A Cincinnati homeowner put it plainly on Reddit this fall: "So if you have an old brick house, think twice about painting it at all." Another one said it shorter: "Brick needs to breathe and with paint you are locking in moisture. And when you get tired of it you can't undo it." Painting brick can be a good call. It's also one you live with for a long time.

Should I paint my brick house?

Paint it if you've thought through what it commits you to, the walls are dry and sound, and the coating lets moisture out. Leave it alone if the brick is wet, the mortar is falling out, or you're painting to hide a problem.

What painting brick commits you to

Three things, and a painter should say all three out loud before you sign.

  • It's close to permanent. Getting paint back off brick is its own project. The National Park Service's brief on cleaning historic masonry says old paint layers on masonry can build up until removal is necessary to get a sound surface for the next coat. Plan on the brick staying painted.
  • It needs repainting. Bare brick doesn't. A painted brick wall joins the trim and siding on the maintenance list.
  • The wrong coating can hurt the brick. This is the one people miss. The National Park Service's article on common problems with brick masonry says painting with non-permeable paint or other coatings will speed up decay by trapping moisture behind the new coating.

That third point is what the Reddit thread was really about. Brick takes on water and has to dry out. Seal the face with a coating that won't let vapor through, and the water stays in the brick.

What trapped water does to brick

The Park Service has photos of it. Its Preservation Brief 47 shows 19th century brick where a waterproof coating, plus a moisture problem nobody fixed, trapped water and caused more damage. Preservation Brief 39 shows a masonry parapet that failed after a waterproof coating held in water from a leaking roof.

Brief 1 explains the term. A waterproof coating seals the surface against liquid water and water vapor both. That's a problem on a wall that needs to dry to the outside.

The brief also covers salts. Moisture moving through a wall carries salts with it. When the water evaporates at the face, they show up as efflorescence, a white powder. When something slows that drying, the salts can collect under the surface instead, and the brief says that can make the face of the masonry spall. Water that can't leave a wall has more time to do harm.

Why it's a bigger question on an older house

In ZIP code 45208, which takes in Hyde Park, the Census counts 51.7% of homes as built in 1939 or earlier. That's the ZIP, not the neighborhood line. The City of Cincinnati also names Hyde Park among the neighborhoods with a large number of Tudor Revival houses, and the City describes those as built of brick, stone and stucco, with massive brick chimneys.

Brick that has spent a century getting wet and drying out is used to breathing. Painting isn't the only way to go lighter, either. In Indian Hill, one custom home in a WCPO house tour has a whitewashed brick exterior under an antique slate roof.

Mistakes that ruin painted brick

  • Any paint because it's what's on the truck. The Reddit poster's complaint was painters around town putting regular latex paint on brick. Ask what's going on your wall and why.
  • Painting over a leak. A leaking roof, a bad gutter or open mortar joints all put water in a wall. Paint hides them. It doesn't fix them.
  • Caulk in place of mortar. Brief 47 says to avoid joint sealants in place of mortar on vertical masonry walls, because they aren't breathable.
  • Painting to hide white powder. Efflorescence means water is moving through the wall. Find where it's getting in first.

When painting brick is a reasonable call

It tends to go well when:

  • The brick is already painted, so the decision was made years ago and the question is just what goes on next.
  • The walls are dry. No efflorescence, no spalled faces, no stains under the gutters.
  • The mortar is sound, and any missing joints are repointed before the house gets painted.
  • Gutters, downspouts, the roof and flashing are in good shape.
  • The coating is water-permeable. The Park Service says that if it's absolutely necessary to coat a brick wall, a water-permeable coating will work best.
  • You're fine adding the walls to the repaint schedule.

The NPS also notes that brick walls facing south or west expand more in warm weather and shrink back in cool weather, which works the joints. Look closely at those walls before you decide.

What to ask a painter about the coating

You don't need to know the products. You need the painter to know them and explain them. Ask:

  • What exactly are you putting on my brick, and does it let moisture out?
  • Why that product and not regular exterior house paint?
  • Do you see any signs of water in these walls, and where is it coming from?
  • Is the mortar sound enough to paint over, and who handles the joints that aren't?
  • What happens to the chimney? It's brick too, and it takes the weather from every side.
  • If I want a brand you wouldn't use on brick, will you tell me why?

Our answer to that last one is yes. You can pick the paint brand if it's a quality one. If it's one we wouldn't put on brick, we tell you why, and then it's your call. Jayme G. wrote in a review that Denny's "expertise on the products to use was very helpful." That conversation belongs at the estimate, not after the wall is done.

Walk the house with whoever you're considering. Listen for questions about water before you hear a word about color.

The Hyde Park brick house we painted white

One of our Hyde Park exterior painting jobs was this decision. The house was dark red-brown brick under a gray slate roof with dormers and a covered back porch, and it was going white.

We taped off the windows, hung drop cloths along the wall and set ladders up to the upper courses. It finished white with cream window trim.

On another Hyde Park job, with dormers over a copper and slate roof, the dormer glass and roof edges were covered with paper and blue tape so the work stayed off the slate and the copper. The brick chimney there got painted white.

Denny spent 8 years working under his mentor in Indian Hill and Hyde Park, mostly on high-end homes, and he's on every job we do. The same guys prep and paint. You can see what else we cover on our exterior house painting page.

Questions homeowners ask about painting brick

Can you undo painted brick later?

Not easily. Taking paint back off brick is a separate job, and on old masonry it has to be done carefully. If you're unsure, live with the brick another season.

Does brick really need to breathe?

Yes. Brick takes on water and needs to dry out. The National Park Service says non-permeable paint traps moisture behind the coating and speeds up decay, and that a water-permeable coating works best if brick has to be coated.

Is it safe to paint old brick in a cold climate like Cincinnati?

It can be, if the walls are dry, the water sources are fixed and the coating lets moisture out. Brick that's already wet, spalling or showing white powder needs that fixed first. Winters here make trapped water a bigger problem, not a smaller one.

Thinking about painting your brick, or wondering if you should? Call Wells Painting at (513) 849-5909 or reach us through our contact page. We'll walk the walls with you, and the estimate is free.