Many businesses have brick exteriors. For some people, that’s fine. To present a more modern, cleaner image, a lot of locations are opting to have their exterior brick painted. It makes the walls look more uniform, and can be a great asset to your image. There is a lot involved with painting brick, and there are a few things you need to consider before you have commercial painters come in to handle it.
DOES YOUR BRICK CHIP EXCESSIVELY OR HAVE MORE WEAR AND TEAR THAN IT OUGHT TO?
If your brick looks very damaged and flakes away easily in your hand, you may have a deeper problem – such as too much moisture getting into the brick. One thing you need to take into account is that brick needs to breathe. Brick and mortar are porous, and moisture passes throughout the brick, eventually to be excreted and evaporated.
IS THERE A LOT OF EFFLORESCENCE?
Efflorescence is the white, hard coating you often see on any sort of stone. When water moves through stone, and is evaporated, sometimes the water pulls salts along with it. Over time, these salts accumulate into a hard white coating. It is usually removable. What you need to do is clear away any efflorescence, and wait a while. If the efflorescence comes back – you may have a deeper issue to deal with. Efflorescence is generally a cosmetic problem, but it can indicate much more severe damage. If you want to be 100% certain, have a builder take a look at it. We’ll tell you how to remove it next week.
ARE YOU CERTAIN ABOUT YOUR PAINT COLOR?
Because brick is porous, paint will seep into all of the nooks and crannies. As a result, it is very difficult to remove. Chemicals are required, and even then it may not all come off. So think really hard about your color choice. Once it’s put on, it’s pretty much not coming off. Another option would be to stain your brick. Painting it will seal moisture in and prevent the brick from breathing, but staining only colors the brick, it doesn’t seal it.
There are a lot of things to think about if you’re going to paint your brick, but with as sharp as it will look (when done correctly) the investment is definitely worth it. If you aren’t sure about it, contact a commercial painter to discuss options. We’re available any time, so give us a call!