Brick Painting & Staining in Toronto & the GTA

Can your brick be stained or limewashed instead of painted?

Only if it is bare and porous, and a little water shows you. Brush or sponge water across a few bricks. If it soaks in and dries evenly, the brick can take a penetrating finish. If it beads up or sits on the surface, the brick is sealed, painted or very dense.

Masonry stain and traditional limewash work by soaking into the brick, so they need that open surface. Painted or sealed brick is a job for paint, or for a limewash system that comes with its own primer. One limewash maker also treats uneven drying as a warning sign, because patched areas can show through the finish.

Test several spots, including any repairs and the most weathered wall. Our post on whether to paint brick compares paint, stain and limewash side by side.

What does brick need before paint or stain goes on?

Dry brick, sound mortar and a wall free of salt deposits. A coating only lasts while the wall behind it stays dry, so water problems come first.

• Water. Leaking gutters, downspouts and flashing are fixed first. The U.S. National Park Service warns that repointing alone won't cure damage they cause.
• Salt deposits. Efflorescence means water is moving through the wall, and Benjamin Moore advises against painting over it.
• Mortar. Crumbling or cracked joints, loose bricks and damp walls are the usual signs that a wall needs repointing.
• Curing. New mortar and masonry need about 30 days before paint, on one major paint maker's data sheets.

Repointing:

raking worn mortar out of the joints and packing them with fresh mortar.

The mortar mix matters, especially on older brick. The Park Service's repointing guide says new mortar must be softer and more vapour-permeable than the brick. Otherwise stress and moisture are forced through the brick instead of the joints, and the brick can be damaged. Any repointing is done and cured before a coating goes on.

Can paint on brick be undone later?

Rarely cleanly, so treat it as close to permanent. Removing it means chemical strippers, often in several rounds, and abrasive blasting damages the brick's hard outer face. Our post explains why painted brick is hard to strip.

Masonry stain soaks in, so it is just as hard to take back. Heritage guidance leans the same way: Ontario's guiding principles for heritage properties say alterations should be able to be returned to original conditions. If your home is designated or in a heritage district, ask your municipality before coating bare brick.

What does the typical price for brick cover?

Painting or staining a brick exterior typically runs $8,000–$22,000 before HST. That is a typical range, not a fixed price, so each house is priced in writing once we've seen the brick.

Where your house lands depends on what the crew lead finds:

• The wall area and height.
• The finish your brick can take, from the water test above.
• The cleaning and prep the brick needs before any coating.

Your written quote names the product by brand and line. Look up its data sheet to check that it lets water vapour out, as masonry coatings should.