Replies

1. 
   RSmout | Nov 10, 2006 02:41am | #1

   I did this on an addition.

   It's been a few years and no problems. This is what I did:

   First, find some brick that is the same size (extremely important - talk to your bricker about this) and style (raked face or smooth, for example.) The brick I used was yellow. If I had it to do over again, I'd get as close as you can to the color you want so chips and nicks don't show up as much.

   Next I got flat exterior acrylic latex from a big box store and had them do a custom color match to the old brick.

   To paint the brick I'd dip the face in thinned paint, shake it off, then let it dry on it's back with the face up. Depending on the type of brick you may want it a little thinner or straight from the can. DON'T thin it more than 30% or the acrylic will break down (this is what the paint expert told me.) You'll have to experiment with this part to get the right consistency.

   It made it quicker with an assembly line operation. I'd slide a piece of rebar through 8-10 bricks and haul them over to a table. I'd grab a brick in each hand, dip two at a time in the paint and set them face up on the other end of the table. This would let the paint settle into the brick (ours had a raked face.) Then I'd do the rest of the bricks I had just hauled over and go get another 8-10 and repeat the process. Once the table was full, I'd start with the first batch and move all the painted brick off the table to a place they could dry. Keep them separated so they don't get glued together as the paint dries.

   I painted about 7,500 bricks this way and people still ask where we found all the brick to match. Good luck!

1. 
   Senna | Nov 10, 2006 05:37am | #2

   Very smart.

   The flyer shows all bricks laid in position then painted or stained afterwards. And they were all originally light colored brick.

    

1. 
   RSmout | Nov 10, 2006 06:44pm | #3

   Something I forgot to add. After my bricker got the bricks up, we had to paint all the way up the corner of the building. Since we had only painted the faces, at the building corners the unpainted edge stuck out like a sore thumb. Not difficult, but be prepared to do a little more painting.

1. 
   JoeArchitect | Nov 11, 2006 12:28am | #4

   I've heard of a company from Canada that stains brick. They recommend that the brick be stained after the walls are up. Some brick will absorb the stain more than others and it's easier to make it look natural and in the field erected. That's assuming the guy staining is an artist. I'll try to find the Canadien company's name.