Painting Brick Fireplace Facade

[Patricia]

Okay, I know I may hate it years later but I am so sick of our dark grey/black brick fireplace that I intend to paint it white. Any suggestions for painting brick? Do you use flat, glossy, etc? Should we caulk in the deep mortar between the bricks or just paint there? Any suggestions or comments are appreciated. Also, if anyone has any suggestions for a fireplace mantel, we are in that market as well. Thanks. [8D]

Patricia Wallwork

[Patricia]

Okay folks, no one ever responded to this post and I really could not find anything else on the topic, so I just went ahead and painted the brick without any idea of what it would look like. I recently posted a response about painting indoor brick and attached a picture of my finished work. Should anyone be considering painting indoor brick, you can see our results at: http://www.homerepairforum.com/forum...sp?TOPIC_ID=63. I think it turned out well.

Patricia Wallwork

[Todd]

I think it looks really good. One thing to consider is the smoke build up right above the opening. You may have to keep painting it since it is a light color. Although, if you don't use it too much it shouldn't be a problem.

T

[amy]

We want to paint two brick walls in our living room an off-white color with the same effect as your fireplace. Did you use a brush, roller, or spray it on? I assume you did not use sealer like other people suggest, just the primer. Did you clean the brick first? This is an old home we are remolding and the brick is very dusty. Should we vaccuum it? Thanks for your help....we love your fireplace!

[Todd]

Hi Amy, I'm not Patricia but I will give you my opinion of what I think she did and what you should do. Since it appears that you are going for the "faux finish look", you should clean what you can but don't worry too much about it. Brick is rough anyway and some extra dust isn't a problem. However, do get any loose mortar and brick off. Prime and paint with a thick nap(roller), if you want the look that Patricia's fireplace has. You will probably have to use a brush along the edges. You can have color added to primer, since you are going with a color paint over a rough surface and not wanting to cover everything. Or maybe you do want the white primer to contrast your off-white. Hope that helps.

T

[Linda P.]

I have a very smooth red brick fireplace that I want to redo with paint. How do I get the brick prepared so it will stick? Sanding, priming. I am a new member, so bear with me.

[Troy]

Linda,
Welcome to the forum!

Hopefully Patricia will chime in here, but I would think a coat of primer would do the trick. I don't think any sanding will be needed.

[Patricia]

Linda,
Please explain further how the brick is smooth. I would not think any type of brick would need sanding but maybe your fireplace is not brick........If you tell me more about it maybe we can figure it out.


Amy,
I apologize for not getting back to you sooner. Things have been crazy with me ... home improvements and much more[]. If you have not already started, here is what I suggest:

1. Wet/Dry Vac your mantel for all the loose dust and debris.
2. Roll on primer or flat white paint (or color of your choice)
3. W/ a paint brush you are willing to throw away, paint in the grooves and trim out the edges w/ your paint.
4. Add a second coat if necessary to acheive the desired affect.

It is really that simple! Thank you for the compliments on our fireplace. Good luck and let me know how it goes. [8D]

Patricia

[Linda P.]

Thanks for responding. The area around the fireplace, and on the hearth floor is true brick, I'm sure. The brick looks very smooth and non porous. I want to change it to co-ordinate with some burgundy tile and bulk head painting that I am doing. It now is a true brick red, and needs to be more burgundy. My husband is hoping to change it and also finish with a satin finish. I am not to sure if I want it solid burgundy, but I am hoping that I can also include touches of the taupe/brown faux rag rolling look. Another project is some kitchen cabinets, painted a gloss white, that is dying for an upgrade. The have raised trim and I am thinking about accenting the trim and inside panels of the door fronts. I know that I will have to degloss the areas that I am painting, but am wondering if I should just get new fronts altogether. Is that a pricey thing to do?

