Painting Exterior Brick

[Gummi_Girl]

We have a small section of decorative brick on the front of our house. I have been considering painting it, but I am not convinced. I was also thinking about tearing it out completely. (Our ranch house is quite deep, compared to the width across the front and the tiny section of brick is not prominent. Besides, it may be an outdated look. Our house was built in 1968) Let me know if you think I should paint the brick - and if so, what color. Or let me know if you think the brick should go. All opinions and comments welcome!

[Todd]

Well, your picture didn't make it, but I have seen some ranch homes that look quit nice w/ the brick painted. If the brick is crumbling, you may not want to paint. If its in good shape, go for it. Give us some more details and then we can talk about colors.

Todd

[goblin]

I'm not an expert in anything to do with houses, but I think that it would look better with the brick painted or removed. The brick draws attention to its self rather than looking at the house as a whole....just my opinion though. Your house has a nice shady feel to it and the shutters give it a charm![8)]

[Gummi_Girl]

I agree that it draws attention, and in a bad way!
Please help me by sharing your ideas

I was considering painting it black or charcoal (to match the roof). If I went with black, do you think I should leave the "mortar" white? Or paint all of the brick & mortar black?
If not black, what color do you think would look good?

I would remove it, but I am sure it would be a mess. (All my jobs start out simple & end up turning into a lot more) Eventually, we will have to give-in and put up vinyl siding I am sure. The problem is our house is almost three times as deep as it is across the front and our best siding estimates last year came in around $15k -- and that just sounds crazy to me. We had the same problem with our roof too, so we did that job ourselves. (Removed four layers of old shingles and all new sheeting. At least we know it is done the right way and we spent about a third of the estimates) But niether my husband nor myself have experience siding

Any opinions and comments welcome!!

[Todd]

I don't think you should paint the brick black. Charcoal or a lighter grey would be better, mortar too. I know you just put on a new roof but a gable with columns would look great over your front door. It would really create a focal point and give your house more character. I am not knocking your house, please don't take it that way. That maybe more info than what you are asking. Just a thought. Take care

T

[shuttlebunny]

Hi GG,
I know you started this thread a while ago, but it looks like you're still checking back, so I'll throw in another idea.

Your house looks great! I like the mature look of the whole lot. The brick doesn't look all that bad to me. If you're still thinking of a fix, what about using a trellis?

I think if you try to remove the brick you're still going to have a problem. You'll never get anywhere near a match to the current siding, besides, you're planning on replacing that in the future.
I like the idea of painting the brick a darker color, but I'm not sure what color would look good. What about painting the brick a simular color & attaching a trellis to it just below the ledge? It looks like you have some soil area under most of that window. Otherwise you could consider planters.

Let us know what you decide! It would be great to see what you decide & how it turns out!
Sue

[lyman]

[xx(]I hate painted brick I think it looks tacky. If it were my home I would the same color brick to the other side of your door. And plant matching bushes to even it out.

[JChristi]

I am also interested in painting the brick on my parent's ranch home in Ames, IA. It looks very similar to your style and was built in 1967. I am wondering if you have decided to paint the brick and if so what color. Would you have a picture to share with the forum. My choice would be to paint your brick white...similar to your trim. It would give it a clean look. I would also considering painting it a color similar to your house w/a shade of gray. I would like to hear what you've decided and what your experience has been. Thank you! Jennifer

[MRDIY]

Here is a great Article for painting brick. There is also alot of other good content on the site.

http://www.paintsource.net/pages/solutions/painting_brick_exterior.htm

[aspears]

I've been reading the comments on painting brick. We like in a small brick home and are getting ready to paint. We borrowed some siding books to look at colors. We are planning to build on in the future and will do so with siding. Thus, we chose a paint that will match the siding when we get to that point. That's a suggestion when trying to decide on colors. We are also getting ready to do all new trim, gutters and windows and want to get the house painted before we do that so we won't have to be so careful and tape up so much. Hope your project has gone well.

[ejw]

I think, personally, that you need to try to balance the impression your home gives. To me it looks "heavy" on the right with the large window and the brick while there are just a couple of windows, no brick and a very short hedge on the left.

Perhaps a little landscaping would do the trick. You could, for example, let the hedge grow a bit taller and continue it on the right in front of the brick to balance things (and effectively cover the brick.) You could also move the sidewalk out away from the house and give it a slight curve towards the driveway. You could then fill in the area between the house and the sidewalk with a bit of landscaping, perhaps some dwarf trees, stones, etc. You could even let some ivy or vines grow up the over the brick for interest and effect if you do not want to put a hedge there. Taking your picture to the local nursery to get someone to give you ideas might be the best bet.


If you still want to paint, perhaps painting the siding a lighter, more neutral color that would go better with the brick would be a solution. Just a thought. Good luck.



ejw

[Thinkfaster]

I actually have a similar problem. However, the brick on our house (rancher)is the same color, but the siding is close to a yellowish cream color. The brick is on the bottom half of the house, and the siding on the top half. I would like to have a blue similar to yours for the siding, but my girlfriend refuses b/c our neighbor's house has that appearance. Instead, she wants to paint the brick. She has white in mind, but I think it will be too bright. I know the siding can be pretty much any color, but I don't know about what to do about matching the brick's original color, or matching the siding to painted brick. We are getting a new roof, and I want to have everything match. Any suggestions are greatly appreciated!

[mrcaptainbob]

My wife says: Do the house close to the same color as the brick. The dark color is making the house appear smaller. If you desire accent color (burgundy, hunter green, dark colonial blue), do it in the trim, shutters and door. But to make the whole front appear larger, do everything the same color. (So says She...so say we all!)

[pooh]

My husband and I are talking about painting the brick on our house. Currently it is yellow brick with a lighter stucco color. We are wanting to paint the brick a slate blue and paint the stucco a lighter shade. Any ideas??

[thelair]

I really like that idea. What about first painting the stucco with the same lighter blue and seeing what you are left with? The reason I suggest this is because sometimes certain shades of yellow and blue look pretty slick together as long as you don't end up looking like a bumble bee. If you don't like the look you end up with then you can always proceed with painting the brick with your original slate blue.

quote:Originally posted by pooh

My husband and I are talking about painting the brick on our house. Currently it is yellow brick with a lighter stucco color. We are wanting to paint the brick a slate blue and paint the stucco a lighter shade. Any ideas??