Our fireplace was in desperate need of a facelift. First, we decided on a mortar wash to fill in deep grout lines. Then, we painted the brick using Romabio Masonry Flat paint. See our process below.
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This was what our fireplace looked like. We hated the color and deep grout lines. Before you get started give your bricks a good clean. Brush them off and then give them a pass with the vacuum. This project can also get messy so we suggest putting down drop cloths or plastic sheeting on the floor around the fireplace.
For the mortar wash you will need a big mixing bucket, mortar mix, a drill and an eggbeater mixer drill attachment, a trowel or an Anvil grout bag, and a large sponge.
Start by mixing the mortar mix with water in the large bucket. Use the eggbeater mixer attachment with your drill to mix it until it is mixed well. You want a creamy peanut butter consistency for the mortar. It took us a few tries to get the consistency right.
You can use a trowel to load some mortar mix on and then scrape it onto the brick but we opted to use a grout bag. You just fill the bag up with the mortar, cut the tip of the bag off and then pipe the mortar into the grout lines. Just like icing a cake!
Once you have piped the mortar in a few rows take a large sponge and press it against the bricks and wipe. This will push the mortar fully into the grout lines and give it that flush stucco look.
Once all the grout lines have been filled in you will need to let the mortar cure according to package directions.
After the mortar cured we vacuumed the bricks again to get rid of any loose mortar and to prepare it for paint.
We decided to use Romabio Masonry Flat (tinted to Benjamin Moore's Chantilly Lace) to paint the bricks so we could get a clean uniform paint color on all the bricks. Romabio Masonry Flat is a paint designed specifically for masonry so its not damaging to your bricks like regular paint is. This paint is perfect for bricks that have not been painted or treated before. If your bricks have already been painted, you will need an additional primer sold by Romabio so the masonry flat sticks.
If you like a less uniform look, you might be interested in the Romabio Limewash. The limewash will give an old world European look to your masonry. No matter what look you choose, Romabio is the go to for your masonry update. It's a quality product that is easy to use. Tons of reviewers would say the same.
To paint the bricks you will need Romabio Masonry Flat (can be tinted to paint color of your choice), water to dilute the masonry paint according to package directions, a large bucket, a drill and eggbeater mixer drill attachment, a spray bottle of water, and a large heavy duty bristle paint brush.
Start by diluting the masonry flat with the recommended amount of water. It has to be diluted so that the brick absorbs the color. Mix with drill and eggbeater attachment until it has an even consistency.
Next you will need to dampen the bricks before you start painting. We used a spray bottle and worked in sections spraying and then painting to make sure the bricks didn't dry before we got to paint them.
Use your large heavy duty bristle brush, like this Romabio large masonry brush, to paint the damp bricks. Brush the paint up and down and side to side in every direction to make sure you really get it into the porous surface.
Allow it to dry according to package instructions and then stand back and admire your fresh newly painted brick fireplace. During this process we decided to update the mantel as well. See separate post on how to build a simple farmhouse style wood fireplace mantel.
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