How to Paint a Brick House

If you're questioning whether you should paint your brick house, the answer is yes! Painting your brick house is an easy and quick way to update the look of your home while adding curb appeal. Whether your home is made of brick entirely or you have a set of brick steps, Sherwin-Williams is here to help you complete the makeover with confidence. For this project, we're painting brick steps. Thankfully, these step-by-step instructions and tips will come in handy when you go to paint the rest of your brick house, too!

By KariAnne Wood, featured on Thistlewood Farms

STEP 1

Clean Brick Surfaces

The first order of business when painting a brick house is cleaning. Remove dust and debris by sweeping your steps and wiping your vertical brick surfaces. Then, thoroughly clean the brick with heavy-duty soap and water using a sponge or scrub brush. Allow the brick to dry completely before continuing.

STEP 2

Repair Damaged Brick

Examine your brick surfaces for damage, including small chips, holes or cracks. For small blemishes, you can use White Lightning Mortar Patch Latex Caulk, which will create a paintable, watertight seal.

STEP 3

Apply Primer

We recommend starting with LOXON Concrete & Masonry Primer when painting a brick house. This product seals and conditions porous masonry surfaces to ensure a uniform, long-lasting topcoat.

Tip: If you're giving your brick steps a makeover with Porch & Floor Enamel, you aren't required to prime ahead of using this floor paint.

STEP 4

Apply Paint

Once you've allowed the primer to dry fully, it's time to start painting with the Porch & Floor Enamel or Emerald Urethane Trim Enamel. Use a medium-sized brush to cut in around windows and fixtures, starting at the top of the house or steps and working down. After cutting in, use your brush to paint the grout lines thoroughly. Then, use a roller to cover the larger areas. We recommend applying a second coat of paint once the first coat has dried for at least 4 hours.

Tip: Adding a little more paint to your brush when painting a brick house or steps will help the paint fill in deeper nooks and crannies of the textured surface.

STEP 5

Enjoy Your Painted Brick House & Steps

Now that you're done painting, you can step back to enjoy the updated design! If you painted brick steps, we recommend waiting at least 24 hours before walking on them and several days before moving furniture back onto the surface.

The BEFORE & AFTER

Painting a brick house is a simple makeover with a massive impact - just look at the before-and-after pictures of these brick steps! Start the process of painting your brick house by looking through our vast array of colors today. And if you have any questions along the way, don't hesitate to ask the friendly experts at your neighborhood Sherwin-Williams.

Colors We Used

Check out our most popular colors for your most important projects to develop your color palette and create like a pro. See the colors we used for this design below.