Shellac on Brick Walls?
We want to finish the exposed brick walls and columns in our basement so that it is a cleaner and less dusty place. The brick was painted white a long time ago and there is dust that now accumulates at the bottom of each wall. Also, once in a while, a brick is totally exposed…
We want to finish the exposed brick walls and columns in our basement so that it is a cleaner and less dusty place. The brick was painted white a long time ago and there is dust that now accumulates at the bottom of each wall. Also, once in a while, a brick is totally exposed in places where it looks like the facing of the brick is completely gone (the brick is really crumbly and the dust is red there). We have had our handyman look at it and his suggestion was to scrub the brick down and then shellac it. That is what he did in our upstairs and it looks great. However, I’m concerned that the environment in our basement might be different. It’s not that damp or humid, BUT for some reason the old paint did not stay on the walls. Any suggestions? Has anyone had bad/good experiences with “shellacking’ brick walls? Can the brick breathe through it?
If you actually do this, use a paintbrush instead of a roller, otherwise you can end up with a cloudy finish that looks awful.
A dehumidifier will help with the brick erosion. Severly damaged bricks should be removed and replaced to maintain the structural integrity of the bearing wall. Its likely that the walls could use a pointing. Ed Kopel Architects, PC