Let’s talk about painted brick… Painted brick is a contentious issue. It is widely promoted on HGTV and similar media but is not recommended by preservationists unless the brick was painted historically.
“Preservation Brief 17: Architectural Character” states, “Some aspects of a building’s visual character are fragile and are easily lost. This is true of brickwork… At least two factors are important contributors to the visual character of brickwork, namely the brick itself and the craftsmanship. Between these, there are many more aspects worth noting, such as color range of bricks, size and shape variations, texture, bonding patterns… These qualities could be easily damaged by painting the brick…
It is also true that in some cases brick buildings were painted when new – typically due to the use of poor-quality bricks. When a building was painted historically, correct preservation practice is to keep it painted.
The current fad for painting brick that was not painted historically is creating significant maintenance issues for the future on houses that have required minimal maintenance since construction.
Modern latex/acrylic paints form a plastic film over a surface. It will trap moisture in the wall if the wall was intended to be permeable for water vapor to pass out from the interior, deterioration of the mortar and brick will follow. Once the wall is saturated, the paint will peel off the surface in patches, creating an unsightly and unending mess.
There are paints made for use on masonry surfaces. These mineral paints contain lime and chemically bond with the brick. They remain vapor permeable and are long-lasting.
If you *must* paint your brick house, using colors that appear in natural stone or brick will be far more in keeping with the historic character of the house, as can be seen on the left in the photo.
This topic is covered in detail in “Restoring Your Historic House, The Comprehensive Guide for Homeowners.”
Signed and personalized copies of the award-winning and bestselling 720-page hardcover book are available from the author in our online shop at YourHistoricHouse.com/shop/.
© Scott T. Hanson 2025.
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