Painting brickhouse...diluted white paint or lime wash it?

I rarely see this done to where it looks good. What color is the brick?

I believe bricks need to breath so coating them with paint is never a good idea. A stain or like you say lime wash would be the ticket. Although just remember once you go that route there is no turning back.

According to what I’ve read, Limewash can be removed by a pressure washer. The lime also provides protection from weather elements so it’s actually beneficial to the brick from a structural standpoint as well as cosmetic. I’ll do the backside of the house first probably and see if I like it or not.

If the joints are struck you will have to do them with a small brush. On new homes if painting brick they typically do a sack finish which means the mortar joints are even with the bricks.

You can paint, no need to worry about breathing. The weep holes allow for that-they have been painting brick forever and when done right it looks good. Color of brick and age of brick will determine how many coats. The older will absorb more paint than newer bricks.

I've never understood painting brick! Why go from maintenance free to maintenance?

Because there is a lot of shitty looking brick out there.

I saw a house going up that had the brickwork where it looks like they smeared mortar everywhere. Then it was painted white and it looks worse. That shite is going to be green (from copper gutters and mildew) in a few years.

I agree that there are some ugly bricks out there, but it seems like you could put that money somewhere else to fix up the exterior of the house and get more bang for your buck.

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I saw a house going up that had the brickwork where it looks like they smeared mortar everywhere. Then it was painted white and it looks worse. That shite is going to be green (from copper gutters and mildew) in a few years.

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That is called a sack finish and it’s a normal finish for painted brick. And non painted brick will mildew and patina from copper as much as painted brick.

And if you would ever look at a Hays Town designed house you would see the patina is a design feature.

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About how many coats did you apply? I don’t want it solid white, going for an antique look.

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I just did one coat and then I took a wet rag to wipe some off in different areas to expose more of the brick underneath to create that antique look like you want. I’m glad I went with this method instead of painting. It is a lot less messy and easy to clean up.