Hi all, hope you can help. I need to paint the external walls of my 200 year old terrace. Need help with the process and products. The walls are badly damages. Some bricks ate visible some not. Paint us peeling off. Lots of holes between bricks.
Hi @miraperry ,
One of the drawbacks of painting brickwork is that, eventually, the paint will begin to break down. When it's time to repaint, the existing paint becomes the weakest link. Any loose or poorly adhered paint that's left in place now risks delaminating in the future, taking your fresh coat of paint with it.
Unfortunately, removing paint from old brickwork can be quite a challenging and labour-intensive process. Depending on the condition of the bricks and the type of paint, methods can include scraping, wire brushing, sanding, using chemical paint strippers or even professional media blasting. Given the age of your terrace and the condition you've described, it may be worth speaking with a professional if there are extensive areas of failing paint, as they'll have access to specialised equipment and can advise on the most appropriate removal method.
Once you've removed all loose and flaking paint, any damaged mortar joints or holes between the bricks should be repaired with a suitable mortar repair product. The surface can then be cleaned, primed with a quality masonry primer and finished with an exterior masonry paint.
Could you upload a few photos of the walls? It will help our members see exactly what you're working with and recommend the most appropriate repair and preparation method. If you need a hand uploading the photos, just let us know and we'd be happy to assist.
Here's a helpful guide: How to paint your house's exterior.
Let me tag @Pacificswim, @greenleaf, @Elyna and @Ross-, to see if they have any thoughts.
Please let me know if you have any questions.
Mitchell
Thankyou Mitchell. I watched a tube video and they used something called zinga to seal before filling holes. We want to use textured paint.
Hi @miraperry,
Thanks for sharing the photos. They help a lot.
From what I can see, there are two separate issues here. One is the appearance of the wall, and the other is its condition.
The render, paint, mortar and even some of the bricks appear to be deteriorating. If your goal is simply to improve the appearance, then filling the defects and applying a textured paint may disguise many of the imperfections. However, if the underlying brickwork and mortar continue to deteriorate, those defects will eventually telegraph back through the new finish. In its current state, painting would really just be disguising the issues rather than resolving them.
Before investing the time and money into repairing and painting the wall, I'd recommend having it assessed by a qualified mason or structural engineer. They can determine whether the brickwork is still sound or whether any repointing, brick replacement or other rectification work is needed to stop the deterioration from progressing.
Was the product you saw https://www.bunnings.com.au/zinsser-peel-stop-binding-primer-clear-1l_p1580288 ?
If so, it's a very good product, but it's designed to bind down the edges of peeling paint and prevent them from continuing to lift. It won't actively stop a wall like yours from deteriorating or stabilise loose mortar and render.
Thankyou. Yes that's the zinsser product.
The Zinsser Peel Stop will certainly help stabilise flaking paint by binding down the loose edges and improving adhesion for the new paint @miraperry. However, it won't help if it's actually the mortar or brickwork beneath that's deteriorating and crumbling away, which appears to be happening in some areas of your photos.
For a longer-lasting result, I'd recommend removing any loose or damaged render and mortar back to sound material and repairing those sections with a suitable mortar mix before priming and painting. That way, you're repairing the underlying issue rather than simply coating over it.
Once those repairs have been completed and cured, the Peel Stop can still be a useful primer over any remaining sound painted areas before applying your textured finish.
Thankyou. I just checked out mortar mix. There are lots of products. Is there much difference in quality between them?
As long as you use a repair mortar, any will be fine, @miraperry. Something like https://www.bunnings.com.au/dingo-10kg-structural-mortar-repair-bag_p0363480 would be perfect.
