Brick sealer internal

[Lorenzl]

I am going to do some repointing and leaving the walls bare and I know others here have done the same. Any recommendations of products to use or avoid?

As you can see the brick's are very pale; I am considering using a darker lime mortar but the wife isn't keen as she liked the look. So if the sealer darkens the bricks it would be useful to know.

 

[sammy.se]

Hi,

Is this a single skin external wall (I.e. the other side is outside?) If yes, then sealing it may cause damp.

If not, then no worries.

My friend has used brick sealer from the big box stores, darkens them a bit

 

[Doug71]

I have some bare brick in my house which I repointed but have never treated it with anything, are you thinking of sealing it for dust or something?

I have used Thompsons water seal on external brickwork and it didn't seem to alter the colour but not sure what you would gain from using it internally.

 

[Lorenzl]

Sorry I should have said more. They are 9" thick internal walls and they will be sealed both sides. The external walls are going to be rendered with insulating render. I am sealing them to try and prevent dust.

 

[Dee J]

1:10 pva in water, applied with a cheap pump sprayer. Will darken the colour slightly but will virtually eliminate brick dust.

 

[Fergie 307]

1:10 pva in water, applied with a cheap pump sprayer. Will darken the colour slightly but will virtually eliminate brick dust.

I would second that, I actually go over the surface with a shop vac, then brush the diluted pva on. Will darken considerably when you first apply it as it's wet. Once dry the difference in colour is hardly noticeable.

 

[Lorenzl]

Thanks for the comments

@Doug71 Do you get much dust without the brick's sealed?

 

[eribaMotters]

On a previous Victorian house I opened up and repaired the brick fireplaces. On one I used a watered down pva mix, whilst the other was an acrylic varnish. Both did the same job in sealing the dusty brickwork and both darkened the brickwork slightly.

Colin

 

[Doug71]

Thanks for the comments

@Doug71 Do you get much dust without the brick's sealed?

Mine is the inside of an external wall that I left bare, I raked it out and repointed with lime mortar, it looks fantastic as it has some brick arches over the windows.

I do get some dust (more like grit) that comes off the wall but it just hoovers up so I don't find it a problem. It's only some narrow 18" strips of brickwork between some windows and doors so not a big area but it is 4.5m high!

I guess sealing it would probably stop the dust coming off but sealing it didn't feel right on an old external wall.

Not the greatest of photos but I do like to show off my handy work

 

[Bob Chapman]

Beautiful job. Is that you at the end of the island unit? (Ho, Ho, Ho)

 

[Lorenzl]

Looks very good @Doug71 I found this the other day which shouldn't apply to you as it is less than 50% of the wall:

Did you know that removing plaster, plasterboard, cladding and render from uninsulated external walls is notifiable work if you’re affecting more than 50% of the wall? This means you must involve building control - making a Building Notice application to your local authority is an easy way to get the work certified. With insulated external walls the insulation should be renewed to an equivalent or better standard.

I will have some external walls that the previous owner stripped. According to the regulations that although I didn't strip the walls I will have to take over responsibility. I was going to insulate them anyway but again another fee to building control.

 

[Fergie 307]

Thanks for the comments

@Doug71 Do you get much dust without the brick's sealed?

I dare say it depends on the quality and condition of the bricks and the mortar. I pulled an old Parkray and back boiler out to find I had quite a good sized brick fireplace hiding behind it. The brickwork was obviously never intended to be seen, and is a little, shall we say, rustic, but I rather like that. The mortar was pretty crumbly and produced loads of grit. I ended up raking it out about 20mm and repointing, then pva over the whole lot.