Paint a Brick House
Bricks are notorious for being difficult to paint because they are porous and absorb paint. However, taking time to prepare the brick exterior of your home can simplify the painting process. Consider some tips for how to paint a brick house.
Steps
- Clean the bricks.
- Spray the brick surface with a hose. Water is typically effective in removing most of the dirt and dust from bricks.
- Use a pressure washer if there is a layer of dirt on the surface of the house, or if there are any areas caked with mud. Utilize a pressure washer that offers 1500 PSI.
- Remove white stains with a stiff brush. White stains indicate efflorescence, or salt deposits.
- Apply a solution of bleach and water to get rid of mildew. Leave the solution on the bricks for about 20 minutes, and then scrape the surface with a stiff brush.
- Prepare the surface.
- Cover windows and doors with newspaper. Attach the newspaper to the doors and windows with painter's tape. Cover any other areas that you do not want to paint.
- Repair cracks. Use a scraper to widen cracks in the bricks. Brush out the dust, and seal the cracks with acrylic caulk. Allow the caulk to dry for about 5 hours.
- Apply latex primer to the surface of the bricks. Use a paintbrush, paint roller or paint sprayer. Put a few extra coats of primer on the areas that were affected by efflorescence.
- Choose the paint.
- Select elastodynamics paint. It is dense enough to fill in cracks in the bricks, but you will need to apply 2 coats. Elastodynamics paint is also known for repelling water well enough to protect the brick surface during inclement weather. You can buy this paint at most home improvement stores.
- Choose acrylic latex exterior paint. Acrylic latex paint allows moisture to leave the surface of the bricks and helps to prevent mildew. It is available at most home improvement stores. You usually just need to apply 1 coat of paint, as you only need a second coat if you can see spots of white wall behind the first layer.
- Paint your brick house.
- Apply the paint with a paint sprayer. Though a paint sprayer is more expensive than a paintbrush, you can paint bricks faster with this tool than you can with a paintbrush. Move the sprayer side to side, overlapping a bit in areas that you have already painted.
- Get a paint roller for painting bricks. Paint rollers are larger and costlier than most paintbrushes, but are less expensive than paint sprayers. Paint rollers take less time to paint houses than a paintbrush, but more time than a sprayer. Start at the top of the house, and move the roller up and down as you slowly move to the side to paint the adjacent sections.
- Use a paintbrush to fill in spots that you cannot get to with the paint sprayer or roller. Areas by the doors, windows and trim require precision that a paint sprayer and roller do not provide.
- Let the paint dry. Read the instructions on the paint bucket to determine how long the paint needs to dry.
- Add a second coat of paint. Only apply a second coat if the paint's instructions recommend it.
Tips
- Find out if you have to paint the brick on your house a certain color. Some neighborhoods have a homeowner's association that requires a particular shade on the houses. Historic districts may also require specific paint colors for the exterior of homes.
Things You'll Need
- Garden hose or pressure washer
- Stiff brush
- Bleach
- Newspaper
- Painter's tape
- Scraper
- Acrylic caulk
- Latex primer
- Paintbrush
- Paint roller or paint sprayer
- Elastomeric paint or acrylic latex exterior paint
Related Articles
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