Has anyone painted exterior brick?

[wildeyed]

We are planning a big curb appeal project in the spring. My husband is planning to paint the house himself. The brick is in great condition, never been painted before, except for the garage. Anyone done this before? Any hints?

[NMDemDist2]

1. are you sure WEyed? seems like on the decorating shows they are always

trying to get the brick color back in ??

i believe you have to seal the brick for it to take paint well, any paint store can give you the stuff

take pics!

[wildeyed]

3. Yeah, pretty sure.

My landscape designer agrees, and he officially has good taste.

The previous owners bricked in a carport, turned it into a garage. But I guess they didn't match the new brick to the existing, because they painted it. But not the rest of the house. And the carport/garage are attached to the house, so it look particularly odd. They did this kind of shoddy work allot, that is why the house was such a good value. But now I get to fix it all. x(

Plus the brick is an unattractive (imo) light pink, not a nice deep brick color. That pink would look great in your neck of the woods, but in the South East, it just looks washed out.

[Longhorn]

2. If you can stand another hint from my husband,

he says the key is to use masonry primer, a thick paint that will fill in all the "pores." After that, you can use any kind of exterior house paint. Be sure not to plug up any weep holes at the bottom of the walls.

[wildeyed]

4. Hints from the hubby always welcome.

So I can just go ahead and paint the already painted area, prime the rest then paint? I guess I can ask the paint store guys, too.

You and I post in ALL the same forums, have you noticed? :)

[Longhorn]

5. Yes, I HAVE noticed that!

:D

That's what I love about the groups -- it gives us a chance to finally get to "know" one another!

I think your plan sounds good, though you'll need to scrape or brush any loose paint before you paint the previously painted part and if it doesn't look like it was properly painted, you may wish to prime over it. I believe you'll need to brush or powerwash the brick before you prime it but Mr. Longhorn isn't around right now to ask so that would be a good question to ask at the paint store.

Sounds like quite a project! We also got a good price on our house nine years ago because it was built by the owner who didn't really know what he was doing and then ended up as a rental for awhile. We were able to see the potential and have remodeled just about every square foot. Nearly every repair begins with a lot of cussing, though, and references to the "idiot who built this house!" :D

[wildeyed]

6. The couple who owned our house previously

did plenty of improvements, but they never seemed to have been done right.

So for example, they added a utility sink in the garage. After we bought the house, we noticed that it kept backing up. So I finally called the plumber after trying to snake it myself about half a dozen times. Turn out the sink does not drain into the plumbing, it just drains straight into the back yard. :eyes:

Also, they had odd taste in color and the house was really dirty, so it showed very poorly. But we saw the potential and got a great deal. Now we just have to get the place fixed up.

The garden is this year's project. I am sooooo excited. I have a beautiful plan to work from and I love gardens. :) The yard is flat and sunny, it's going to be great. Also going to be expensive. I have started referring to it as my new car. I will be driving my current vehicle for a number of extra years to pay for this. But I like gardens better than cars, so there you go.

It is better than my last house. A super cute 1920's cottage with great bones in a great neighborhood. But it had been a rental for 10 years. The basement was full of trash and six inches of water when we bought it. Eeewwwww....... The appliances were so nasty, I never tried to clean them. We just taped them shut and put them on the curb for the city to dispose of. Yuck.

[fudge stripe cookays]

8. Good for you, wildeyed!

That's the first thing I did when we moved into our place. We moved in in December 2002, and as soon as I could get out in the backyard (January- it's Texas!), I began tilling and planting!

Here's some inspiration for you.....I took these last summer.







We put in a huge pond last summer, so I'm having to dredge and get it all cleaned up for spring. And I'm going to put latticing all down our entire back fence and get about 12 Zephirine Drouhin rosebushes to climb up it. I know what you mean about the "new car" pricetag!

Post piccies when you get some work accomplished! I love gardens too!
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[Longhorn]

9. Beautiful!

I wish I could have such nice plantings but I'm so limited in what I can plant because of the deer. I had pots of begonias all around our pool and they even came onto the concrete deck and ate them! And we have four dogs but they sleep in our bedroom at night and the deer apparently know that.

This year, I think I'll try to get some lantana planted. It's one of the few flowering plants the deer won't eat (unless we have a drought, and then I guess any plant is at risk.)

You've done a beautiful job and your plans for the roses sound great!

[fudge stripe cookays]

11. Thanks!

Unfortunately, it looks a bit different after several monthsof inattention. Our beighbor's weeds have been blowing through our rickety fence on the one side.

I finally got out Saturday and did some cleanup. I have a lot more to do until it regains its summertime 2004 allure!

Bummer about the deer. Fortunately, our place is fenced. The only probs I have are with squirrels stealing my bulbs, and seagulls and herons and the possible consumption of my fish in the pond. That's why I haven't gotten any yet. I need to get them some more hiding places to put under water. A heron can clean out your pond in one afternoon!

Good luck! Lantana is gorgeous. Its worth checking into some other plants too. I know some of the catalogs I get suggest deer-proof plants. Maybe get a Wayside Gardens or Park's garden catalog. They might have some other suggestions for you!

FSC :hi:

[Longhorn]

12. Thanks for the catalog suggestions.

I've googled deer resistant plants and have printed lists but it would be nice to see what they look like, too.

We have a fenced yard, too, but sections are only four feet high so the deer can jump it. And frankly, I've even seen them jump the six foot section when they were startled. A few years ago, a young one tried to jump and broke his neck. That was so sad.

We don't encourage the deer by feeding them or anything and our neighborhood isn't as bad as some (like Lakeway and Westlake) but they are around enough not to invest too much money into plants they like to eat! :D

[NMDemDist2]

13. we have lots of lantana around here, just be aware that it attracts

gnats and "no-see-ums"

it's good for a ground cover/landscaping plant, but not something you'll want to use close to where you "live" like next to a patio or pool (I found this out the hard way)

[wildeyed]

10. Beautiful!

I am very happy about the garden. It will make the house finally feel like a home.

[fudge stripe cookays]

7. Thanks Longhorn!

I've been considering this idea as well, and wanting to do the work myself. But I figured I needed some sort of primer. This is good to know!

Ours is just basic cream and a darker cream, but every time I see a painted brick house, it just looks so tidy and put together. I'm thinking a very dull grey brown color, maybe with teal accents, but don't know if reprehensor will go for it. we'll have to consult on the color scheme.

One of my main obstacles has been the huge photinia bushes we have planted down both sides of the house, but they've done some damage to our foundation, so we're finally ready to yank the suckers out. And the painting will be easier to do. Maybe this summer I'll finally get around to doing it!

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