White washed brick, German Smearing, Lime Washing, and Painted Brick

Speaker Anna Looper

Decorative Brick Techniques painted, limewashed, and German smearing

flowergardengirl.wordpress.com 1

White Washed Brick is elegance This is white washing. Much of the paint was allowed to remain and

the overall look is worn or dated. It has tremendous curb appeal. flowergardengirl.wordpress.com

Combine paint to the desired opaqueness. Removing some paint to expose under brick requires scrubbing or sanding. Power washing can remove too much. If you dont know what you are doing, very red brick can turn pink. If you are not careful, you can also smother the brick and cause it to decay from inside.

True White Wash Brick

flowergardengirl.wordpress.com

Painted brick

Doesnt always have

To be white!


White is the more traditional 100 Coverage is achieved by the layering of both paint or, limewash. It is applied heavily and none removed. Limewash is never to be applied to dry surfaces or it will dry out to fast and get chalky. flowergardengirl.wordpress.com

Cape Cod Painted brick/Whitewashing/Limewashing works on just about any style home from modern to traditional. Limewashing needs to dry completely between coats and

often worked in to the surface as it dries. Each coat must be rewetted to apply the next coat. flowergardengirl.wordpress.com

Half siding and half brick

Whitewashing can unify a home. Making it all one color and balances out the theme of the home. It quiets down the lines running horizontally. You notice the house has a whole and not divided additions.


Balance

Balance through

Lighting, front door appeal,

And tastefully accented railings is easier when the palette is white.


With

Complimentary red front door and white columns. Lots of color going on but the owners married the brick and siding the same buttery yellow making it a master in curb appeal.

Buttery Yellow


Adding white varieties of plants

Adding white varieties of plants further extend the whitewashed brick to the curb. When it comes to plants, any color of white will work.


Whitewashing the brick

! co

lum

ns


Limewashing is slaked lime and water mixed and applied thinly or in several layers. You can power wash while wet or scrape off as it dries. As the limewash dries, It reacts with the carbon dioxide in the air and hardens to a rock like finish. Must be applied to wet surface but dry between layers


Limewashing vs. Whitewashing

German Smearing

A very skilled brick mason is required here because with German smearing you must apply the mortar to some bricks but skip others. If you took a power washer to this, you couldnt control the individual brick look. Adding mortar very much strengthens the brick and is good for preservation. If you didnt want to scrape off some of the mortar or skip bricks then youd have a full mortar wash. There would be no exposed brick but you would still see the outline of the brick. A recent episode of Fixer Upper with Chip and Joanna Gaines featured German smearing.


Limewashing actually helps to protect the brick and has been around for centuries. Notice that under the overhangs and in corners, the limewash was put on more heavily to give it a look of many years of existence in the elements. Please be very careful if DIY this process on your home. Lime is very caustic to the skin and can cause serious issues with your eyes. Generally it is applied every couple of years and there are additives like linseed oil that help it last longer. Limewash breathes and lets moisture escape. Adding too much oil or additives can cause the brick to retain water and rot. These additives are called binders. Binders such as casein, tallow or linseed oil will improve its durability. Better not to use binders when limewashing indoors as too much moisture is sealed in.

Leaving the edges more dense


Basement brick whitewash

When paint is applied in full strength it will look like this.


Any sized brick or stone


Mint green limewash or painted, any color will work.


Red door curb appeal!


Beige whitewash/painted full color


German smearing and whitewash

The bay is German smearing and the rest is painted flowergardengirl.wordpress.com 20

Any door style and roof line



Engineered whitewashed brick


If you have a craftsman, whitewashed

Whitewashed grey


Works with other homes


Variety in the community


Whitewash and Greywash together


Whitewashed makes the green pop


Vanilla washed beige shutters


Whitewashed perfect background


How to handle the larger dormer



Makes the sidewalk stand out


Brick front only

Chimney

Paint is partially removed from the chimney only



Where is the painted brick?


The windows say it all

Ok, thats a lot of painted brick


Engineered whitewash


Order


Detail in the shutter



Sometimes the brick takes second


crisp


Annas Craftsman Cottage

!Eng

ine

ere

d b

rick a

t A

nn

as H

ou

se

Thank you! I hope you enjoyed the presentation! You can learn more about me at Flowergardengirl.wordpress.com flowergardengirl.wordpress.com 49

Education

White washed brick, German Smearing, Lime Washing, and Painted Brick