Today's show on Curb Appeal was especially difficult to watch as it advocated painting a historic brick home. This, as anyone involved with historic preservation (HG TV?) knows, is harmful to the overall building structure. It leads to spalling, prevents natural building "breathing" and ultimately contribuites to structural demise of the home.
HG TV did not do these homeowners any sort of favor by encouraging this form of "improvement". The other improvements shown did improve the "Curb Appeal" of the house and were well done. But, as HG TV advocates and advertises for the Preserve America effort, they need to acknowledge that painting of historic masonry is not acceptable. Please stop advocating this practice.
I've seen a flipping show on another channel and the flippers insisted on painting the brick, although the show consultant urged them not to. The painting contractor told the flippers that painting a brick exterior is tacky(I assume a guy without college education, right?) Guess what they did? Painted anyway.
Originally posted by underthesky: I've seen a flipping show on another channel and the flippers insisted on painting the brick, although the show consultant urged them not to. The painting contractor told the flippers that painting a brick exterior is tacky(I assume a guy without college education, right?) Guess what they did? Painted anyway.
it all depends on the brick ... I've seen a LOT of brick homes that look much much better painted. Some brick is just plain ugly and should be painted. The new owners of a house next door to some friends of mine painted their brick & improved the appearance of the house by about 1,000%.
I think I saw the same show & I thought that she suggested not painting the brick because it was a potentially unnecessary expense.
The big problem with painting brick is that it's next to impossible to "go back" once it's painted, however, in many cases it's justified and does greatly improve the appearance of the house.
what do I know ... I'm justsomeguy.
Posts: 357 | Location: Home of the Blues, Birthplace of Rock & Roll | Registered: Jan 19, 2004
Originally posted by JustSomeGuy: I think I saw the same show & I thought that she suggested not painting the brick because it was a potentially unnecessary expense.
The big problem with painting brick is that it's next to impossible to "go back" once it's painted, however, in many cases it's justified and does greatly improve the appearance of the house.
I think I saw the same show (TLC's Flip This House??).
I thought the host/consultant warned them, that it would be VERY expensive for any buyers to turn around and remove the paint. This, implied, that buyers would subtract that expense off their offering price.
BTW, it looked more like the stained the brick, and not really painted it. The "brick" still showed thru. Kind-of like white washed brick?
Personally, I don't like painted brick, either on the outside, or inside on the fireplace.
I have a friend who bought a house that had painted brick. They started removing it about 3 months ago, and just finished the front this weekend. I believe that plan to stop there, and forget about doing the other three sides of the house.
Posts: 4405 | Location: Earth | Registered: Jan 05, 2005
Originally posted by JustSomeGuy: I think I saw the same show & I thought that she suggested not painting the brick because it was a potentially unnecessary expense.
The big problem with painting brick is that it's next to impossible to "go back" once it's painted, however, in many cases it's justified and does greatly improve the appearance of the house.
I think I saw the same show (TLC's Flip This House??).
I thought the host/consultant warned them, that it would be VERY expensive for any buyers to turn around and remove the paint. This, implied, that buyers would subtract that expense off their offering price.
BTW, it looked more like the stained the brick, and not really painted it. The "brick" still showed thru. Kind-of like white washed brick?
Personally, I don't like painted brick, either on the outside, or inside on the fireplace.
I have a friend who bought a house that had painted brick. They started removing it about 3 months ago, and just finished the front this weekend. I believe that plan to stop there, and forget about doing the other three sides of the house.
They might have, I was not paying that much attention to the show while it was on, haha. I do remember seeing one shot where you could see the brick through the paint, but I thought that was just the "first pass".
I am not a huge fan of painting brick, but like I said earlier, I think there are instances where it looks very nice. It's somewhat common in this area to see older brick houses painted. Many of them are older (40's, 50's, 60's) and the original brick just looked dated.
Some friends of mine have a house that's about 40 years old and the brick is orange and brown. It might have been an appealing color combination at the time, but now it looks very dated. They were going t paint it, but have just decided to sell & let someone else deal with it.
Another somewhat popular thing in this area is slurried brick. When I first started seeing it, it liked it, but now I am just tired of it, as it has become too common in this area. It does look nice, but I think it will look dated in 10 to 15 years or so.... and I've officially moved this thread off-topic
what do I know ... I'm justsomeguy.
Posts: 357 | Location: Home of the Blues, Birthplace of Rock & Roll | Registered: Jan 19, 2004
There is a common misperception that painting historic brick houses is a 20th century abberation. Many historic brick homes were painted early in their lives, according to William Kibbell III, a restoration consultant specializing in historic residential and commercial buildings. Check out www.oldhouseweb.com for more information.
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Since I just restored & have maintained my 1938 2/1 house in a prestigous area, the honoring of the historical construction of houses cannot be emphasized enough. I'd like to see proper painting instruction on all of these house shows...please prime before painting-this is basic 101 how to paint. Also, everything I'm reading now says granite counter tops are OUT...so not a great selling feature to have in your house anymore.
Originally posted by Boricua: There is a common misperception that painting historic brick houses is a 20th century abberation. Many historic brick homes were painted early in their lives, according to William Kibbell III, a restoration consultant specializing in historic residential and commercial buildings. Check out www.oldhouseweb.com for more information.
