Limewash brick house

Herrenovacation

Australia’s Best D.I.Y. Project entry See more

Wanted to freshen up the curb appeal of the house on a budget. I also loved the stones through the bricks so didn't want to cover with thick paint.

Please see steps 5, 6 & 7 for more before & after photos.

Materials

Tools

30 seconds outdoor cleaner

Pool Chlorine

Weed sprayer

Fence paint brush

Small bucket

Hydrated lime

Gurney

Ladder

Steps

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Step 1

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First i used 30 seconds outdoor cleaner and gurney although I didn't get great results.

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Step 2

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I then used a mixture of of half chlorine & half water, left it for 20 minutes before gurney the bricks clean.

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Step 3

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I then used 1 part hydrated lime and 4 parts water and painted it on with a fence brush.

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Step 4

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I allowed it to dry and cure over 48hours.

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Step 5

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Step 6

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Step 7

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KatieC

Hi @Herrenovacation,

You have really done a fantastic job brightening and giving new life to your brick home. The stone hidden underneath all that dark matter just needed your love to shine through and improve curb appeal. Great projects like yours sometimes make it into our Top Ideas section like our 10 ways to improve your home's street appeal. You never know, you may find yours in there one day!

Thank you for sharing your project with us and we hope you continue to find Bunnings Workshop as a great source of inspiration and helpful advice.

Katie

Dave-1

Good afternoon @Herrenovacation

Nice work! The house next to me has just been painted white. I think I prefer yours as it shows depth instead of stark white.

Have you used limewash before? I havnt really seen it around (prob will now that I am thinking of it) One last question, do you have an approximiate cost of what you painted? I like it just because its different.

A nice job.

Dave

prettyliving

Wow this looks great @Herrenovacation Thanks for sharing!

I’ve been thinking about doing this to our home so thanks for the inspo!

Herrenovacation

Hi @Dave-1 sorry for not responding sooner.

Yes I wanted it to look fresh but not stark white like everyone else in the suburb. The bricks/house is quite different and I wanted to keep it that way.

This was my first time using limewash, I can't remember where I got the idea but I looked into it and heard not only would it brightened up the brick it might also stop the mould/algae from growing back which it has. I have also seen it used on red bricks to change the look/ wash out the colour as well.

I am not sure of the total cost but it was more expensive to clean the bricks/house than it was to paint it. The hydrated lime is only $14 from bunnings and you just mix it with water so its really cost affective. It will likely need to be refreshed sooner than paint would but I can live with that as I still have so much lime leftover and I love that my place still has that old house charm.

Only advice is be careful where it spills as its not noticeable until dry. ( I wasn't to worried as this was my first project and i want to re tile the patio etc. )

Dave-1

Afternoon @Herrenovacation

Thanks for the info. Might give it a try on some bessa block walls I have on my driveway.

Dave

Herrenovacation

@Dave-1 make sure you thoroughly wet the bricks/bessa blocks before applying the limewash. I did one coat let it dry, then decided i wanted a second so wet it again before applying second coat. Would love to update the project instructions but not sure how to. Wetting it does make it harder to see where you have applied it and where you haven't but when it drys it looks so good.

Dave-1

Afternoon @Herrenovacation

Yeah I have wondered how to update old projects as well. You could hit up @KatieC and she may be able to steer you on the right course?

Dave

Jason

Hi @Dave-1,

Unfortunately @KatieC is no longer with the Bunnings Workshop team.

As discussed with @Herrenovacation, you can edit your own posts for the first 24 hours only. This is to protect the integrity of the forum. Feel free to reach out if you would ever like a post edited, I'm happy to help.

Jason

Dave-1

Thank you @Jason

There was nothing specific I had in mind, Im do remember being told that before and it makes sense. I was answering a question and the thought popped in my head that "yeah I should have added that bit to the project" or that the project held up/failed for x reasons months later.

Dave