Brick and stone coated so the wall can still breathe.
Exposed brick, laterite, block and stone finished with coatings that let moisture out instead of trapping it, with efflorescence, failed joints and damp dealt with first, because paint on masonry fails from behind, not from the front.
- Free site inspection
- Written, itemised quote
- 1-year workmanship warranty
- Same-day callback
At a glance
Can exposed brick walls be painted?
Yes, but the coating has to breathe. Brick and mortar take in moisture and release it again, and a paint film that blocks that path traps water behind itself, then comes off and takes the face of the brick with it. So we use mineral or breathable masonry coatings, deal with efflorescence and damp first, and tell you when clear protection is a better idea than colour.
When this is the answer, and when it is not.
Sending you to the wrong service wastes your money and our time. This is how to tell.
This is likely right if
- An exposed brick feature wall indoors has gone dusty, patchy or stained and you want it either sealed clear or given a colour
- A compound wall or facade in brick, laterite or concrete block needs a finish that will stand up to driving monsoon rain on its weather face
- Brick that was painted before is chalking or peeling and the old coating needs assessing before anything goes over it
- Mismatched brickwork, patched repairs or a blockwork extension need bringing to one even finish
Something else comes first if
- White salt deposits keep coming back after being brushed off, that is efflorescence fed by water moving through the wall, and the source has to be traced and stopped before any coating goes on
- The base of the wall is wet or shows a tide mark, rising damp from soil contact or a leaking line is a damp treatment job first, because a coating over it just moves the failure line higher up
- Bricks are spalling, joints are washed out deeper than a finger, or a stepped crack runs through the joints, that needs repointing or a structural opinion before we quote for painting
What the service includes.
Substrate and moisture check
We identify what the wall actually is, wire-cut or hand-moulded brick, laterite, fly-ash brick, concrete block or brick-look tile, and take moisture readings, because the coating choice follows from the substrate and how wet it is.
Efflorescence and joint repair
Salt deposits brushed off dry rather than washed back in, loose or eroded mortar joints raked out and repointed with a matching mortar, then left to cure before anything goes over them.
Cleaning and biocidal wash
Dust, algae and moss removed with stiff brushes and low-pressure washing. We do not use high-pressure jets on masonry, they erode soft joints and drive water deep into the brick.
Priming to suit the system
Fresh mortar and cement block are strongly alkaline, and alkalinity attacks ordinary emulsion binders. An alkali-resistant primer under emulsion, a mineral primer under silicate, applied only once the wall reads dry.
Breathable finish coats
Silicate mineral paint, breathable masonry emulsion or a clear penetrating water repellent, as stated in your quotation, worked into joints and open texture by brush before any roller pass.
Handover and written warranty
A walk of the wall with you in daylight, a note of any areas we advise watching through the next monsoon, and a written warranty with its conditions stated.
Not included, or quoted separately
- Tracing and treating rising damp or seepage, that is a waterproofing job, quoted separately and done first
- Full removal of old paint back to bare brick. Sandblasting, grinding and harsh strippers take the hard fired face off the brick, so we strip what is loose and assess whether the rest can stay
- Structural repair of bulging, leaning or cracked walls, or anything needing a structural engineer's opinion
- Replacing spalled or broken bricks and laterite blocks beyond the odd unit we can cut out and reset, larger areas are masonry work, not painting
- Plastering over exposed brick to make a smooth wall, that is a different job, quoted as plaster and conventional painting once the render has cured
The sequence.
Inspection and moisture readings
We look at the whole wall, not a sample patch: what it is built from, where water gets in, where salts are appearing, how the joints are holding. Readings at the base, mid-height and under any coping go into the quotation.
Choose clear or colour
A clear breathable repellent keeps the brick looking like brick. An opaque coating changes it, and that is very hard to reverse. We put both on a test patch and let you judge it in daylight after it has taken some weather.
