We sealed the brick today. Oddly enough, motivation came by way of lighting. Plug modeling was installed ages ago with three outlets per "bay", but for the longest time we've only had a single halogen flood on each side. Something about finishing the drywall the comes up out of the stairwell prompted Toby to plug both lights in on one side and the difference was (to use a cliche) like a light coming on. And now the halogen high-hats that are in the soffit on opposite wall don't seem to off-balance the room. It's almost like we knew what we were doing all along.
But it's not like the additional light suddenly made us realize what a dingy mess the cobbed brick wall has been. Truth is we've done just about all the kitchen work we can until plumber does his thing, so we're sort of casting about for small projects and tying up lose ends. Before sealing the brick, we needed to fill a few spots where the old mortar had fallen out and crumbled to dust on our floor ever since we exposed the brick work. Read on a home reno site about someone using a cake decorating bag to grout a faux brick wall in order to minimize the amount of mortar that winds up on brick faces, which seemed like a pretty good solution for all the little cracks I wanted to fill. Then at HomeDepot we found an all-in-one bag of mortar; just add water, squish it around, tear it open and apply with included plastic trowel. We mixed it a little thinner than suggested, snipped a corner of the bag, and started squeezing.
Next day, it was ready to seal. We've been waffling over whether to seal the brick at all because we've both seen too many glossy brick walls and wanted to preserve as raw an appearance as possible while still minimizing the slow, dusty decay. Also trying to cut down on our consumption of VOC's. Once again, a pursual of the internet provided solution: diluted Elmer's glue! (What's less toxic than that?) Thanks to pressurized spray pump (another bright internet idea) application was remarkably easy.
Don't know how well the difference makes itself known in these pictures, but from where I'm sitting (about three feet away) it looks almost clean enough to eat off of.
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Posted by: Craig | 2007.01.19 at 00:37
what was the ratio on the glue to water for the brick. I'm doing an old brick chimney in a 1925 built house. Did a test demo with a small amount of water and glue and it seems to work. I did go to four different supply houses for brick sealer and the best i came up with was something with a lot of silicone to keep water out. This is inside and I'm more concerned with the crumbly grout.
Steve
Posted by: Steve | 2007.03.12 at 22:59
i want to say i used a cup of wood glue to a quart of water, but the truth is i don't exactly remember. i took the idea from someone else who posted it online as a cheap, easy, non-toxic alternative to anything i saw at store which was loaded with solvents. used a garden sprayer with a simple hand pump to pressurize the container and just sprayed away. for me, it beaded up quickly and i was slightly concerned that wood glue would be visible if it dried to thickly so i applied at least three very thin coats. it's been almost two months since then and i'm very satisfied with the results. completely dust and grit free.
Posted by: Michael | 2007.03.13 at 18:12
I am a complete novice when it comes to DIY house projects(always lived in a studio apartment with no need to do anything). However I now finally live in a house with an exposed brick chimney in my bedroom and your suggestion sounds perfect as i don't want to use anything toxic where I'm sleeping. I have 2 questions that are going to sound stupid (don't forget I'm a city girl) 1.) what is a garden sprayer and 2.) after you sprayed the sealant did you go over it with anything to rub it in or do you just spray it and let it dry, then repeat? Thanks for your suggestions.
Posted by: kellyburrows | 2007.12.16 at 16:28
We need to seal a brick wall in our living room in order to keep out the cat pee smell from our neighbor's house. We actually DON'T want it to breathe. There are holes and loose mortar on the wall, and we were wondering if the shellac itself will be enough to seal it out, or do we need to do some mortar work to patch it up first. The biggest hole is two inches circumference, and the wall just seems like a sponge to us. We are sick of the cat pee smell coming through the wall, does anyone think it is a good idea to seal it up?
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