5 Tips on Painting the Exterior Brick on Your Home by Dan Wells, Owner, Two Coats Painting & Staining in Atlanta, GA
Painted Brick Homes have become all the rage in the real estate market as we enter into 2021. What once was a controversial topic, is now so mainstream that some couples search the market looking exclusively to purchase a painted brick home with very specific color combinations that they are after. In today’s blog post, I want to discuss five tips for getting the look of your painted brick home right so that you can enjoy it for many years ahead and to ensure it maximizes the value of your home’s resale appeal to future buyers.
1. Plan to invest in great materials and a great company to execute the job for you: When you paint your brick home for the first time the brick substrate is going to really soak up both the primer and the paint. Brick is a naturally porous material and with that it has the potential to absorb both primer and paint like a sponge. Painting the brick on even a small home can take 20-25 gallons of primer and paint combined. When painting the brick on a 3-story executive style home the first time, using 70-75 gallons of both primer and paint combined, is not out of the question. Make the investment in great materials and don’t try to cut corners.
To the get the look right, a high-grade primer needs to be used first to lay a solid coat for the paint to adhere to, then two coats of high-grade exterior latex are needed to bring the color to life on your newly painted brick home. Do not go cheap with your paint and primer selections when you paint a brick home. This is an investment and one that you want to last for many years to come. Buy your materials from your local Sherwin Williams or Benjamin Moore Store and ask for guidance about which materials are best for painted brick homes from their well-trained staff of employees.
Select a painting company in your local market that has a proven system for painting brick homes. Do not go with the cheapest estimate you get, go with the company that best understands the look you are trying to achieve with your home. Ask them about their process when painting brick homes and listen closely to their answers. The more knowledgeable they are, the more you can trust them to execute your exterior brick project with expertise and professionalism. There are many paint companies out there that will paint your home for you, you however are looking for a paint company that will “partner” with you on your project and work both as a paint company and consultant to help you achieve the right look for your home and neighborhood.
2. Be careful with your color selections for both your brick and your trim: When you paint the exterior of your home, there are many things to think about. If your neighborhood has an HOA you will need to get their approval on the colors you are leaning towards. Neighborhoods in different parts of the country will allow different paint colors and combinations. You want your house to compliment your neighborhood in its newly painted state against the backdrop of many homes that are still traditional hues of brown and red brick throughout your neighborhood.
Do not be hesitant to work with a painting company that offers paint color consultations discussing many of the most popular brick and trim color combinations that are current and in line with modern real estate sales trends. Involving a paid interior designer can be very helpful as well, to help your family achieve a look that helps the outside of your house flow with your landscaping and even blends into the interior colors of your home.
A bad choice of colors for your brick and trim can limit your resale value and unfortunately cause your home to linger on the market longer than you like when you eventually try and sell your home. Whereas a great color combo for your brick and trim can help an outdated ninety’s red brick traditional home sell within days of hitting the market!
Modern trends with homes possessing off-white brick painted shades, complimented by trim in beige gray to subdued green hues are very hot on the market currently and are expected to be for many years ahead. If you are unsure and need a color consultation, please get one before you start your project.
Realizing you hate the color of your newly painted home a week after you have paid for the project is the wrong time to realize you should have worked with a professional on your color selections. Painting companies realize all money is green, they will paint your house any color you ask them to. Getting a color consultation prior to the first ounce of paint going on your home, might be the most important step in the process for your paint project.
3. Encourage your painting company to take their time with the necessary prep work prior to painting your home: The process of painting an aged home can be daunting, especially the first time your home is painted after it was built. In warm humid markets like Atlanta, there is going to be wood rot around window soffits and on other horizontal trim surfaces where water sits longer. Homes need to be pressure washed by a trained team. The northern side of your home will have more algae and mildew on the surface than the southern and western sides of your home. The upper floors are harder to reach when pressure washing your home but need as much attention as the lower floors. There is going to be scraping, sanding and spot priming needed in specific places on your homes. Painting companies that rush this process to move onto their next project quickly, instead of giving the preparation process the time and attention it needs, ultimately end up producing a completed painted home finish that will not last as long as a company that prides themselves on taking their prep work serious. Ask your paint company about how they plan to prep your home for painting and what their process will be, the prep work is ultimately as important as the final painting stage to get the look and longevity you desire in the finished look for your newly painted exterior brick home.
4. Do not expect the process to be quick, instead expect it to be as long as needed to do the job right: Homes can be painted in cooler weather in many parts of the country. You do not have to wait until spring, summer or early fall to paint the brick on your home. However, painting in cooler weather does take a flexible schedule as your painting company will have to pick and choose when they can execute your project and they will need to be selective in the best days and times to execute your project, which may not be consecutive days back-to-back. This may cause your cooler season exterior painting project to span more than a week as your crew selects the best days and times to complete your project for the paint to cure appropriately based on temperatures, moisture patterns and sunlight.
Pressure washing can be done on overcast days when it is sprinkling but painting in cooler weather requires painting in the warmest part of the day, noon to 4pm as an example. Whereas painting in the hottest days of summer may require your crews to paint in the early morning hours so the surface of the home is not too hot for the paint to cure properly and for their own battle with the heat index. It is easier to paint your home on consecutive days in warm weather than it is in cooler weather, but please know your brick home can be painted in mild dry stretches during pleasant weather in late fall and even winter. Regardless, do not rush your crew. You want them to take all the time necessary to give your home the love it needs to achieve the best completed look possible for your newly painted brick home.
5. Lastly, realize the radical and amazing benefits that only paint can bring to traditional brick homes: A traditional red brick home will forever carry the same look throughout it’s life if you never consider painting the brick. You can play with your trim colors, but until you are willing to paint your brick you will never unleash the plethora of color combinations that your home can benefit from taking on. As an example, there is a great story of a popular home in the Ansley area of Atlanta that sat of the market for many months to the frustration of the homeowners that were very motivated to sell. It was a traditional brown color brick home with a very traditional front elevation and layout. Only after an innovative realtor influenced the couple to paint the exterior brick of their home in a modern off-white brick and gray beige trim combo did the house sell! In fact, the house sold only a few days after the newly painted look had been completed. The home was purchased by a younger affluent professional couple that was looking for one of the hottest looks in home exteriors, modern painted brick done right.
I hope this article helps you realize that is it is not only OK to paint the brick on your home, but it may be one of the best curb appeal moves you can make currently. In fact, painted brick may help maximize the resale value of many of the homes that were built in the nineties and early 2000s with traditional red and brown brick traditional exteriors. Opening your home’s look to the full spectrum of complimentary brick and trim color combinations arms you with the opportunity to maximize your home’s resale value and may help you attract modern home buyers that are looking for a curb appeal look that so many homeowners are still hesitant to explore.
If you are looking for a paint company that can lead you through the entire painted brick exterior process, please give my team a call @ Two Coats Painting and Staining, 404-962-0613 www.twocoatsatl.com