Will Exposed Brick Wall be a Poor Insulator?
We are renovating a Bkln row house and would like to expose brick along one wall (and paint it). We are concerned about heat efficiency because the wall we’d like to expose is alongside a vacant row house; and we think the elements are getting into that building. We have no idea if our home…
We are renovating a Bkln row house and would like to expose brick along one wall (and paint it). We are concerned about heat efficiency because the wall we’d like to expose is alongside a vacant row house; and we think the elements are getting into that building. We have no idea if our home will be cold in winter because of this. I think the shared wall is 2 bricks thick, i.e., one wall is ours and one is theirs. Anyone have any experience?
Thanks, everyone. Sounds like when the brick wall is street-facing, it can be drafty. With the big question mark of what will eventually become of the next door building, we might keep the brick in the LR and kitchen and skim coat the BR. ANyone know the insulataing/ R factor of skim coating (vs putting up drywall, which will rob us the few inches we need!)
Ok, now I’m confused. Why would it be difficult to guess how this wall will perform? It’s pretty basic science. An inch of common brick has an R value of .2 so a double course of bricks is going to be 1.6 If memory serves, an uninsulated 3 1/2″ cavity with 1/2″ ply and gypsum has an R value around 8 or 9? A brick wall between an unheated space and a heated space is going to be a major heat sink.
I have never had problems with exposing the brick along party walls that are shared between buildings. I have done this on multiple brownstone projects, with no issues from a thermal or acoustic standpoint. That being said, these projects have all been between occupied buildings; difficult to guess how this wall would perform.
If you are feeling MacGyver-ish, or MacGruber-ish for that matter, you could purchase an infrared thermometer and observe an exposed area of the wall to check surface temperature, and to see if there is any significant temperature variation over the course of a day.
And if you decide to go ahead, I would also recommend using a clear sealer, like a silane or siloxane, instead of paint. This will allow the wall to breathe, and will keep the dusting to a minimum.
Hope this helps,
Kyle Page, AIA LEED AP
Sundial Studios Architecture & Design, PLLC
We have a brick exposed parlor wall – not because we wanted it, but because the plaster in place when we demolished an added wall was so damaged, it was more efficient to trash it all and THEN fix it later.
The wall is shared with an occupied, heated building. It’s not noticeably colder or draftier than interior walls. It’s quite a bit warmer than my street facing wall, which is partially finished.
It is, however, the noisiest wall imaginable. I hear conversations from the building next door when I am on my parlor floor, and people climbing the stairs next door sound as if they’re in my own building. On the higher floors in my house – which have finished party walls – I don’t hear any stair noise and the voices I hear are all in my own head.
I can attest that brick is pretty lousy at insulating when compared to sheetrock or plaster. Also, no matter how you seal it, it will always crumble. Looks great though!
I have a similar question, I live in a 1930’s construction, concrete and steel (the building is about 28 stories tall). I also want to expose the original bick, and there is a building immediatly adjacent (so no windows) would this help with the insulation/ R factor?
If the house ever becomes occupied, noise could be a concern.
Two ideas, if you have your heart set on the brick.
1. If you google “paint insulation” you’ll find a few companies that make paints and additives to existing paints. Do they work? I don’t know. Probably not, but it’s worth it to research.
2. Might sound weird, but if you put a curtain rod up, you can hang heavy drapes and close them up at night.
Brick is a lousy insulator, your brick wall, if it’s two course thick probably still has an R value of less than 2. Unless it has a cavity in between, which is rare in older construction in Brooklyn townhouses (I’ve never seen it), it’s tough to insulate and keep the brick exposed. To add insult to injury, you want to have as few connectors as possible in contact with the wall, so the most efficient fix would probably be to build a small wall in front, but then you’re losing about 3″ of space if you go with 2×3 studs. One of the joys of living in Brooklyn is that living space is defined by inches, I moved a wall for half an inch, but in this case, it would probably be worth it for the increase in comfort and savings on heating bills. On the positive side though, if you do add the wall, it’ll be much easier to add electrical outlets.