Brownstone paint
The front of my brownstone had been painted years ago with a slightly textured paint. Over the years, many areas of the brownstone had degraded and I have had them chipped out and rebuilt. My contractor is now ready to prime and repaint the entire surface of the facade. He is recommending an option of…
The front of my brownstone had been painted years ago with a slightly textured paint. Over the years, many areas of the brownstone had degraded and I have had them chipped out and rebuilt. My contractor is now ready to prime and repaint the entire surface of the facade. He is recommending an option of either a Benjamin Moore exterior latex paint, Dunhams “Dunit” exterior latex paint, or a Thorocoat textured paint. Since the surface already has a texture, I think he is encouraging the Thorocoat so that the repaired areas match the previously painted areas. Any opinions on the subject? I know the general consensus on painting over brownstone is that it is akin to original sin, but this repair is what the budget would allow. For the brownstone painters out there, what coatings have you used and what do you recommend?
I’m late to the party, but thought this might help someone else reading the thread after the fact like me.
There’s a company that makes a paint that is completely vapor-permeable, so it doesn’t degrade masonry and it lasts basically forever (they have pictures of buildings that were painted with the stuff over 100 years ago that still look good). The catch is that it’s more expensive than ordinary masonry paint and you have to order it direct from their regional distributor.
The stuff is made by KEIM. Because there is some existing paint on your facade in places, they’d recommend their Soldalit coating system. Here is their distributor’s email address: Shannon@keimmineralsystems.com
I’m thinking about it for my brick house, but don’t know if my house is worth it (*not* a beautiful Brooklyn house).
Hope this helps somebody.
You can visit http://www.hatiya.net. Hatiya Contracting Inc. or you can Call at 718-521-9392 for discussion.
We are Brownstone Specialist. We did job in your area.
Whatever you do, I would avoid latex paint. Just did that two weeks ago and it’s already peeling. Also, assuming you paint it any other color than white, any limestone used to patch the facade will oxidize with water (latex paint is water-based) and turn white. It seems oil is a much better choice.
Kwar228: I will probably never be able to afford rebrownstoning either. I am going to take the paint off and leave it naked. A few people on my block have done this. It doesn’t look too shabby, the erosion stops (my house, which hasn’t been scraped yet, erodes all the time but my naked-facaded neighbors don’t have a problem with erosion), and it’s less expensive than painting.
I think the important thing is to stop the cycle by stopping the addition of other things to your stone.
@Vinca: sorry, I was being vague. Anything you put on your brownstone that will stick will contain a certain amount of lime and be cementitious. All mortars are different, though, and you really don’t want to use regular old portland cement. This is also true, btw, when it comes time to repoint your cellar or whatnot.
Grandarmy: If you didn’t notice it when you went to Brick Industry website, be sure to also check out link 6A – Colorless Coatings.
Thanks for the link, Vinca. I’ll take a look. I would certainly never advocate for Thoroseal (which does NOT breathe) but I remain skeptical that replacing old brownstone with new concrete is the best solution. And we call all at least agree that it’s not the cheapest solution!
I’m in a similar position–our brownstone was painted about ten years ago, and now is in dire need of something–paint peeling, some crumbling detail etc. We’ll NEVER be able to afford to “re-brownstone”….our cheapest quote has been about $40, 000 . So what do we do instead other than paint again…around $5000. (and yes, I know you could say that we shouldn’t own it if we can’t maintain it, but we’ve been here a loooong time).
VBP: Lime is a primary component of historic mortar formulations and remains a component to this day. In general, and whenever an owner is able to afford all choices, I’d advocate against painting, and definitely against Thorocoat. It’s worth noting that stripping old paint through sandblasting or powerwashing also carries the potential for much destruction. OP, check the several relevant titles about historic masonry and mortar found at this link: http://www.nps.gov/history/hps/TPS/briefs/presbhom.htm
Also see #6, “Painting Brick Masonry,” at this site: http://www.gobrick.com/html/frmset_thnt.htm
Grandarmy,
Cement is full of lime, which will hasten erosion, leading to an expensive erode-and-repair cycle. I would rather have a naked, crappy facade for the rest of my life than participate in this cycle, not because I am a snob but because I really hate wasting money.