In today’s modern times, given the choice between keeping your brink home its older dark rusty brown and red color or updating it with a fresh coat of paint, many people are now choosing the latter.
Yes, there are still a few brick purists out there that believe a brick home should never be painted, but you can’t argue with the curb appeal a fresh coat of paint can provide your home.
This article will weigh the pros and cons of painting exterior brick. Keep reading to learn more.
Painting Exterior Brick: The Right Way
First, if you are going to paint your brick home, you need to do it properly. Painting your brick can trap moisture inside the brick and cause damage to the home if you are not careful.
Here are a few tips to paint brick the proper way. Use a professional painting company to paint your brick exterior. Professional painted can spot a gap or a crack that needs to be caulked from a mile away.
They will use professional-grade primers and the right type of paints that will allow the brick to breathe. A proper brick primer has a balanced ph and should be applied in a thin layer. Too much paint gobbed on all at once could cause your brick to crack over time.
Painting a brick home is more involved than painting wood siding or stucco. So if you are asking yourself, should I paint a brick home, the answer is you should hire professionals to do the job for you. This is one place where you don’t want to take any shortcuts.
Power Wash Painted Brick
If you decide to go ahead and paint over your brick exterior, keep in mind that painted brick homes require power washing every once in a while. There will be a little more involved in the upkeep of your home’s exterior than if you were to leave it a brick.
Once your home is painted, you will be able to spot dirt, algae, and mildew like never before. Of course, you should power wash any painted exterior, not just brick. All painted exteriors need a good power washing to keep them looking their best.
But think about it this way. Once your brick is painted, it will no longer suck up every little bit of dirt and debris. Your fresh coat of paint will keep your brick exterior much cleaner.
Painting Your Brick Is Permanent
Once you paint your brick home, you can’t go back. If you are okay with knowing this, then you are okay to go ahead and paint. You can always change the color down the road, but you can’t remove the paint from the brick.
You could strip the brick down with chemicals or sandblasting, however, once that is finished the bricks will never look the same. They will appear much more worn down. So if you do decide to paint, make sure it is a decision you plan to stick with.
Painting Your Brick Can Lighten up Your Home
There is no quicker way to turn a dark earthy colored home into a light and lively living space than to give it a fresh coat of light-colored paint. Talk about a total transformation for your home!
A fresh coat of paint can give your home instant curb appeal. Brick homes often blend into their surroundings. One way to make them stand out more is to paint them.
Choose a bright light white or off white color for the brick and then a darker contrast color for the door and accents. Your brick home will look like new in no time. No longer will your home blend into your yard.
Slowly you will start to notice the front door, windows, and shutters on your home a little more. It can even make your landscaping stand out and your window boxes pop with color. Now, you’ll be able to see the individual leaves on the trees in your front yard that are up against the exterior of your home.
You may even decide to redo the landscaping a little or trim up some of the trees because the newly painted brick will really put a spotlight on your front yard.
Protect Your Home
Besides looking nice paint can also provide much-needed protection to your home’s exterior. Paint acts as a sealant protecting your home from the elements and natural forces.
If you have your home painted by professional painters who are familiar with masonry, it is beneficial to your home to have it painted.
It Can Increase the Value of Your Home
One of the easiest ways to increase the value of your home is to give it a fresh coat of paint. Choose a color that complements the other colors in your home and that reflects your neighborhood. No one wants to live in the pink house on the corner that sticks out like a sore thumb.
Many people look to paint their brick homes to brighten up the color of their home. Brick can be beautiful, but as it ages, it can begin to look dingy and old. When you paint your brick home you will notice your home being transformed back to life again.
Painting the exterior of the brick makes a much bigger difference than just giving the trim, front door, and shutters new paint. Choose your color wisely and remember you can always change the color of your painted brick but it is pretty much near impossible to unpaint the brick itself.
Here’s the Bottom Line
Think long and hard before you decide that painting exterior brick is for you. This isn’t a decision that should be made lightly. Once you’ve decided to paint, it is important to hire professional painters who have experience with painting brick.
The Ulta Home Improvements can help connect you to the right team of painters in your area to help you freshen up your old brick home. Request a free quote today.
