Brick House Painting

We paint brick homes, bare or already painted

Brick takes paint well when three things are right: the wall is clean and dry, the mortar is sound, and the primer and topcoat are made for masonry. Safe Choice Painting paints brick houses across southern Oklahoma and North Texas.

That includes brick that has never had a coat on it and brick that was painted years ago and is now chalking or peeling. Most of the work on a brick job happens before the first coat.

What painting a brick house involves

The Brick Industry Association's Technical Note 6 lays out the order, and it matches how we plan these jobs.

1. Evaluate the brickwork. Look for loose or cracked brick, mortar joints with cracks wider than a business card, failed sealant around windows and doors, and signs of water getting in, such as white efflorescence or staining.
2. Correct the cause of any moisture. Paint over a wet wall peels. A clogged weep hole or an open joint at a window has to be dealt with first.
3. Clean the surface. Dirt, chalk and biological growth come off before anything else goes on, usually by pressure washing at a setting the brick and mortar can take.
4. Let it dry. BIA says new or repaired masonry should cure and dry for at least 30 days, and wet brick needs extra drying time.
5. Prime, then paint. Mortar is alkaline, and BIA recommends an alkali-resistant primer or a paint designated for masonry.

Window trim, fascia, soffits and garage door frames on a brick house are usually painted in the same job, and any rotted wood in them is repaired before paint. Our trim, fascia and soffit painting page covers those surfaces.

Painting brick for the first time

Bare brick is porous, so the first coat soaks in unevenly. That is why a masonry primer matters: it seals the surface evenly so the finish coats dry to one color across brick and mortar. A painted brick wall also shows texture differently. BIA notes that paint smooths the variation between brick faces and mortar lines, so the house reads as one solid color.

Before painting, we walk the house with you and note any spot where mortar is missing or brick is loose. Those spots need repointing before paint goes on, and the estimate lists each one.

Repainting brick that is already painted

Previously painted brick is often the easier job. The work is washing off chalk and dirt, scraping any loose or peeling paint back to a firm edge, spot-priming bare patches, and recoating. Where old paint is peeling in one area, such as low on the wall or under a window, that pattern usually points to water, and the source is found before the area is repainted.

Which paint holds up on brick in Texas and Oklahoma heat

NOAA's 1991 to 2020 normals put the average July high at 95.9 degrees in Denton and 95.3 in Ardmore. Brick holds that heat and releases it slowly, so the coating has to handle long hot afternoons and cooler nights. We use exterior acrylic coatings rated for masonry. BIA cautions against heavy applications or too many coats, because each added layer lowers the wall's ability to release moisture. More coats is not better on brick.

Glazed brick, with a hard glossy face, is the one brick type BIA says paint will not bond to reliably, so we point it out if your house has it.

Limewash and whitewash

If you want the brick's texture and some of its color to show through, limewash or a whitewash is an option instead of opaque paint. BIA describes limewash as a mineral-based matte finish, semi-opaque to opaque, that weathers over time and can be reapplied over existing limewash. We go over how each finish ages before you choose.

When to paint brick here

May is the wettest month of the year at both Ardmore (5.72 inches) and Denton (4.86 inches), according to NOAA normals. Brick holds rainwater for days, so a spring job is scheduled with dry days before the first coat, not just a dry morning. Late spring after the rains and early fall usually give the best run of dry, mild days. Our best time to paint guide has the month-by-month numbers.

Local rules about painting brick

Most homes in our area have no rule against painting brick, but two kinds of places do have steps to follow.

• Denton's Oak-Hickory Historic District. The Denton Development Code says unpainted brick or masonry there is not to be painted unless painting is needed to restore or preserve it, or replacement brick cannot be matched. Our Oak-Hickory exterior painting page covers how that works.
• HOA and ARC communities. Lantana's district website says exterior materials are governed by its Architectural Review Committee. If your subdivision has an HOA, its design rules apply too, so check them before the start date.

Brick homes across our towns

Brick shows up in every era of housing we work on. The South Gainesville Residential District, built from about 1885 to 1913, is known for houses of "Gainesville red brick." In Corinth, about 54 percent of homes were built from 1980 to 1999, and in Highland Village about 49 percent, by Census year-built estimates, and many homes from that era are brick veneer with painted trim.

Town pages: Denton, Ardmore, Gainesville, Corinth, Highland Village, Sanger, Argyle, Lantana, Lone Grove and Lake Kiowa.

Nearby

• Brick house painting in Denton, TX
• Exterior painting
• Trim, fascia and soffit painting
• How long exterior paint lasts
• Should you paint your brick house?
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• Brick staining
• Brick house painting in Ardmore, OK