Let’s talk about painted brick! It seems like there’s such controversy surrounding this topic. There are some, a-hem, *passionate* brick purists out there.
But I’m firmly in the painted brick lovers camp:)
Before we put in an offer on buying this house, I told my husband that I’d only agree to it if he would allow me to paint the exterior brick.
He obliged!
Here’s how the house looked on the day we closed.
Even though it was really rough, I could see past its 70’s facade. To me, this was a perfect diamond in the rough!
You may be wondering how much it costs to paint a brick house. I wondered the same thing!
I’m a paint contractor (albeit, a very small, one-woman-show contractor but still). My painting jobs focus on furniture, cabinets, room remodels etc. I like painting little jobs that take me about a week or less to complete. Working alone and with limited equipment hinder me from taking on huge painting jobs. And that’s the way I like it.
But, by being in this business, I knew that painting a brick exterior would be a boat load of money, but I was curious to know exactly how much. To put an exact price tag on my hunch, I asked another painter in my town to give me an estimate.
$20,000.
Mic Drop. (disclaimer: prices will vary widely due to where you live and size of house of course…Surely this goes without saying, but just wanted to add this in)
Okay, so obviously this would be my biggest and most challenging painting job, but to get rid of that blonde brick and brown siding, I was more than willing to take it on.
How To Paint A Brick House
First things first, the entire house needed a good bath.
I rented a pressure washer and hosed it all down! I just used water. I’ve read several articles that say you can add bleach or some soap to the water, but we chose to just use plain water.
The years of dirt and mold need to be gone before you break out any paint.
Even though just this task alone was so much work, I really enjoyed it! Instant gratification! It took me two weekends just to get everything pressure washed.
I let the house dry for about a week before I began painting, also very important.
I approached this project as if I were eating an elephant: one bite at a time.
I wanted to start and complete just one side at a time as to not get too overwhelmed. The west side was the “easiest”. It was the least high off of the ground.
We assembled the scaffolding, and then I got to work.
Our siding, soffit and fascia were all aluminum which meant it would take paint really well. Had it been vinyl, I wouldn’t have been able to paint it successfully.
I chose to roll the primer and paint versus spraying so that I could really push all of the primer into every single nook, cranny and void on the brick surface.
Rolling a brick facade will last a handful of years longer than a sprayed brick surface.
After completing the west side, I moved onto the front a couple of weekends later. Then came the east side and finally the back. It took me a long, long time! I just worked on it as I had the time to and weather permitting.
Once I got to the point of it almost being finished, I was soooo over it!
I called one of my friends (who is a full time painter) and begged him to come finish the last couple of places that I was too scared and too tired to do!
In the back of the house, the gable peek is really, really tall. I would’ve needed three tiers of scaffolding to reach it! I had to draw a line somewhere. I was just too scared to get up that high. And the chimney too. I didn’t think that painting on top of the roof sounded like fun.
So my buddy saved the day! He and his crew came out and knocked it out in a day and a half (it would’ve taken me a week). It wasn’t cheap, but it was about the best $1,100 bucks I’ve ever spent.
What Products I Used To Paint The Brick
I used Sherwin Williams masonry primer, Loxon, for my first coat on the brick.
After that dried, I rolled Sherwin Williams Resilience Exterior paint in Satin finish.
The color is Sherwin Williams Neutral Ground mixed at 50% on the brick and the siding.
The soffit and garage door color is a custom shade I made up.
Fascia, gutters, downspouts and shutters are all Sherwin Williams Black Fox.
After a year and a half of on and off painting, updating and landscaping (told you it took a long time) here is what it looks like today.
Major upgrade don’t you think!
I look back at these photos and think to myself, “I cannot believe I was crazy enough to take on painting this huge house by myself”. I know exactly why it would’ve been $20,000 to hire it done.
For a plethora of inspirational pictures of painted brick homes, check out this post by Traci from Beneath My Heart!