[Lorie]

Hi Patricia,

Love your fireplace! I, too, have an ugly brick fireplace that dominates my family room. I have been hemming and hawing about painting it, and since seeing how well yours came out, I'm going to do it! I like your mantel, too. How does one attach the mantel to the brick? Is this a job best left to professionals (I am hardly that) Any advice?

[Patricia]

Linda:

The smooth surface of the brick concerns me a little. But Benjamin Moore's Latex/Acrylic fresh start is a fabulous primer. I would put a coat of this on a spot of the brick and see how it reacts (i.e., wait and let it dry and see if it absorbs and drys properly). Then, you could add your top coat of regular paint if you need it. Or, you could do like we did and like the rough look of the primer so much that you decide to just leave that for a while! By the way, they will tint the primer your burgundy color for you so you can decide as you go whether you want to add the top coat. You could always go back and add some faux look with other colors by rag rolling, as you suggested. [8D]

As far as your cabinets, if you are going to replace the doors, you could probably just replace the cabinets altogether for only a little bit more money. I have painted cabinets before and it is really a big job. You have to take all of the doors down, remove all the hardware, strip the doors, sand them, prime and paint.....

Lorie:

Thanks for the compliments. I was really worried to do it and I could not find anything online about it so I just decided to try it. I liked it so much I thought I woudl share with everyone on Home Repair Forum. Anyway, the mantel was there when we started so I cannot say how difficult it might be to put it in. I can tell you that the joists holding up the mantel are "built in" to the brick wall of the fireplace so obviously someone professional put them in. I did do some mantel shopping though and found a lot of really pretty mantels (pricey, though, approx 200-2000 each) that you could install yourself which are traditionally shaped in the U. We wanted to do that but once we painted, we liked the new look so much we decided to just live with our little mantel for now and save our money for another home improvement project! Good luck!


Patricia

[amy]

Hi everyone,
Thanks for all your ideas. We were in hurry to get our brick walls painted, so we followed Patricia's original idea and used the primer to paint the walls. We went to Sherwin Williams and purchased their primer. (Actually the guy there tried to talk me out of this idea. He wanted me to stain the brick with concrete stain.) We had them tint it to a creamy white. We had borrowed a professional sprayer, so after vacuuming the walls with a brush attachment, we lightly sprayed them. We did not use a brush or roller at all. It looks wonderful! It gives it that aged look we wanted, where not every crack is covered completely. I would do this again in a minute! Thanks, Patricia, for your great idea!

[bfry10]

I painted my Brick Facade 6 yrs ago. Used a Concrete paint. I went to Lowes to select another color and it was suggest that it (the painting) might be a fire hazard. I really did not see a problem. even if you did light a fire it wouldhave to get pretty hot as in flaming to ignite paint. Is there anything to this fire hazard issue?
I plan on using gas stove before long, but what about the people that do use wood?

Thanks for the reply
Brian

[cowzillagirl]

Uh... masonry paint is what you guys should really be using.

[ReneeD]

Hi all! I wanted to respond because about a month ago, I turned a dark brick 30-year-old fireplace into a modern off white charm. You wouldn't believe the difference. It took years off the room and I'm thrilled with the result.

First, to clean brick, you have three primary options. You can buy an actual brick cleaner from a fireplace store, misx 50/50 water and vinegar, or good old-fashioned soap and water. Just be sure to go over it a couple of times AFTER vacuuming to ensure you have all the loose pieces up. Then allow the brick to dry completely.

I then used a white primer, which took three coats but it was well worth the work. Finally, you do not have to use a masonry paint (sorry) - a good satin latex is perfect. The satin will allow you to wipe off dirt and the latex will ensure durability.

I'll have to take some photos of the before and after. Like Patricia, I used a real dark color, deep blue, on either side of the fireplace, which made the new brick pop! I'm telling you, an old dreary fireplace can be undergo a facelift simply by painting it. Keep in mind, that you do not have to use white or off-white. Let your creative juices flow and have some fun. Good luck and contrats Patricia!!!