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How to change the appearance of interior brick wall?

Hi all,

I am planning to do something with this interior brick wall between living room and kitchen. I feel like the color is just too dark and I want something brighter, possibly plastering it.

Could anyone suggest how to renovate this? Thanks in advance!

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EricL

Hello @tonytr

Thank you for sharing your question about your interior brick wall. There are several ways to modify your brick wall, first would be to paint it. This would be the most straightforward modification you can do that will not take a great deal of effort as the brick itself is not going to be modified. The door can also be painted in the same colour so that you'll have a uniform finish. Next is the installation of EasyVJ panels or Castellated panels for a modern look. This will involve the installation of timber battens so that the panels can be properly anchored to your brick wall.

The last option is to render the surface of the brick wall. This will give your wall that flat masonry finish which will blend in with the plasterboard walls you might have around your home. Once the render cures, it is possible to paint the surface with the Dulux wall effect paint. It will be able to give you different finishes and wall textures.

If you need further assistance, please let us know.

Eric

tonytr

Thanks Eric,

After consideration, we have decided to render the brick wall. I have a few further questions:

- Do you have any guide/suggestion on how to do it?

- There is a metal arch in the picture below, which doesn't look like it is bearing the load. What is it for? Can we just cut it using a grinder to make a smooth plaster arch?

- When rendering/wet-plastering the wall, because of the extra thickness, it might affect the cornices. What should I do to make it look nice? Thanks

JacobZ

Hi @tonytr,

You can check out our series on How To Render for some guidance on the rendering process.

The metal piece is a lintel, which is a metal piece that is installed to support the bricks of the arch by transferring the load outwards over the opening and into the bricks on either side of the opening. In your situation, it seems like it has sagged, and the arch is now self-supporting. Even though it doesn't appear to be doing much in terms of supporting the arch, I would advise against cutting it out without speaking with an engineer or builder to ensure that removing it doesn't have structural impacts elsewhere.

The best thing you can do to finish the render on the ceiling is remove the cornice, render the wall, then reinstall the cornice over the new render. This will give you the cleanest finish, but ultimately, it is more work. If your render is no thicker than the bottom edge of the cornice, there may be a specialised render stop bead that could be used to make a clean finish, but unfortunately, I am not personally aware of a bead that would be suitable.

Allow me to tag @Nailbag to see if he has any thoughts.

Jacob

Nailbag

Hi @tonytr

The project is quite an advance one for rendering, especially because its both overhead and arched.

To start with you need a PVC arch beading that will follow the curvature of your arch. The brick faces themselves can be rendered straight over, but some other materials will need to go over the metal lintel to allow the render to stick. This is a video I found which shows the process. But remember this guy knows what he's doing. I would highly recommend you get this professionally done.

As a possible alternative solution that will modernise the finish of the room would be to remove the brick all together, and square off the opening. But thats another thread of advice.

Nailbag

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