the brick, made the house look more contemporary, and can be easily changed in the future if trends change. The designer used some computer program to show us (and our ACC) before and after pictures.

[escanlan]

Originally Posted by gwarnecke

I've never been a huge fan of painted brick. I've always viewed it as:
-A way for sellers to dress up a house + cover up structural issues and mismatched brick repairs
-A copycat trend that is surely just about to run its course (although this hasn't happened yet...it remains stubbornly popular both for renovations and high-end new construction)

However, my wife is completely enamored with the white-painted brick look and thinks it's just the ticket to modernize our 1986 custom. Ours would be the first painted brick on the cul-de-sac, if we went ahead with it, although there are plenty homes in the general area of a similar vintage and style that have been painted recently. I begrudgingly admit that most of them turned out pretty well, aesthetically speaking.

My concern at this point is more about longevity and maintenance. Any experiences with painted brick in the Houston climate? Does it contribute to moisture issues? About how often would repainting be needed? We know a few owners of painted-brick homes, but all of them painted within the last 3-4 years, so they don't have much experience to share regarding longevity.

Hi gwarnecke,


Start here with the Brick Industry Association Tech Note 6 on Painting Brick Masonry. That can get you started on what it takes to do it right. From there you can research the primers and paints you may need.



BTW, BIA has a lot of great info on brick.

[texas7]

I think painted brick is a trend and once that trend dies — you house stays aged.

[travelguy_73]

Originally Posted by texas7

I think painted brick is a trend and once that trend dies — you house stays aged.

Painted brick has been a trend on and off for decades. Like other exterior styles, its use ebbs and flows through the years. People will rebel against it for a while, then be drawn back to it. So do these things for yourself. If you have ugly brick, like genuinely not-ever-coming-back-in-style brick, a paint or limewash can upgrade and give a new lease on life. You know if you have that brick (we do/did!). White brick with black windows is nearing the end of its (current) heyday, which is why I suggest alternatives such a limewash (with exposed brick) and other neutral colors.

[bu2]

Originally Posted by elnina

Painting brick is a bad idea. It doesn't "breath" anymore. It traps moisture. It's humid in Houston.
Google it.
Usually looks bad too...

https://www.masonryofdenver.com/2014...t-paint-brick/

I've had a house painter tell me it is a bad idea.

[crone]

Originally Posted by bu2

I've had a house painter tell me it is a bad idea.

Some of the houses in Houston were made from cheap brick that was meant for the desert.

It is porous and absorbs rain water. Many houses are painted to seal that spongy brick.

Just use good painted and pick mildew grey for the color.

[elan]

Originally Posted by elnina

Painting brick is a bad idea. It doesn't "breath" anymore. It traps moisture. It's humid in Houston.
Google it.
Usually looks bad too...

https://www.masonryofdenver.com/2014...t-paint-brick/

Fully agree, I would never paint my brick. Lime wash is okay.

[gwarnecke]

Thanks everyone - your comments have reinforced my belief that painted brick probably isn't the way to go in Houston.

Would the negative effects (moisture issues, etc) likely take 5+ years to show up? Like I said, a lot of homes near us were painted white relatively recently. We used to live in Fleetwood, where a LOT of homes were painted white as a part of Harvey rebuilds. May have to ask some of my old neighbors how their 2018 paint jobs are holding up.

I'm hoping to convince my wife to wait a few years before doing anything - maybe by then painted brick's moment will have passed. We may go with lime wash but the one lime wash estimate we got was ~4x the estimate for painting the brick.