Repair and repoint
Loose joints raked out and repointed, spalled units cut out where agreed, efflorescence brushed off dry. Then the wall is left alone until the mortar has cured and the readings say it is dry.
Clean and prime
Biocidal wash where there is algae, a low-pressure rinse, then the primer that belongs to the chosen system, alkali-resistant under emulsion, mineral under silicate, none at all under a penetrating repellent.
Apply the coats
Brush first, into joints, edges and open texture, then roller across the faces. Coat count as stated in your quotation. We do not coat in rain, or onto a wall that is still holding water from it.
Inspect and hand back
We walk the wall with you, complete the touch-ups, clear our debris from the site and issue the written warranty with its conditions.
What moves the price on this job.
We do not publish a rate, because it would change once someone measured your property. These are the variables that decide it.
- Measured wall area, with an allowance for the extra coating that open joints and rough texture absorb compared with a flat plastered wall
- How much joint repair and repointing the wall needs before coating, the largest variable on older compound walls
- Whether the finish is a clear water repellent, silicate mineral paint or an opaque masonry emulsion
- The substrate itself: laterite and concrete block drink far more coating than dense wire-cut brick
- The amount of efflorescence, algae or old failed paint that has to be dealt with first
- Access, a low compound wall is a different job from a two-storey facade that needs scaffolding
Brick and Masonry Painting — your questions.
Why does paint peel off brick when it stays on plaster?
Brick and mortar are porous. Water gets in through hairline joint cracks and the top of the wall, and normally leaves as vapour through the face. A film-forming paint blocks that exit. Moisture builds behind the film, and when it pushes out it takes the paint and often the fired skin of the brick with it. Plaster has far fewer paths for water to enter, so the same paint gets away with it there. On brick, with a joint around every unit, the coating has to let vapour through.
Can you take old paint off brick and leave it bare?
Rarely to a standard worth paying for. Paint sinks into the pores of brick, and the methods that remove it fully, sandblasting, grinding, harsh strippers, take the hard fired face with it, leaving a softer brick that weathers faster. Where the old coating is well bonded, recoating it is usually the sensible route. Where it is peeling, we strip what is loose and accept that some paint stays in the pores. Either way we tell you what the result will look like before you commit.
What is the white powder on the wall, and will paint cover it?
That is efflorescence: salts carried through the brick or mortar by water and left behind when it evaporates. Paint will not hold over it, the salts keep crystallising underneath and lift the film. We brush it off dry, because washing dissolves the salts straight back into the wall. If it keeps returning after the wall has dried, water is still moving through it, and that source has to be found before we coat.
Should I go clear or coloured?
Clear penetrating water repellent keeps the look of the brick and sheds rain, though some darken the surface a shade. It suits sound brickwork you like the look of. Colour hides patchy bricks, old repairs and mismatched blockwork, but it is close to a one-way decision, because paint does not come off brick cleanly. We put both on a test area and let you look at it in your own light, after it has taken some weather, before you choose.
Can you paint the wall during the monsoon?
We can prepare in most weather, but coating needs a dry wall and dry hours after it goes on. A brick wall that took rain overnight can still be wet inside the next afternoon even when the face looks dry, and coating over it traps that water. We take moisture readings before each coat and will pause rather than coat a wet wall, and we tell you when we do so the programme stays honest.
Related services
- Dampness and Seepage TreatmentIf salts or a damp line keep returning, the water has to be stopped before anything goes on the brick.
- Wall Crack RepairStepped cracks running through the joints need assessing and repairing before the wall is coated.
- Exterior House PaintingFor plastered or rendered outside walls rather than exposed brick, this is the page you want.
Let us look at your walls first.
Tell us about the property and we will set up a free colour and wall inspection. You get a written, itemised quotation afterwards, with no obligation to go ahead.
- We call you back the same day to get a picture of the property and the surfaces.
- We agree a time and come out for the free inspection.
- You get the written scope and itemised quotation.
- Nothing starts until you approve it.