Brick Painting & Brick Staining
Two very different treatments, and the choice is permanent. We will tell you which one your brick should have. Licensed and insured.
Painting brick is a decision you cannot take back
Paint forms a film on the face of the brick. Stain soaks in and lets the brick keep its texture and its ability to breathe. Paint gives you complete colour change and a crisp, uniform look; stain gives you a softer, more natural result and is far more forgiving over time. Neither is wrong, but stripping paint off brick later is expensive and rarely perfect — so the conversation happens before, not after.
What is included
- An honest recommendation on paint versus stain for your brick
- Wash down to remove dirt, efflorescence and biological growth
- Mortar joints checked; failing pointing flagged before coating
- Breathable masonry products so the wall is not sealed shut
- Sample area on your own wall before the elevation is committed
- Windows, trim, landscaping and hardscaping fully protected
How the work runs
1. Paint or stain
We look at the brick, the mortar and the look you are after, then tell you which treatment suits it. This is the most important step on this page.
2. Clean and check
Washed at a pressure the masonry can take, with mortar joints inspected. Coating over failing pointing traps a problem behind the finish.
3. Sample, then apply
A sample area on your own wall first. Brick colour varies enormously, and how a stain takes on your brick is not predictable from a chart.
Brick questions we get asked
Can painted brick be stripped back later?
It can be attempted, but it is expensive, hard on the brick face and rarely returns it fully to the original. Treat painting brick as permanent when you make the decision, and you will not be disappointed later.
What is the actual difference with staining?
Stain is absorbed into the brick rather than forming a film over it. You keep the texture and the variation between bricks, the wall stays breathable, and it cannot peel, because there is no film to lift.
Will it trap moisture in the wall?
Not if the right product is used. Masonry needs to dry outward. That is why we use breathable systems and why an ordinary exterior house paint is the wrong choice on a brick elevation.
My mortar joints are crumbling. Can you still coat it?
Not before that is dealt with. Failing pointing lets water straight into the wall, and coating over it just hides where it is going. We will flag it at the estimate.
Photographs of our own brick projects are being added to this page shortly. In the meantime, see our recent projects.
Not sure whether to paint or stain?
Send us a photo of the brick. We will tell you what we would do with it and why — no charge and no obligation.