And have you seen Young House Love’s house lately???? They recently painted their brick home, and it’s freaking amazing!
Well guys, I hope you enjoyed this before and after! And if you’re wondering what our inside before and after’s look like, take a look at the kitchen here, bathroom here and living room here!
Jennifer@ Celebrating Everyday Life says
So Beautiful! What an amazing transformation!! Great, great job!!!
Kayla says
Thank you Jennifer!
kim-in-the-cove says
Wow! Just wow! It looks absolutely amazing! You really have an eye. I am new to your blog – I think I found you via Jennifer/Dimples and Tangles. I love your work!
Kayla says
Thanks Kim!! I’m so happy you’re here! I love Jennifer over at D&T:) xo
Ren says
this looks fantastic!
Tonia says
You did a wonderful job! It looks beautiful! You should be so proud of yourself, that is a heck of a project to tackle alone!
Kayla says
Thanks Tonia! xo
Debbie says
Hi Kayla, you did a great Job! We are going to paint our outside brick this spring, 2 walls of our home is siding and 2 are brick. I think we should paint the brick the color of the siding to make it look complete, hubby wants to go darker, what do you think? Thank you
Lulu says
I LOVE this! I’m not a fan of brick and currently live in a brick cape in western PA. I’m dying to paint it, but on a never ending list of things that need fixed (we bought a fixer that didn’t necessary look like a fixer, but lots of “hidden” problems), painting the house is not a priority. BUT I absolutely love how this turned out. Cudos girl!
Lulu
thelaurelane.com
Lindsey says
This is absolutely beautiful! How much did you spend in paint, excluding the $1100 from your friend.
Carolyn says
You are so brave! I’m talking my husband into painting our brick house. I thought I wanted to preserve it like whats-her-name from Rehab Addict, but I think the house needs a new personality if we’re going to stay here for many more years. My problem is that I turn 60 on Saturday and I don’t have the stamina for these projects anymore. Do you absolutely HAVE to use a primer?
Meghan Baggett says
Wow! We are about to buy a house where we are going to paint the brick. Can I ask you how much it cost you for the paint and supplies, as well as you hiring that guy for the last part? We’re trying to figure out our reno budget.
Thanks so much! Your house is absolutely gorgeous!!
Johnnie wiseman says
I want my 1960 house painted like german smear??? do you know anything about that?
Paul Fisher says
You said you mixed the paint at 50%. Please explain
Kayla says
The color formula was mixed at 50%. At the paint store, I asked the guy to only put in half of the colorant formula so the paint color would be lighter.
Furthermore, let’s say the formula called for 2oz of yellow, the computer would only dispense 1oz of yellow instead.
Julie Dingman says
wonderful job, it looks fantastic, i have a front porch that has brick on it was thinking about painting it as it looks awful but the brick are not the solid brick they have tiny holes in them so it sucks up water and everything pretty fast, i tried to clean it with pressure washer but didn’t do anything for it, i was told it wouldn’t do any good to paint it as it was too porus, and wouldn’t work what do you think? i am trying to sell my home and i think this is an eye sore, thank you for your help
B. Evangeline says
Wow! Love it. I am thinking of painting my ranch brick home, thanks for the inspiration.
Sandy Pappas says
Hi Julie,
We have an 80s house that I’m agonizing over painting. I like Natural Choice and love the idea of 50% so will get that sample tomorrow. We also have brown gutters (I want to keep brown) and a similar roof color. I’m unsure about the soffit and garage door – painting the soffit brown (maybe too heavy) or color of the house. You said you made up a color…I’ve tried that without success so far. Is it a little greyish? Thanks for any thoughts
Alice Carroll says
Thanks for the tip that a long drying time after washing would ensure that the house would be as dry as possible in preparation for a custom house painting service. I’m interested in getting a new coat of pain for my house soon because its old paint has already faded after so many years. Perhaps summer would be the perfect time to do this since the heat can help dry up the walls after thorough washing.