Saving a neglected garage

[Bibby1]

Hi, I've moved into a new (old) house which had a garage that appears to have been neglected for years. I'm hoping to turn it into a usable space and would really appreciate some advice before I make any mistakes.

Background - Standalone garage, probably 50+ years old. 3 sides rendered, with 5 courses of brick exposed at the bottom, 4th side visible to neighbour is completely brick. Concrete roof but generally in good health, looks to have a cavity but so tight i would still think it would be classed as solid.

I noticed brown patches in the ceiling and a number of bricks close by which were spalling.

Turns out to be a very small leak from the roof, where there appears to be a join. Lazy previous owners did nothing, I managed to apply a successful temp fix in half a day with some of that extremely thick, tar like paint. Seems to have done the trick and place has dried out.

With the help of a friend, the plan is to apply a rubber roof, change the old wooden windows for new UPVC, raise the flooring and paint the inside walls. There are a number of bricks which will need cutting out and replacing, but some don't appear to be that bad. I was wondering if anybody could offer advice on sealing them and then on types of paint to use on the inside?

I'm assuming there is no damp problem now i've fixed the leak, but would it be advisable to not apply anything which will trap any future water within the bricks?

Would anybody also suggest any sealants for the visible bricks on the outside? or leave as they are? have spotted one or two which look to have had better days.

Any further thoughts or considerations would be extremely appreciated. I hope I've included enough detail, but please ask if not.

Thanks in advance

 

[^woody^]

You should not need to seal brickwork, but if you must then a silicone product such as Thomsons will do - it's not supposed to last many years but I've got some on a small area of single skin brickwork which still works after a good 14 years. Otherwise a more expensive silane based product will do.

 

[Bibby1]

Thanks Woody. I'll try to avoid using any sealant on the outside.

As for the inside, i was only really thinking of the few bricks which are a little too dusty to paint straight over, but not bad enough to need to chop out.

I was also concerned that if i go and apply a cheap masonry paint to the inside of the garage, it would trap any potential damp in.

 

[geraldthehamster]

I don't know what your existing roof is covered in, but EPDM rubber doesn't like prolonged contact with bituminous materials. So if you have bituminous felt, I would either remove it or board over it first

 

[Tigercubrider]

I painted my garage ( attached to house and dry) with white emulsion.
It soaks up a ton first, so a bit watered down and a couple of coats.
I painted my floor with garage paint so did the walls and wasn't worried about the odd drop. The first few bricks on the wall were also painted with floor paint
it makes a huge difference to light in there

 

[^woody^]

Paint it with any old thing internally