Painted Brick Homes: The Pros and Cons

Painted brick homes are having a moment. Painting brick gives your home a new look, affordably. It can lighten outdated, dark brick and give your house a uniform look that brick, because of its natural color variations, can’t.

The Cons

Let’s start with the cons of homes with painted brick exteriors.

Bad Paint – and Bad Painting Technique – Can Damage Brick

The biggest con is a huge one: trapped moisture can damage the brick. If your home is painted wrong, trapped moisture can cause the paint to chip, or water can get through the brick and attack the mortar.

This is where a professional painting company comes in. An experienced, reputable professional painter knows how to spot and fill cracks. They also know which primer to use – one that’s pH-balanced for masonry. Finally, they know which paints protect the brick while letting it breathe. Painting a surface like brick, which is both porous and rough, is more involved than painting a stucco or wood home.

There Are No Take-Backs

Painting your brick home is a permanent decision. It can’t be reversed, even if you decide you prefer the original brick. You can repaint the color, but stripping the paint will leave you with damaged, worn brick.

Painted Brick Homes NeedsMaintenance

One reason people love brick homes is that they’re maintenance-free. When you paint brick, you add one more item to your to-do list: maintaining the brick. You’ll need to power wash the paint to get rid of the mildew and dirt stains. Chipped bricks will also need to be touched up, and you’ll need to repaint every so often.

The Pros

Now that the cons are out of the way let’s consider the pros.

You’ll Get A Fresh, New Look

Nothing brightens a house like a new coat of paint. And if your home was dark brick, and you choose white paint (or another light color) for your brick home, you’ll be amazed at the difference.

You’ll Boost Curb Appeal

The pleasing mix of elements, light and dark, hard and soft, give a home curb appeal. Because of their color ranges, brick exteriors often blend into their surroundings. But with a painted brick house, your curb appeal skyrockets. Now, the home stands out from the landscape, and your color scheme will be clearly visible.

So, if you’re ready for an update, consider a painted brick house. You’ll get a beautiful, clean finish and boost your curb appeal, too.

Thinking about painting your brick home? Paintzen’s experienced interior and exterior house painters are ready to assist you every step of the way, from selecting and ordering paint colors and scheduling the painters to complete your painting job flawlessly. Learn more