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Posted by Mulan on July 9, 2006, 1:18 am
How much time do you have???? I am in a 1900 painted brick house and I
consulted the historical society about removing the paint who sent me
to a historical restorer. I asked him to come over and give me a quote.
Before he did he told me that most brick is very porous and you even
have to be careful powerwashing it. He said sandblasting destroys the
finish and the safest way is chemical removal. He never showed up to
give me the quote so I wonder if he drove by and decided a two story
with 5 coats of paint was too much. So I bought some paint stripper
and some gell paint remover and tried it in a few spots. The gell
worked the best but it took forever THEN when refinancing they insisted
I paint the house because the flaking paint might be lead, and a kid
might eat it? No kids in my yard but whatever. SO I painted it with
a diluted interior flat paint so it would be easier to get off. The
sun baked it on the south facing wall and 2 years later all layers
started peeling off especially everywhere the garden sprinkler had been
hitting it or the drain water had leaked. So I think the water
penetrates the brick and the sun caused heating and cooling effect and
it falls off. I have now begun scraping it off with a simple scaper
and a wire brush. I will try the power washer on low and then
chemicals for the rest. for the front where it seems easier and for the
back and sides.....last month I was in Ireland and twice I drove past a
pub that the brick looked great but it was triggering my "something"
doesn't seem right button so I stopped. They had individually painted
each brick and used very very slightly different colours about 4 to
choose from in all. It was the most natural brick coloured paint job I
had ever seen. It was the grout that was triggering my "something"
isn't right it varied too and I think if they'd used all the same color
grout "paint" it would have looked better. Maybe you can hire some art
students from the local university?
ameijers wrote:
> >
> > n2ah@hotmail.com wrote:
> > >> A portion of the front of our house is brick that was painted white
> > >> before we bought the house. What is the best way to get back to the
> > >> natural brick? Sandblasting? Chemicals?
> > >>
> > >> Will sandblasting or chemicals damage the mortar?
> >
> > Sandblasting will remove the outer finish. I'd try a spot first to see
> how
> > well it works as the blasting may leave it in worse shape.
> >
> The trick is to use a blasting media that is harder than the paint, but
> softer than the (hopefully fired) surface of the brick. If they painted soft
> used brick with an already weathered and porous surface, you are likely SOL,
> since the paint will have soaked into the brick. Even with hard-surface
> brick, tuckpointing is usually needed, to get the mortar joints looking
> pristine.
>
> Nobody else mentioned it, so I will- is this real structural brick (like a
> 3-layer wall, or a fireplace stack), or just some dabs of brick used as
> trim, over a framed wall? If the latter, I would also cost out simply
> replacing the brick. You can do the demo yourself easily, and if you present
> the mason with a clean brick ledge, trimmed bushes, and in general a clear
> shot at the wall, it may be cheaper than you think. Most masons won't charge
> for a quick estimate, if the job is a simple one. You can bury the old brick
> in the back yard, or sneak it into the trash a few bricks at a time, if you
> don't want to pay for a dumpster. If you do the demo carefully, and the
> brick is good quality, you may even be able to reuse some of the brick by
> putting the painted surface to the inside. (Assuming you can find a
> close-enough match on the new brick to intermix it with the old without it
> looking funny.)
>
> aem sends...
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