The exterior of a building is paramount in creating its first impression. If your building is looking old and tired, then you may be considered painting the brickwork for a new and refreshed appearance. Painting your brick façade may seem like an easy and effective solution for bringing a fresher look to the building envelope, but the problems it can cause simply are not worth the short-term benefit and you’ll soon be requiring paint removal services and specialist help to ensure your building can be returned to its best. Below we’re looking more closely at why you shouldn’t paint your brick façade.
1. Permanent Damage to the Brick and Building’s Structure
Brick is designed to “breathe”. While this sounds a strange statement, it is true and without the ability to breathe the brick cannot protect the interior of the building from the elements. Putting paint on brick is like encasing it in plastic and it cannot do the job it is designed to do and protect the inside of the building.
Furthermore, painting the exterior façade of a building can lead to serious structural damage. If there is even a tiny amount of moisture trapped between the brick and the paint, the brick may erode without you noticing properly. Bricks can quickly degrade if frozen moisture is trapped inside them during the colder months and without this ability to “breathe” due to the paint, the structural integrity of the building is at risk.
2. Spoil the Appearance of your Building
Paint may look great to begin with, but the great new look doesn’t last long. Traditional brick cleaning processes can’t be used and if they are, the paint may peel and crack quite quickly. This can also happen as wind, rain and other forces of nature relentlessly hit the façade. Painted brick very quickly looks tired and neglected, impacting on your building’s whole image and crucial first impression.
3. Destroying Historical Brickwork
Many buildings have brickwork which has real historical value. Dependent on the age of the building you may be destroying a real piece of history by painting the façade. Decorative features such as dog-toothing can be destroyed in an instant with paint and preserving the brick in its natural state is a much better and more respectful way of showing off the heritage of your building. Some bricks were made by hand and are more weatherproof due to their kiln-firing and once again, this is something else that can be damaged if painted.
4. Difficult to Return to its Unpainted State
Unlike when you redecorate a room, painting the façade of any building is a huge job and can be difficult to undo. The time and money involved in keeping the brick’s integrity and full paint removal will soon show that painting the bricks in the first instance was a mistake. Specialist services may include steam cleaning and sandblasting to ensure thorough brick cleaning, and, in many instances, you will require professional help to ensure full paint removal from all elements of a house’s exterior.
A splash of colour may seem like the perfect way to brighten up the look of your building, but when you consider the drawbacks, painting your brick façade simply isn’t a wise decision. If your building has had unfortunate exterior paint work and you’re looking for paint removal for all, or part of your brick façade, our professional team can help, ensuring brick integrity and restoration wherever possible.
