grouts and sand on exposed brick indoor wall

josevesanico · 27 Jul 2014

Hi!

one of the walls in my kitchen must be replastered, and since there's moisture and salt damage to a substancial part, I thought about removing the entire plastering and leaving it exposed - the bricks do look alright under the plaster I had to remove already, and pipes and wires are not spoiling the fun.

Now, I've had close looks at places with such walls (mostly shops or pubs) and it was obvious that the grouts release sand and dust, which accumulates on the ground. I was wondering if there's a way to avoid this problem, either by sealing the surface with some sort of varnish/lacquer or even by regrouting with a robust material (which does not need to survive outdoors!).

Any ideas?

blightymam · 27 Jul 2014

Never used it myself, but I think there are quite a few types of masonry sealants out there - have a google.

josevesanico · 27 Jul 2014

A sealant might serve to keep moisture, dirt, etc rather than prevent abrasion or crumbling of the surface. It's this second purpose I'm looking for, and that has not been easy to google, I'd say.

It might even be the case that leaving the brick exposed is a bad idea, because the grout cannot be reliably stabilized and will always shed some sand. The whole point of the question was to understand which product could be used and which result can be expected.

blightymam · 27 Jul 2014

You asked if there was a product to stop the brick dust falling. Yes, there is, here in the UK anyway. You can use masonry sealers. I don't know what else to add?

Edited to add:

Here's a quick article which mentions crumbling : http://homeguides.sfgate.com/seal-crumbling-interior-bricks-38954.html
Recommends masonry sealant too.

josevesanico · 27 Jul 2014

Hi!

I'm glad you answered, it got me looking a bit further, and I even found (again) an old blog post I first read when I bought this house
http://brickcitylove.com/2012/07/17/exposing-brick/

The crumbling and the dust are there, indeed, but also the solution.

PS I'm indeed writing this in the Netherlands, but this is only home away from home

Thanks!

rdougan · 23 Sep 2014

Hey josevesanico,

Did you figure out what sealer to use? I'm also fixing up a house in the Netherlands.

Robert

josevesanico · 24 Sep 2014

Hi Robert,

I'm afraid I've had no luck so far. I found an old sink drain pipe in the wall that I wanted to expose, and that would have turned the project into something rather complex, involving brick replacement to get rid of the groove. Now I've got a bare patch (with a pvc pipe) behind the rubbish bin...

Try searching for 'ruwe baksteen' to see what's being done in the dutch speaking world. There's this Polyvine varnish being marketed for the purpose; I couldn't find a live example of this specific product, though. And so far, all coated walls I've found much too shiny for my taste.

Uncoated walls, on the other hand, are plenty in businesses around the Hague - as is the sand collected within 20cm of said wall.

Good luck,
J

rdougan · 24 Sep 2014

josevesanico said:
Hi Robert,

I'm afraid I've had no luck so far. I found an old sink drain pipe in the wall that I wanted to expose, and that would have turned the project into something rather complex, involving brick replacement to get rid of the groove. Now I've got a bare patch (with a pvc pipe) behind the rubbish bin...

Try searching for 'ruwe baksteen' to see what's being done in the dutch speaking world. There's this Polyvine varnish being marketed for the purpose; I couldn't find a live example of this specific product, though. And so far, all coated walls I've found much too shiny for my taste.

Uncoated walls, on the other hand, are plenty in businesses around the Hague - as is the sand collected within 20cm of said wall.

Good luck,
J

Thanks! I've noticed the same in Amsterdam. People just leave them uncoated, but I don't want to deal with that

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grouts and sand on exposed brick indoor wall

josevesanico

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