Brick Tinting - any good?

[autolycusd]

I'm doing an upward extension where the house is mainly rendered, with feature bricks at the corners of the building. The brickwork is 80 years old and i'm concerned that the new feature bricks will look very obvious and spoil the front aspect.

I was wondering about brick tinting. I assume it would be a good idea to go for as good a match as possible with the new bricks and retint the lot, so perhaps it would be better to consult a tinting firm before i order?

Any advice appreciated, particularly from anyone who's used this approach.

Thanks.

 

[jeds]

Have used tinting on several jobs including my own house. It is excellent if you get it right.

Dyebrick.com for supplies.

Try to get bricks that match texture and are preferably lighter than the original. Although you can bleach them if necessary but obviously that's an extra step.

Test several bricks before you decide on the concentration of your tint. Not all bricks absorb to the same degree.

I found that new bricks tend to have a kind of film on them that can make the tint slightly patchy. This wore off after 5 or 6 weeks exposed to the elements and the tint went on much better.

I also ended up spraying a couple of the larger elevations with an ordinary garden sprayer. This worked really well.

 

[autolycusd]

Thanks for the tips, John. It seems you feel it's within the compass of a DIYer - perhaps i'll give it a go myself once the new bricks have been up a few weeks. You're talking about dyeing all the bricks i suppose, not just trying to dye the new ones to match the old?