Yes, of course brick was historically painted; however, the paints used prior to the advent of high temperature fired brick in the US (around 1900, depending on the part of the country you're in - we're on the West Coast) were LIME based, like the mortar, stucco, and parging used.
Modern oil and latex based paints do not allow older, softer, lower temp fired brick to breathe as they were designed to do in a system. Older, softer brick should never be painted with modern paints. Recent advents/rediscovery in lime-based paints are being made that MAY allow restoration of historic murals on buildings, and I suppose, the painting of the entire structure if desired by the owner. For more info on historic masonry, check out http://www.usheritage.com/.
Was this the one with the very traditional colonial home - that they wanted to make look arts & crafts? I may be running my shows/networks together ... if it's the same one, I was sort of mortified. I remember thinking "bet their neighbors are thrilled"!!
Originally posted by Texas: Since I just restored & have maintained my 1938 2/1 house in a prestigous area, the honoring of the historical construction of houses cannot be emphasized enough. I'd like to see proper painting instruction on all of these house shows...please prime before painting-this is basic 101 how to paint. Also, everything I'm reading now says granite counter tops are OUT...so not a great selling feature to have in your house anymore.
Know this is off topic but if you are reading that granite is out, what are they saying is in?
Originally posted by J.Bann: Was this the one with the very traditional colonial home - that they wanted to make look arts & crafts? I may be running my shows/networks together ... if it's the same one, I was sort of mortified. I remember thinking "bet their neighbors are thrilled"!!
While respecting an owner's right to have their building "look" as they wish, the point is it's sadly short sighted to paint historic masonry w/o understanding the long term consequences. We've watched too many masonry buildings in our community show signs of failure because of well-intended "rehab" efforts, like painting of the brick.
Others have commented on how hard it is to "go back" and remove paint from masonry - very true but it can be done. Great care is required but it can help restore and add life to the building. And if communities are pro-active, property tax incentives can be obtained to aid in building improvements such as removal of destructive paint.
The point is how HG TV should not advocate this practice w/o also "painting" for viewers the careful consideration needed for alternatives ahead of time. Use the medium (TV) to help educate how the practice of painting can acually be harmfull to an older masonry structure (and ultimately the pocketbook when one sells it).
Such an understanding is important for both the current and future owners, and for the building and community overall.
I live in a brick house (I hear the Commodores when I type that. ...brick.....hoouuuuuse) and to me, one of the best things about brick or stone as building materials is: you don't have to paint them!
Stick up some decorative shutters and iron windowboxes, maybe a trellis with roses growing on it, and nobody will notice an ugly shade of brick.
Posts: 1154 | Location: Florida | Registered: Oct 18, 2005
I used to live in a Cape Cod that was brick but a PO had painted it white. It did look really nice but we came to really, really wish they hadn't because it peeled often and it was constant maintenance. It cost thousands of dollars to have it painted and a few years later it was peeling again.
I agree, concentrate of fabulous landscaping, trim work, gorgeous shutters whatever; but do yourself a huge favor and don't paint it.
Originally posted by J.Bann: Was this the one with the very traditional colonial home - that they wanted to make look arts & crafts? I may be running my shows/networks together ... if it's the same one, I was sort of mortified. I remember thinking "bet their neighbors are thrilled"!!
The Curb Appeal episode with this house just ran today...I was appalled! They had a perfectly lovely colonial style home, and it was a monstrosity, IMO, when they finished trying to make it a pseudo Arts & Crafts. And that is an opinion based solely on the appearance, without considering possible future damage as a result of this ill-advised re-do.
Posts: 863 | Location: San Diego, California | Registered: Feb 01, 2007
I don't know anything about the science of allowing historic bricks to breathe, and I agree aesthetically unpainted is usually preferable.
But here's an exception that proves the rule: I was acquainted with a building in NY that had originally been two small row houses, but had been combined into one house in the 1930s. The top of the facade was rebuilt to give it more cohesive look, although it was obviously '30s style, and the front windows were all redesigned to make them the same size and same height.
The two original houses were not matching brick, the work done in the '30s was a third kind of brick, and visually it was a mess. When the owner painted the whole building brown with cream trim, it improved the appearance tremendously.
Should he have used a lime-based product? Maybe, but I think few people could fault him for choosing to paint the building.
* * * * * * * * * * So much paint, so little time...
Originally posted by LovesDesign: The Curb Appeal episode with this house just ran today... it was a monstrosity, IMO, when they finished trying to make it a pseudo Arts & Crafts.
I generally like the premise of Curb Appeal, and I like the original episodes with Rick Spence, just because he's a personable host, but it seriously irritates me when they try to change the style of a house by changing a few exterior details.
Don't they understand the style of a house is established by its structure, and a few cosmetic changes don't do anything but undermine the visual integrity of the building?
* * * * * * * * * * So much paint, so little time...
While I agree that historical brick is gorgeous and should not be painted, some odd choices in brick of '60s and '70s would be vastly improved with cream or taupe on top.
My least favorites are the interspersed light brick and chocolate brick combinations that make a home look like a giant, ranch-size, speckled egg-shaped malt-ball candy -- and that one type of gray brick that tends to look blah'ish as if made of concrete blocks, except in oblong shapes. A creamy paint, nice trim paint or added shutters (if appropriate to style) can give the home a lot of pop in a tasteful way.
Edited to add that I like gray brick, but not the one type that too closely resembles the corner convenience stores.
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