Exposed brick in Living Room
Thinking about exposing brick along 12′ wall in main living area, 150-sf room next to kicthen. Skim-coating the plaster in the rest of the room, for a clean look. Never done this before, and never lived in a space with exposed brick. Any thoughts, pros and cons, etc?
Thinking about exposing brick along 12′ wall in main living area, 150-sf room next to kicthen. Skim-coating the plaster in the rest of the room, for a clean look.
Never done this before, and never lived in a space with exposed brick. Any thoughts, pros and cons, etc?
I have exposed brick in my living room, I like it. But then it was there when I arrived and I am not interested in covering it up. However, I never hear any noise on that side of my apartment. On the other side with drywall, I use to hear noise from whoever lived there. Now, that my nieghbor is just finishing up a gut renovation, I have had a lot of noise over the past year. Almost finished with that construction though!
In the last month, there was an article in the Times Home section on the right sealant to use on the brick. Otherwise it is a housekeeping nightmare. Maybe you could do a search. You will have to point the brick in all liklihood, then clean the brick. It is a dirty job. I pretty much agree with all the previous commenters, though if that is your thing, you should do it. From a resale perspective, many people still dig it. You can also consider painting it, looks good. At the end of the day, noise from neighbors should be considered. Is the neighbor a renter? Is the room on the other side the Living Room? Music and TV = bad. Is it a kitchen? Possibly cabinets on the wall to act as a sound buffer? Plaster does help in softening sound.
IIRC that look was already dated when I bought my house over 30 years ago!
It’s also my understanding that a lot more noise will come through a party wall that has the plaster removed toexpose the brick.
It’s personal preference, but I think the look is dated and suggestive of the easy way out.
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