Painting brick. Good idea or not? Just added photos

I guess In depends on how the Bricks Look Now..I just hate to see Brick with Paint on them..But If you do Paint them It will still Look good..Just make sure you pick a good Color..You Know If you go to the DIY network.com Im sure you can find something on Painting Bricks..

Sheila,

have you thought about power-washing the brick instead of painting it? it will make it pop and look fresh; and no maintenance...

just my humble opinion...

Valerie

For what it's worth:
My parents owned their house for almost 20 years and the brick front was painted over to match the house color. When I sold their house last Dec., the new owners unpainted them. From my perspective, the house looked more beautiful with the natural unpainted brick. I have no idea why my parents didn't do that themselves. Different strokes for different folks I guess
You might also want to check out the neighborhood. If there is a lot of unpainted brick around, you may want to join the club. If there isn't (meaning they are painted), you might try to find out why.

Hope this helps...

Andy Sager
DG's AndyS

maybe your answer is to power wash the bricks. We had a similar issue in one of our homes, and power washing really clean all the stuff off the bricks, and gave it its original brand new look. Cheap and works.

We'll be washing it anyway. Hope that will clean it up. It looks fine the way it is, maybe a little dated. I will take some pictures tomorrow that I can send you all for opinions. We want to radically change the properties appearance because the previous owners didn't take care of the property. Just not sure if we should commit to paint.

Andy, how did they remove the paint from the brick? These are big buildings, not sure what that would entail.

Sheila, as a contractor, I have painted brick and it will look good, BUT, it flakes and peels and I personally would never paint MY brick

Just pressure wash to clean it

If you decide to change the color, STAIN it

the original brick it is quite hard to get the paint off. It is generally not considered by REI a good idea to paint brick.

Hi The power wash is a great way to go an then see how it looks an you can do it over an over as the years pass by, it sounds like you really like the brick so give it a try you maybe delighted how good it will look. I eve seen painted brick an it looks nice for a while but it will peel an have to be repainted, Jim

That is our opinion also. So far we are they only ones who would like to retain the old brick. Contractors and other free-advisers say to paint it. But, we own it so it is ultimately our decision. Thank you all for reinforcing what we were already thinking!

Sorry, I don't know how they cleaned it up. I was back in the neighborhood about a month after the sale and just drove by the house for nostalgia when I saw it.

I would suspect, as others stated above, pressure cleaning the brick should get it done.

Hope this helps...

Andy Sager
DG's AndyS

hi sheila i would suggest find a good concrete stain. i've used it for 18yrs in many projects around chitown & subs works good with weathered or older brick. ps i have pics i could send you showing some projects. just not shur how to transfer 2 fb

if the brick looks solid just have it washed by somebody who wont tear it up. much cheaper.

if applied right it won't flake or peel.good night

We are doing a rehab right now on a brick house and the brick was not in great shape(a car ran into it a year or so ago and the fix is not exactly the same) and we were closing one doorway and some other things so we decided to paint it. Also, painting brick is in right now in the area, so we think we will be good to go. We'll know more once it done and on the market.

Brick painting may be on the way in here. I've heard that Sherwin Williams make a great no gloss paint that looks really good and lasts 20 years with no flaking and small touch-ups. My concern is how it will look on our big buildings. We have 4 big brick buildings, they are 3 stories high and half as long as a football field. We are deciding on the shingles for the mansard roofs today and need to make a decision if the brick gets painted or not. If we paint it we are thinking a light tan / beige look.

The doubt is still in our minds... What if it doesn't look right? Will we regret not having our old brick back?

If we are going to paint them, then we need to do it now since we are replacing the windows and all anyway. Really don't want to be kicking ourselves later on this one.

If you do Paint the Bricks make sure you find the Person that knows How to do it right..So it Looks good and will not start Flaking right away

I think staining the brick sounds like a great!! idea... also, what about just changing the color of the trim to give it a whole different look, and... since you are reshingling the roof, you could change the look of those buildings entirely with the color combinations of the roof and trim colors working together ...Angie

You should be able to attach the pictures to the post. Or, you can just go to photo bucket and post a link here.

Power wash one & see how it turns out. If it looks better, do the same to the other two. The trim ideas sound great, too. Travis is right, you should be able to post pics or a short video either on your original post, or a link to it.

I believe you are holding the properties correct. If so do you have any problems filling the units the way it looks now. What my point is why put more money into it that you do not have to if the property is easy to fill. If you want to paint it then paint it. Once you do paint it it will be harder to go back to the brick look.

I am glad to see that you have the properties. Very happy for you and your family.

Steve.

I went to some classes once on maintance on Forclosed properties and properties that have been run down. He told us once never to paint it wouldnt look good. He said to always go with the cheaper fix if it will make something look better. Painting can get expensive.

c what it would cost 2 tucpoint or whatever is needed compared 2 staining

I have a replacement and repair guide Cleaning brick will cost aprox $2.50 per square foot. It is apx $5.50 per square foot to clean painted bricks. I would think the paint is more then that.

We have over 40,000 sq. ft. of brick wall. We can have it all painted with 30 yr. paint for $20k. Wash, paint and labor included. It's no gloss, high quality paint that banks and businesses use for their stuff. It's a great deal from someone who owes us. But, how will it look on our massive buildings?

see if the pictures work. now you can get an idea of what we are looking at.

I don't see pictures. I would power wash it. Then spend money on lighting for the night which has a much more dramtic event for cheaper.

The photos are now in the original post at the top. Download the attachments. Had the painters do a small hidden section and it looks good. May be a cure for old worn brick.

After looking at the pictures 2 things stood out to me:

1 - Those satellite dishes gotta go, eyesore. Call up Dish service and see if you can have one dish and offer it as part of rent package.

2 - Those shingles are dark. I don't know how the surrounding area is but I would think a lighter colored shingle would change things dramatically.

As far as the bricks go, I think they look good. I can also see it looking good painted too. I would say go with what the area is trending with. If it's paint, go for something neutral so you don't fall out of a trend either.

Good luck!

Wr are going with Driftwood shingles and yes, the dishes will be gone when we have the roofs redone next week. The are an eyesore and I don't want just anyone drilling holes in our roofs anyway. We'll probably put up 1 main dish that can run to all of the units and go that route, cable is already an option but no one likes it.

Now when the new windows and entry doors are up there with the new shingles... Hoping that will look good!!!

No one in town is doing the brick painting yet. Maybe we'll set the trend if we do, hopefully for the better.

I may be wrong here,but it appears that you have a flat roof-NOT for shingles

Changing the color- if you feel the need for color change, STAIN it to a light color(beige), it will make it appear larger (concrete stain absorbs into the brick instead of adhearing like paint)

order of work:
1 roof
2 windows
3 color change

All said, I have to agree with steve and veronica, in why spend the money unless needed-rents are going to continue to increase, period